Poetry can cut to the quick. It can plaster on a balm no friend’s consolation might muster. It can kick me in the balls more fiercely than any Jackass antics. AND it can make me say, ‘huh,’ like nothing other than the best lucid dreams.

Eventually, zombies lose everything. They say the mind is the first thing to go. In my case, I feared it would be the last.

What works best for me is the simplicity of the motivation. It isn’t about saving the world or even understanding it.

It’s about refusing to lose one more thing.

I just need that soundtrack of my life to be peppy. I need the surge music can provide.

I liken it to big open world video games from some years back. I could walk to the edge of the known world, and in the distance I could see it rendering, taking shape for me as I approached it. In the same way, I don’t feel compelled to tell my readership everything about the world ahead. I give it to them piecemeal, just-in-time description.

October isn’t only about the scares, but it does bring out the dark side in my writing. In October, I write horror stories. This season, it’s zombies!

Timers work miracles when you use them. I’ve become far more productive making use of a timer to help with task management. Sometimes it’s the little things.

Join Chet as he navigates quirky carnival life, finds unexpected allies in a quaint town, and pours his heart into a creation that promises to be the "eighth wonder of the entertainment world".

Stepping out to read my work publicly! It is finally happening. So much of it’s a head game.

They suffered from compacted lungs, lacerated corneas, and sinuses choked with grit, of throats flayed raw and skin rubbed bloody by the ceaseless onslaught of wind and sand…and yet…

I’m not at all suggesting an algorithm or AI tool can carry the day.

What I am offering is that for those of us who write all-too-often in isolation, an AI tool that’s well-trained might be a good partner.

"Holding people dear" is not the same as holding onto all their detritus and ephemera. You can give it fancy names, but it's junk compared to the actual moments and people.

The point is, physically, at least at the cellular level, you’re replenishing all the time. Your ideas could, too.

The offer’s out there. I truly believe we’re still in a giving and caring culture, that there are people who would give you the shirt off their back. When I offer to serve others, I mean it, and most others do, too.

Writing about memorable things in the heat of a sale or auction or move might seem impractical, but there’s no better time. Once it’s out the door, it may be harder to recollect the significance of something. You don’t want that thing to fade into obscurity, now do you?

Living in the country was perfect for us, a true fertile ground for raising kids, but now it's become a fool's paradise.

Bigotry, misogyny, poverty…as well as many other challenging topics…all get fair and credible treatment in Overstake’s Wichita. 

My wife uses a ‘swear’ sometimes. It’s gritty and always gets a response out of me. She times its execution deliberately, skillfully dropping the word in at just the right moment to send me spiraling in agony. Her word?