The Character of Cats

After years with reliably affectionate cats, I find myself living with two prickly creatures. Every day I remind myself not to anthropomorphize the actions of Sebastian & Viola. They are growing to love me, but they are not humans that can be cajoled and convinced. They will come to me in their own way and in their own time. It’s difficult, but I must not take their “rejections” personally. As humans, we imbue animals with human feelings and logic. It’s almost irresistible. I look into their copper eyes, searching for what they are thinking and wondering why Viola is still
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The Lost Weekend…

I’ve been AWOL. It was either a virus or food poisoning. It came on suddenly and stopped EVERYTHING. All my plans from Thursday through Sunday were canceled. I’m crawling back and I KNOW that I’m feeling better because I’m writing stories in my head and they are migrating to the keyboard! It was supposed to be a great weekend with a friend visiting from out-of-town, two sets of theater tickets, and a client’s big art show. I’m particularly disappointed that I missed the art show, having worked on it for months and there’s no way to reschedule it. Still stuff
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The Gun Question

Chekhov’s famous advice to writers is clear: ‘If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don’t put it there.’ He was talking about the dangers of extraneous details that distract or delay the progress of a story. It’s good advice and sometimes it comes to mind when, in an effort to plant viable red herrings in a mystery, I find myself writing a full out detour in the story. But since the most recent in a long string of mass shootings, I’ve been wondering about
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Discipline, Page Counts & Deadlines

I’m experimenting with applying the disciplined habits of my freelance writing to fiction. Although I don’t think I’ll have be a fiction writer with a daily page count, I’m beginning to see the benefits of such a commitment. Freelance assignments have always taken precedence over my fiction. It had to be that way for years and even as I try to switch the emphasis in the other direction, I hesitate on my own behalf and still hop to it for my clients. A 700-word rush job article by 2—sure I’ll get it done. (I pulled that one off on Tuesday
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Don’t Unplug the Buddha

Don’t unplug the Buddha. Out of context that seems like something from a Douglas Adams book. It could be part of a conversation at the ‘restaurant at the end of the universe’ but it was simply the instructions on a post-it note behind a Buddha fountain in the corner of a Pilaties & Gyrotonics studio in the East Village in NYC—just a door away from the famous Russian & Turkish Baths on East 10th Street. I chuckled when I read the note because ‘unplugging Buddha’ seems like a monumental, karmic, crime, but in this context it was simply a way
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Alone with My Thoughts…

My dad taught me to ALWAYS have something to read. The few times, in my pre-Kindle days, when I didn’t have a book, magazine, or newspaper on hand I experienced miserable waiting and travel times. But right now, with heads in every direction buried in phones and other devices, I’ve found that there is something to be said about being alone with my thoughts. A short subway ride, a cup of coffee in a window seat of a café, and other similar empty moments are turning out to be good for me. The idea of sitting down and experiencing time
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Technology Changes the Story

A phone ringing in an empty house when no one is there; a darkroom assistant spots a figure in the distant background of a negative; a terrified woman stumbles and drops her car ignition key in the snow; a bike messenger waits for a signature; a student spends hours in the library squinting and cranking a handle as pages of old newspapers on microfilm fly by; a train cuts the distance between two cities; and a fake subway token drops into a coin slot. All of those could be, and more than likely were, pivotal moments in stories set in
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Serious Humor

I have a fondness for the humor in scary stories. A bit of silliness can set up the characters—and the readers—for the sudden dip in an emotional roller coaster ride. I like the discontinuity between serious and humorous. It works in mysteries, suspense, and horror. Given the current political climate, humor seems to be as essential as coffee. It’s necessary to get through the day. Between Trevor Noah, Samantha Bee, John Oliver, and Saturday Night Live, plus clips of the other late night hosts/comics, there’s plenty of humor for me to choose from. And I know I’m not alone, humor
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