November 2015 – Sam's Online Journal

November 29, 2015

Christmas Like a Friday Night

“Friday night lights twinkle brighter because we see them through an idealized lens created by excessive inebriation.” It’s funny how things change when we get older. And by change I mean everything. And by older I mean past 20s. I remember thinking about Christmas like it was a Friday night. It was all hazy and … Continue reading Christmas Like a Friday Night

November 27, 2015

Flying with No Wings

She flies with no wings Lost in atmosphere Chaos magnified by order And shoved in a box Like so many unsent letters She was always meaning to send As fragile as a hummingbird In the middle of autumn Or a gentle rainfall In the turning of spring Spinning out of control She gets lost in … Continue reading Flying with No Wings

November 27, 2015

Transitioning

Continue reading Transitioning

November 25, 2015

This Novel, Day 25

Sometimes in November I look up from whatever the latest novel I’m writing happens to be, and I notice that I’ve passed a milestone in the course of my writing for the day. On occasion I’ve moved past 10,000 words without thinking of it. Once in a while I’ve blasted through 25,000 words and not … Continue reading This Novel, Day 25

November 24, 2015

I Am Not An Only Child

I talked to my sister on the phone tonight. She is in Grand Rapids for the night, but she will be someplace else tomorrow. I am where I am going to be for the foreseeable future. And that’s okay. She is one of those fly-by-night sorts that I envy but that I could never be … Continue reading I Am Not An Only Child

November 22, 2015November 22, 2015

What is Plot? Baby, Don’t Hurt Me.

Plot is the way the story moves forward. Not backward, but forward. Too often plot seems a bit circuitous, wrapping around to meet itself again later in the novel, but by then you’re too confused as a reader to follow it, or you don’t care anymore. It’s called getting “cute” with the plot, and only … Continue reading What is Plot? Baby, Don’t Hurt Me.