I may be jumping up and down in a panic. There is going to be a contest over at Story-a-Day. An author is going to judge stories written for the challenge----one story per writer. So, you know I'm staring at what I've written wondering which story to choose. It isn't life or death or anything...but …
Author: mapelba
I'm a writer, artist, teacher, mother, wife, daughter, friend, coffee addict... What else? A success, a failure, a mess, a fan, a hater of housework, a lover of dogs, a liberal, an obsessive, and a bunch of other things that probably would never occur to me. I reveal myself in more ways in my writings and art than in any list of adjectives. And whoever you are, I hope most of all that you are a reader.
Maybe Not Everywhere
This may be a lame excuse, but I'm in Waco. Waco! And I've got to be at a roller rink tomorrow morning and the next at 5 am. These are the joys of being a mom to a speed skater. I have trouble writing in hotel rooms. I can write in my home, in cafes, …
Maybe Not What You Thought
Maybe I'm not as neurotic as I think I am. I like to think I exaggerate. That is what writers do, right? Anyway, my bosses bought some of my art and put it up in the school. This semester I happen not to have any classes in that corner of the school, but it is …
Maybe Epic
This may be meaningless to you, but did you know that today was the 34th birthday of Star Wars? I was nine. I saw it in an old theater with balconies. I went with my dad, his second wife, and her youngest daughter. My father and I loved it. My step-sister thought it was okay--but …
Maybe the Stars Know
You may belittle horoscopes. As well you probably should because there is no sensible reason to think anything light years away can guide you anywhere in the tiny swath of land that is your life. All the same, I like my horoscope--and I don't see why you have to believe something to enjoy it. Here …
Maybe You Can Blame Your Parents
Your parents may bequeath you many things... like brown eyes, a house, a fiery personality, an obsession for antiques. My parents have not left me any of those particulars. One thing about writing a separate story every day is that you notice what your repeat. In fact, I think I'm repeating that idea. Was that …
Maybe! Are you surprised?
Surprise may be something you avoid. Years ago, a friend's husband asked me to get his wife out of the house on the day of her surprise birthday party. "It's your birthday! What do you want to do? My treat!" "I want to see Life is Beautiful." "For your birthday? Won't it be depressing?" "Yes! …
Maybe You’re a Writer?
Maybe this happens to you all the time. Yesterday, I was introducing myself to another parent at the roller rink. And a friend standing nearby asked if I were skating too. "Yes," I said. "I've been at my computer so much this week, I need to move." And this father, who knew nothing about me …
Maybe You Won’t Laugh
I may be joking. Interviewer: In your Antologia Personal... Borges: Look here, I want to say that that book is full of misprints. My eyesight is very dim, and the proofreading had to be done by somebody else. Interviewer: I see, biut those are only minor errors, aren't they? Borges: Yes, I know, but they …
I Think–Maybe
I may be wrong about everything. In The Paris Review Interviews Part I, Saul Bellow quotes E.M. Forster, "How do I know what I think until I see what I say?" I read this and thought, "Exactly." This is another reason I write. The more I write, the more I work out the world and …
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 