A Conversation With a 17th-Century Sorceress. In response to a recent comment, I got in touch with a 17th-century sorceress.What kind of spells do you cast?
What kind of spells don't I cast! Well, there are a number, actually. In fact, mostly I only do love spells, but usually by the time I finish describing their pros and cons, and how people generally feel after I cast one for them (bad, almost uniformly, unless they're unwell), most people decide against them. Because if you think about it, love spells are deeply sad, and are in fact probably an oxymoron. But I also do spells for ailments. What do you wear? Capes! I've got these wonderful black leather boots that I inherited from my mother.
Do you brush your hair? No, most self-respecting sorceresses don't, BUT I will say I run my fingernails through it enough that this question is almost moot! What are your fingernails like? They're long, and come to a point. Tell me about the love spells again. Well, think about it. Do you speak from experience? Yes. Did you undo it?
I did. Hmm. What! Interview With a Mosquito. Hard-Packed Ice Cream Or Soft-Serve? Part of a series: Two choices—which do you choose?
Ice cream is way more fun to eat in the summer, especially if you like to go to places where they serve it to you in a cup or cone, because it’s like, a very American Summer kinda activity, hitting the ice cream place for something cold and sweet and bad for you, and in the summer, more than the other seasonals, the mere act of Hey I’m Going To Get Some Ice Cream, or Hey Let’s Go Get Some Ice Cream becomes a Social and Cultural Event, because you are gonna go to a place where lotsa other Peoples of the Earth are out there, in The World, on the exact same mission as you, and you will Congregate in peace and harmony and sprinkles.
So now in the summer, when Ice Cream is Go, the first decision is: Hard Packed or Soft Serve? My name is Joe and my favorite flavor of ice cream in the whole wide world is the Baskin-Robbins Jamoca® Almond Fudge. You don’t get this with a hard-packed cone. Previously in series: Angela Lansbury Or Betty White? Sliced Bread. Writer's Diet.
6 Rules for a Great Story from Barnaby Conrad and Snoopy. By Maria Popova “And remember: Always aim for the heart!”
You might recall Snoopy’s Guide to the Writing Life (public library), which gave us Ray Bradbury’s wise words on rejection. To recap: Barnaby Conrad and Monte Schulz, son of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz, asked 30 famous authors and entertainers to each respond to a favorite Snoopy comic strip with a 500-word essay on the triumphs and tribulations of the writing life. The all-star roster includes William F. Try to pick the most intriguing place in your piece to begin.Try to create attention-grabbing images of a setting if that’s where you want to begin.Raise the reader’s curiosity about what is happening or is going to happen in an action scene.Describe a character so compellingly that we want to learn more about what happens to him or her.Present a situation so vital to our protagonist that we must read on.And most important, no matter what method you choose, start with something happening!
Share on Tumblr. Show, Don’t (Just) Tell. Short Stories: 10 Tips for Creative Writers. Recipes and Household Tips from Great Writers.