"She says your an automaton," my mother said to me. I was 12 and standing in her bedroom doorway. She sat on the edge of her bed. "What does that mean?" I asked, wishing I had my mother's vocabulary. "She meant you don't think for yourself. You think what I tell you. That you want …
How to Be on Display
1. Spend an hour with a friend in Lowes trying to figure how to make a display. 2. Spend another hour in Lowes with husband seeing if the first idea was any good. 3. Figure out how much everything will cost. This total will be wrong. 4. Buy PCV PVC pipes that don't fit in …
Cheating… because it cheers me up!
Preparations for the art festival are wearing on the imagination, and so I'm borrowing someone else's for today. Hey, it'll be okay...
Be a Star! Everyone’s looking.
"All she ever does is entertain. She never has a real conversation," my mom said. I glanced back over my shoulder at the woman mom was talking about. I liked B. She made me laugh. I was 14. "It's a performance every single day," mom said, walking to the car. "Drives me crazy." I didn't …
The Wished for Older Brother
I loved his voice. Most girls did. He flirted with my friend T. and me in a college history class. He flirted with every female in the room and we flirted back--because of that voice. He looked like a tough guy ready to break someone's leg if ordered. On a Saturday night in the spring …
Old Enough
"Mommy, how old were you when your mom died?" my son asked. "Twenty-one," I said. "Well," he said. "At least you were old enough to walk to school by yourself." But am I old enough to write a good book? I read an article recently that talked about age discrimination in publishing. Does it help …
What Other Girls Do
I got the news over the phone before lunch. I clutched the edge of my desk to keep from leaping to my feet and jumping up and down. My coworker, S., looked across her desk at me. "What's going on?" she asked. "I was just accepted into the Peace Corps," I said. "I'm going to …
Once upon a time in the future…
He doesn't open his eyes. It is 6:30 in the morning. "Mom," he says. "You're still weird." "I know," I say. "But you still have to go to school." I wonder what he will think if I ever get published and his friends at school point to a page in my book and say, "Your …
…and the prize for best costume goes to…
A few girls refused to come into my dorm room. The Ouija board frightened them. A young man who lived in the dorm next door told me I was in danger because I had a Tarot card board. When I pointed out to him that my mom had painted the board and it was the …
because writers are curious
In fiction, can you break the laws of nature? Which ones and how do you know when you deserve to break the law? Have you ever read a scene in a story that made you say, "But you can't do that!" and the story is then ruined? Why did you feel that way? Have you …
Marta Bacon 