Category Archives: On Writing

A Brief Glimpse of the Goal

A mini-crisis happened this week which might have passed like the proverbial water under the bridge except for my reaction to it. As I have mentioned before, I pay the bills by writing short nonfiction articles, usually from five to … Continue reading

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Getting Rid of Things

Yesterday I did two things I almost never do.  I stopped reading a book I had started, and I threw another book in the trash.  The book I stopped reading I had picked up at the library, so I could … Continue reading

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Rims End

In lieu of blog post this week, I urge you to check out my latest published short story.  It’s available for free reading at the online magazine Perihelion Science Fiction here. An intergalactic skiing champion has a near-fatal accident that … Continue reading

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Book Review: Harry Harrison! Harry Harrison! A Memoir by Harry Harrison

I picked this book up by chance at the library because Harry Harrison was a science fiction writer and I thought there might be some interesting stories within about the world of science fiction writers and fans.  A word about … Continue reading

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On Rereading Storyteller: Writing Lessons and More From 27 Years of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop by Kate Wilhelm

My rereading this book is a result of my reaching out to the Clarion West community here in Seattle after moving back into the area.  Personnel have changed, of course, since I attended Clarion West over forty years ago in … Continue reading

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On Rereading The Einstein Intersection by Samuel R. Delany

“The Einstein Intersection” is undoubtedly a strange book.  It posits a far future in which humans have been destroyed in some sort of apocalyptic event, and an alien race that has colonized the Earth is attempting to come to grips … Continue reading

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Creative Hunger and the Magnanimity of Artists

Rereading Bob Dylan’s collection of autobiographical essays “Chronicles” made me reflect on how we as artists react toward other artists.  The book begins in New York where Dylan is a lean, dedicated folk singer sleeping on other people’s couches and … Continue reading

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What My Blog Means To Me

I started a blog without a clear idea of what I was doing other than establishing a web presence, which I read that I should do as a writer.  Early on I established it as a mix of essays on … Continue reading

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The Lost Notebooks: The Birth of a Voice

When I set out on the road back in the mid 1970s it was a sprint for freedom but it was also born in the realization, or perhaps I should say the delusion, that until that point of my life … Continue reading

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Remembrances of Clarion West 1973

Contemplating the upcoming 2015 Potlatch science fiction convention, which is being held here in Seattle and is closely associated with Clarion West, calls to mind my experience at the 1973 Clarion West writer’s workshop.  The amazing thing to me is … Continue reading

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