Gather 'round…
One of the fifth century fathers said that we must establish ourselves firmly inside our skin with nothing protruding outside. At the same time we are full of vivacity, we move fast and are capable of acting quickly. Why? Because we are not reaching after anything, the aim and content of our life in this... Continue Reading →
Well, first of all, as of Thursday, the Meadowlark has been singing again, which I think is amazing. Apparently the moratorium on joyful song after the loss of a brood lasts ten days. But now they are over, and the living commences once again! Today as I fought to sleep in past 4am, the wrens,... Continue Reading →
OK... Nitty-gritty here we come... Story Engineering Model (four-part story model): Part One, the first ~25% of our story. Part One, or box number one, is our setup box. Our story has yet to be launched in earnest, and before it can do so, our readers must enter into our world. Part One is where our... Continue Reading →
I'm not sure why exactly it is, but 100% - no kidding, it's an actual statistic - 100% of the camping trips we take to our favorite local park include some allotment of intense illness. We go every Fathers' Day weekend, destined for a quick and dirty trip close by, often to get our camping... Continue Reading →
To begin, we’ll take a broad look at the Story Engineering model Larry Brooks puts forth. Four parts, brilliantly named (wait for it…) Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four (you may applaud now), will form the main chunks of our story framework, The Four-Part Story Structure (yes, I’ll wait…). Once we’re seated... Continue Reading →
A pair of horses, Ruby and Chester, used to live in our neighbor’s pasture. But they are gone; only their nameplates on the fence remain. Some cows called the pasture home for a while, but the price of a calf was too steep to replace them once they were retired to the freezer. Grown over... Continue Reading →
Bob-o-Links have quite possibly the coolest song/call/chatter I've ever heard. Not to mention their stylish backwards tuxedos. They make me feel better about the occasions that I wear my own shirts backwards. Selling an item is the surest way to find all of its component parts... after the fact. Ever since our weed whacker found... Continue Reading →
Well, maybe no plotting can be a fit for you if you're a die-hard pantser. But if you're like me, flying along on the wings of your whimsy, and you reach that terrifying point of realization that you're spinning your wheels, you'll probably find yourself searching out some advice of the plotting type - anything to help... Continue Reading →
I get ahead of myself sometimes. I'm sure you don't, but I do. I get excited, I get distracted, I get confused, and often I get out of my depth. I’m probably about to do all of those things spectacularly. I'm about to commence a series of posts about story structure, the holy grail of... Continue Reading →
It's been a rough week. Something terrible happened to my body last week and it is in... shall we say... revolt. The proverbial wheels have fallen off the bus, and are currently speeding down I-94 on their own self-directed course. I am certain they'll return eventually, when convinced I'll welcome them home with contrition, tears, and... Continue Reading →
Interesting rabbit holes lead to interesting destinations. A while ago -  in the midst of some fits of frugality and the desire to move to the Boundary Waters once and for all and live out of a canoe - I decided to read Thoreau's Walden. I didn't finish it. In fact I barely started it, but... Continue Reading →
What a challenge... to be awake. The literal sense of being awake is a difficult enough task at times, but the deeper, the meaningful, the real awake is an even more elusive creature. Every time I go through my little devotional I get stuck at the same page. It challenges me to rise up and be... Continue Reading →
Tales From the Nexus 