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Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

Aural Investigations

Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »

My father grew up loving the Sherlock Holmes stories. He wasn’t the only one, of course, and Sherlock has remained a driving force in modern culture since he was first invented by Arthur Conan Doyle. 

Now that the books are in the public domain, there are a lot of new Holmes stories coming out, which is great. But if you want to go back to the originals and you enjoy audiobooks, consider this collection of 19 Sherlock Holmes short stories on the BBC, narrated by actor Hugh Bonneville: Sherlock Holmes Short Stories.

Sherlock Holmes Short Stories – Hugh Bonneville hosts new Sherlock Holmes series on BBC

His adventures have been enjoyed by audiences around the world for over a century with new generations discovering his thrilling tales through blockbuster films, television series, and even video games.

Now, the great detectives’ most famous mysteries are being brought to life in the new podcast Sherlock Holmes Short Stories hosted by Hugh Bonneville.

Enjoy!

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Photo by huan yu on Unsplash

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Nothing Like Looking

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , on April 9, 2025| Leave a Comment »

There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.

— Thorin Oakenshield

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Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

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Writers, Pick Your Path

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , on April 7, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“Let’s put it this way: if you are a novelist, I think you start out with a 20 word idea, and you work at it and you wind up with a 200,000 word novel. We, picture-book people, or at least I, start out with 200,000 words and I reduce it to 20.”

— Eric Carle

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Photo by Kate Branch on Unsplash

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Gears and Goals

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , on April 6, 2025| 1 Comment »

“Life is like a 10-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.”

— Charles M. Schulz

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I’ve got one gear today, but that will be enough. Photo by Rayyu Maldives on Unsplash

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Yes/No?

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , on April 3, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Today, I wrote a 200-word story (a double drabble?) inspired by modern politics, and those who are willing to sacrifice everything for power.

The muted roar of the crowd echoed through the green room. He gave himself a final check in the mirror and checked for consensus updates. 

:: Tie too tight, one response said. 

He loosened the half Windsor.

:: Hair too perfect, another said.

A quick head toss fixed that.

:: Walk more like a gorilla.

What the hell was he supposed to do with that kind of feedback? He expanded his stance, arms bent at the elbow, and strutted side to side.

His reflection sighed. 

:: Accept all changes?

The button flashed green on his behavioral adjustment interface.

He stared at the screen. He used to enjoy this job. Before they promised him power. All he had to do was agree to a chip in his head and external control of his every move.

Was it worth it?

The crowd cheered his campaign’s warmup act. What a difference from the old days, when sincerely held speeches were met with yawns. Now all he had to do was read three-word slogans from the crowd-sourced teleprompter.

His wife said she didn’t even know him anymore. 

Was it worth it?

He stared at the screen. 

:: Accept all changes?

:: Yes / No?

— J.R. (Never Going Into Politics) Johnson

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ai generated image using the following prompts and a lot of rushed followup work: > please generate an image: the setting is a green room backstage. a white male politician in a dark blue suit and blue tie with a half-Windsor knot stands in front of a mirror. his dark brown hair is just a little messy. he looks tired. to his left, you see a floating screen of code that ends with ":: Accept all changes?" and a "Yes/No?" button at the bottom flashing green > please make him look less tired and less messy, and have him looking into the mirror, so we see his reflection in the mirror > please have him not smiling, and have him facing the mirror so we see his back and then face in the reflection
Image by ai, mostly

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One, Divided

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on March 31, 2025| Leave a Comment »

A recent poem, the result of the dumpster fire that is currently the news and a memory of a bully with a magnifying glass on a hot summer day:

It’s so easy, yes

to break things. 

Careless cruelties

Narrowed to a single focus

of concentrated power.

One ant crushed, one sneer revealed, one push over the edge…

But one and one and one divides into two

and regret comes all too soon.

I also thought it might be interesting to show my work. Here’s what a typical poem draft looks like for me. The indented lines are the alternatives tested as I wrote my way through.

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Photo by Houcine Ncib on Unsplash

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Look Up!

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on March 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Look up! Looking up gives us freedom and causes the shadows to slip right down our backs.

— Anne Lamott

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Photo by Karen Uppal on Unsplash

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The X% Rule

Posted in Writing, tagged , , , , , , , on March 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Here’s a way to approach projects, and life, from Oliver Burkeman:

The Imperfectionist: Seventy per cent

The 70% rule: If you’re roughly 70% happy with a piece of writing you’ve produced, you should publish it. If you’re 70% satisfied with a product you’ve created, launch it. 

Do I believe this, as in, do I think that 70% is “good enough”? Not entirely.

Would I be more productive if I did? Absolutely.

And is most of my reluctance to sign onto this rule based in my little problem with perfectionism? Again, absolutely.

I do very much agree with the general idea:

I’m convinced it’s also the way to cultivate a particular kind of sane, action-focused, peaceful-but-energised approach to life that’s becoming more essential by the day. At the risk of offending any sticklers for traditional mathematics, I’m even tempted to argue that 70% is actually better than 100%, at least in this context.

So I think I’ll try to work my way down toward 70%. Will I get there? Maybe not, but when it comes to clearing away barriers to productivity, every step counts.

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Photo by Declan Sun on Unsplash

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Curiosity’s Catalyst

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on March 28, 2025| 1 Comment »

“I don’t know” is not an admission of ignorance. It’s an expression of intellectual humility.

“I was wrong” is not a confession of failure. It’s a display of intellectual integrity.

“I don’t understand” is not a sign of stupidity. It’s a catalyst for intellectual curiosity.

— Adam Grant

And since we’re talking about knowledge and how to gain it, let’s hear it for libraries!

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Photo by Boston Public Library on Unsplash

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You Can Art Too

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged , , , , , , on March 26, 2025| 1 Comment »

On the off chance that you feel uninspired, or as if you lack the necessary requirements to make art, I give you Tatsuo Horiuchi. This retiree decided that he would start with what he had and go from there. 

77-Year-Old Man “Paints” Japanese Landscapes on Excel Spreadsheets

While most digital artists opt to use Photoshop or other similar digital imaging software, 77-year-old Japanese artist Tatsuo Horiuchi chooses to work with Microsoft Excel to produce his beautiful works of art. His “paintings” are remarkably intricate works that mimic traditional Japanese paintings that offer scenic views of natural landscapes rich with cultural motifs.

And the next time I think I can’t art without more (fill in the blank), I’ll remember this.

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Photo by Clark Van Der Beken on Unsplash

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