The number three is an important number to me. Not for any metaphysical reason, but because I juggle, and most people agree that when you can keep three things going in the basic cascade pattern, you have successfully juggled. I won’t go as far as saying I live my life in threes, but it’s a […]
Archives for 2017
I Don’t Belong Here
There’s a line in Radiohead’s song “Creep” that always settled somewhere deep within me: I don’t belong here… It’s a feeling I’ve struggled with for decades. There have been times, even among close friends, that I’ve felt like I don’t belong. I know part of it goes back to being heavily picked on when I […]
Quieting the Interrupted Brain
Last week, I had my first full week off in two years. I had grand plans that involved writing, hiking, canoeing, and other things. Mostly, though, I sat still. I’d not call what I did last week laziness, though; I did do things! But those things were much more reflective and done without interruption: reading, […]
The Best of Not About Lumberjacks
I’m terrible at asking for help, but if you like this blog, or the stories I write, sharing this would be appreciated… Not About Lumberjacks On November 17, 2015, I loaded the first episode of Not About Lumberjacks. It’s a story about a dog who eats everything in sight. It still holds up for me… […]
The Little Red Canoe
I thought about writing a longer piece about the little red canoe (that, if we’re being honest, is anything but little (or light)). I thought about sharing the story how it, and all its gear, was purchased with money from a travel article chronicling Texas roadside attractions. I could tell you that we’ve had it […]
80 Days Revisited
On July 6, I gave myself 80s days to finish the current draft of the latest novel-in-progress. On July 31, the company where I work went through [another] large layoff. I was spared, but another technical writer in my group wasn’t. And guess who got his job on top of all the regular writing tasks […]
Everything I Learned about Writing I Learned in Lankhmar
My life changed in 1985, with the publication of TSR Games’ LANKHMAR – CITY OF ADVENTURE release. Six years of playing Dungeons and Dragons led to that moment, an open adventure where friends and I could lay out the city map and do anything we wanted. As the Dungeon Master, it was my job to […]
Year Eight
Eight years ago today, I posted the first entry on The Juggling Writer. I still believe in the points mentioned in that entry; in fact, I will go into my day job today and mention a juggling analogy as I discuss how I’ve taken on a laid-off writer’s duties in the past week. (The point: […]
The September Silence 2017
As the 80-Day challenge to get the current draft of the novel-in-progress readable clicks along, it’s that time of the year: The September Silence. Named by a friend who missed seeing me on Facebook each September when I logged out to kick off my favorite writing time of the year (September – November), it has […]
80 Days
One of my favorite people to follow online is Alastair Humphreys. I have several of his books (and recommend Microadventures to anyone). Alastair recently tweeted about accepting an 80-day challenge. The challenge is geared more toward adventure, but Alastair decided to do something different. His challenge: finish the book he’s working on. Follow @MrMarkBeaumont on […]
Flawed Yet Perfect Things
One of my favorite novels (probably my favorite novel of all novels I’ve read) is Robert Olmstead’s A Trail of Heart’s Blood Wherever We Go. It is quirky, yet so normal. It’s lean in its writing, even though at times — admittedly — it goes on a bit long in scenes. But man, those moments […]
An Early Second Wind
For me, September is my writing new year. There’s just something about the arrival of the month that turns summer into fall that I love. Even though it stays hot in Texas into late October or early November, September is when it seems like I get a second writing wind just as the starting gun […]
A Literary Mother’s Day
Growing up, it was never lost on me how fortunate I was to have the women in my life who helped me become the man I am today. In some cases, the women were authors I’d never know: women who’d written books that floored me and gave me a different perspective on life than many […]