“Cranky”
Bursts of excitement
followed by toddler tantrums.
Until he’s distracted.
Steve D
Bursts of excitement
followed by toddler tantrums.
Until he’s distracted.
Steve D
Midday or midnight
embarkation to nowhere,
just for the pleasure.
Steve D

Update: I somehow wrote and published this post without actually setting any goals for this month… so I fixed that. See my goals at the end.
August was tough for reasons other than anything writing- or family-related. I took last week off from writing a real post because I just did not have the mental energy. I’m not yet convinced September is going to go much better, but I’m excited to share some news in this post. Continue reading “September Write Day: Marching Onward”
An ending of sorts
is better than none at all,
to allow a restart.
Steve D
Here by some odd twist,
remaining for a moment
at another’s whim.
I normally prefer my existentialism with a dose of humanism, or perhaps some wide-eyed cosmic awe, but I’ve been in a rather negative frame of mind the last couple weeks. Hence, the above.
I’m also not really at liberty to explain why I’ve been in a negative frame of mind, but I’ve been stressed and frustrated, and it’s been difficult to compartmentalize that part of my day from the things I care more about, like my family.
Also, I’m still trying to finish “Uprooted”, but the closer I get to the ending, the more I think I need to spend a little more time in the final place my characters end up. I need to find a way to close this story off without feeling like it’s abrupt, and still leaving room for part 2.
Steve D
Impromptu play dates,
a chance for adults to meet
for conversation.
Steve D

Leaving breadcrumbs as you write a story is fun.
That stranger in the tavern who eyes your character just a little too long. The oddly repetitive appearance of a particular animal that just has to be symbolic. Or the mysterious item that seems to catch anyone’s interest who lays eyes on it.
Experienced readers often notice these little details and wonder if they are clues into what might come later in the plot. Continue reading “When the Plot Breadcrumbs Lead Nowhere”
Soft gray overhead,
brief lackluster afternoon
with two bright blue spots.
Steve D
This will be a short review for a short book, but I just wanted to draw attention to another Audible Original: Greg Donahue’s “The Minuteman, The Forgotten Legacy of Nat Arno and the Fight against Newark’s Nazis”.
A brief overview of the life of professional boxer-turned mob enforcer Nat Arno, “The Minuteman” describes how a New Jersey street tough became one of the most outspoken resistor’s of the Nazi presence in the US before World War II. Continue reading “Book Review: “The Minuteman” versus Nazis in America”