Some writers cannot write except in silence. Some, actually, need specific kinds of silence: crickets, white noise, one of those nature-sound machines, wind in the trees. But silence all the same. I am not one of those writers. Sure, if I fall into a story and lose all track of my physical surroundings, I canContinue reading “[Music] is the liquid that we’re all dissolved in*”
Category Archives: writing
To read or not to read? READ!
The other day, my writer/rock star friend Ryan Werner sent me a link to an article titled “The 10 Most Harmful Novels for Aspiring Writers.” The gist of the article is that people should stop reading certain books, by certain authors, because those books suck us into pale imitations and lock us out of ourContinue reading “To read or not to read? READ!”
A Writer’s Notebook: Poetry (Childhood memory)
I’m not a great poet. I give it a go when I can, though, and I have a strong respect for poetry and poets–in fact, I believe that poetry informs fiction in profound ways, that the best prose comes from someone who at least appreciates poetry. So I try to keep my hand in, ifContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: Poetry (Childhood memory)”
The Netherlands: The End
Day 10.7 Thursday, April 22, 2010 So far so good, and I’m actually feeling pretty positive about going out tomorrow. The skies are still problematic but some flights are leaving and the situation gets better every hour, so, fingers crossed. Today, we decided to hit our last museum (or what I hope is our lastContinue reading “The Netherlands: The End”
A Writer’s Notebook: Collaborative fiction
My friend Ryan Werner and I are involved in a work of collaborative fiction, the old Round Robin exercise. I’ll describe the general rules and what we’re up to below, but you probably already know something about this sort of exercise as it is. It’s been my turn to contribute for longer than I canContinue reading “A Writer’s Notebook: Collaborative fiction”
The Netherlands: Days 10.5 & 10.6 (the Great Volcano Standstill, 2010)
Day 10.5 Tuesday, April 20, 2010 Success? Relief? I hope so. We spent all last night checking trains and buses, but nothing we could find was getting us anywhere any faster. Our B&B hostess found a train to Istanbul that would take only two days, but some legs of the journey were unavailable for onlineContinue reading “The Netherlands: Days 10.5 & 10.6 (the Great Volcano Standstill, 2010)”
The Netherlands: Days 10.3 & 10.4 (the Great Volcano Standstill, 2010)
Day 10.3 Sunday, April 18, 2010 Ever since this fiasco began, we’d been considering alternate forms of travel, just in case. As Tuesday approaches and the situation in the skies shows little sign of improving, Jennifer decided it might be smart to start planning alternate travel now, just in case our Tuesday flight gets canceledContinue reading “The Netherlands: Days 10.3 & 10.4 (the Great Volcano Standstill, 2010)”
The Netherlands: Days 10.1 & 10.2 (the Great Volcano Standstill, 2010)
Day 10.1 Friday, April 16, 2010 Stranded still. The volcano continues to spew, the European authorities in charge of their respective airspaces continue to freak out, many of our fellow passengers are growing irrationally angry, and it’s looking more and more like we’re in this for a longer haul than anyone would like. We wokeContinue reading “The Netherlands: Days 10.1 & 10.2 (the Great Volcano Standstill, 2010)”
The Netherlands: Days 9 & 10
Day 9 Wednesday, April 14, 2010 We had planned today to go to Haarlem, but when we bought our train tickets to Hoorn yesterday, a saleswoman launched into a pitch to sell us bus-tour tickets, and we decided to take the brochure and peruse it just to make her happy. And sure enough, while waitingContinue reading “The Netherlands: Days 9 & 10”
The Netherlands: Days 7 & 8
Day 7 Monday, April 12, 2010 I am quite too relaxed to write. I’ll try to jot down a few notes, but I expect to sleep soon. We did the Artis Zoo today, a beautiful complex packed not only with an excellent zoo but also with a planetarium, an aquarium, a zoological museum, an AfricanContinue reading “The Netherlands: Days 7 & 8”
Samuel Snoek-Brown 