Last night I worked on a story for Story-a-Day. When the story began, I was sure a particular character was dead. As I came to the ending though, I brought her back to life. It wasn't because I loved her so much I couldn't let her go. Instead, I couldn't put her best friend through …
Category: criticism
Dear Llama
I finished my third story for Story-a-Day. I'm feeling that familiar mix of joy--I did it!--and dread--It's probably terrible. Being terrible isn't the end of the world though, is it? Why do we feel compelled to do something that we don't even have confidence in? It really makes no sense. It's actually a privilege to …
Ursula Built Worlds
Have you watched the documentary about Ursula K LeGuin? If you're a fan of her work, obviously you should. If you're a writer, you also should watch it. If you gain inspiration from learning about other creative people, then definitely go watch it. I'm currently reading her Hainish stories. Her world building takes my breath …
Being in the Arena
Recently I watched Brene Brown's Netflix special. This article talks about it. Brene says that joy is the most vulnerable human emotion. We’re so afraid that if we let ourselves feel joy, something will come and take that away from us and we’ll be hit with pain, trauma, and loss. As a consequence, we try …
If you can’t stay calm, make good art or dance.
I'm trying to stay calm in the storm of election season. In real life on a bad day, I tend to talk back to the radio, which is a silly thing to do. Right? Of course it is. Take a deep breath. Count to ten. But all that aside, I just had an art show …
Continue reading If you can’t stay calm, make good art or dance.
Mystique, Social Media, and Other Distractions
A week or so ago, I read a post by Porter Anderson over at Writer Unboxed about mystique. At the same time, I was reading Amanda Palmer's book The Art of Asking. They are two different ways to live your creative life. Very different ways. Amanda Palmer has stripped naked and let her fans draw …
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Advice Giving and Other Pains
I don't like being asked for advice. I don't want to be asked which job you should take or what you should do about a relationship. I have an opinion (I'm full of opinions!), but I don't need more responsibility. What happens if you follow my advice and everything goes wrong? Blame is what happens. …
Do you have to post that?
I think of something to blog about almost every day. Often I compose most of the post in my head. Then I don't actually post anything. It's like I'm avoiding it for some reason. Sometimes I think I'm just afraid of the Internet. Haven't you read all those stories about harassment and hatefulness? The other …
Halloween!
I don't like gore and I don't like to be scared. But I love Halloween anyway. Since I childhood, I've been drawn to witches, magic, and mystery. And dressing up is fun. Today I showed one of my classes, the documentary The American Scream. I love the guy in the film obsessed with creating the …
What’s Up, Documentary?
The other evening I watched the documentary Heart of the King. Have you seen it? Do you watch documentaries much? Are you a fan of Elvis? I'm not a huge Elvis fan. I don't dislike him either though. His story is interesting and I've sung along to some of his songs. But I love documentaries …
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 