Rea

i'm obsessed with shorts. short. stories.

abandoned suitcases

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an article/project about abandoned suitcases. http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/abandoned-suitcases-reveal-private-lives-of-insane-asylum-patients/ i’ve worked with mentally ill folks and the stuff they packed was fascinating. in my days in the ER doing psych assessments, i would ask to see their suitcases. you can tell a lot by the manner in which a bag is packed and, also, by who packed it. … Read more

object memory

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i read a book recently that is lingering.  THE HARE WITH AMBER EYES by Edmund De Waal is a family memoir that traces the secret lives of tiny Japanese wood and ivory carvings, called netsuke through his family history. historically, it’s significant.  yet there’s something fascinating about De Waal’s obsession with the object that’s captured … Read more

dear alice #7

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dear alice, a writer friend and i talked about modeling your writing to see how it works and agreed it wasn’t a paragraph or page that would work, that we’d have to model an entire story and, you know, some of your stories are pretty long, Alice.  not that there’s anything wrong with that. that … Read more

listerature

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wrote a list story for a contest:  http://www.littlefiction.com/beta/Listerature.html ListOphelia.  it was harder than i anticipated and i struggled to find an ending as a point.  however, in the end, i had 24 points and the final one involved a lost train ticket.  punk Ophelia infatuated with Hamlet’s pale skin.  knocked up and can’t get out … Read more

those old stories

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chainsaws, cedar bark and woodchip on orthopedic chair rests. double dutch doors. summertime heat.  wandering empty streets on friday and saturday nights.  running through sherlock’s field; lost in a forest of cornstalks.  saved, somehow, by the canadian flag at the husky.  muscle cars running, racing to the edge of town, back again.  those old stories … Read more

fascinating, long article

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according to Longform, Best Essay of 2012.  it’s anxiety provoking because it points out how humans rationalize. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/12/17/121217fa_fact_khatchadourian?currentPage=all

dear alice #6

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dear alice, i had coffee with a writer friend and she said something profound: “everything comes back to Alice.” we talked about crafting stories in Canada. then we talked about your success and the scrutiny and how the people of your hometown weren’t supportive of your writing, because it cast light on the darker aspects … Read more

anne enright’s writing tips

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Anne Enright has some things to say about the writing life. The first 12 years are the worst. The way to write a book is to actually write a book. A pen is useful, typing is also good. Keep putting words on the page. Only bad writers think that their work is really good. Description is hard. Remember that … Read more

accelerant

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every time, Wilf orders a double scotch.  brand doesn’t matter but it has to be a double.  can’t stand the shudder, he thinks and tries not to think about what lies between the thin, curved walls of the aircraft.  fire retardant foam insulation.  cotton batting.  triple-coated electrical wires.  matches.  we’re kindling barreling through air, he … Read more