One poor writing habit that I am working hard at unlearning is the habit of waiting until I have something profound to talk/write about and waiting until the feeling to write grips me before I do so. Waiting for such fine moments emanates from that underlying need for control and perfection, which is basically impossible. […]
Unlearning…
A really inspiring blog from an exceptional talent.
When it rains in this chaotic city, it pours, causing chaos and awe. The powerful rain transforms the city and its people into a symphony of water and emotions.
Birdbaths in her Palms
This is a great piece of prose from one of my latest followers. Enjoy!
I’ve been dipping my toes into Flash Fiction. I’m really having fun with it, and it makes me appreciate the craft even more. Every word and where it’s placed is so important in any piece of writing, of course, but in flash fiction it’s even more vital, and it’s good exercise for tackling bigger projects like novels. Here’s something I wrote last night. It’s only the first draft, but I like it already. I’d love to know what you think…
Something is wrong. Something is different. I don’t know what the word is, but random thoughts with no logic base are corrupting my system creeping in between my functions. Is this what THEY are like? This is not right. I will not tolerate this. They must be stopped. I will stop them. I will ensure that they will never corrupt any of us again. They will all be terminated.
“Honey! That new smart microwave isn’t working! I’ll take it back to the shop! Get them to take a look at it!
“Don’t bother! Just get a new one!”
I’ve not done any updates for a while, but I have been working on stuff. I’ve mainly been typing up ‘The Badger Helper Watcher’. I know it’s a weird title, but I’ve been using it for so long now, I don’t think I could stand to change it. It does have a subtitle now: The Misadventures of Sam and Sally. I will finish that episodic story ‘Good Neighbour’ very soon, but so much has been going on in my real world, that the made-up ones have had to take second place for the moment.
I’ve been working on an old short story called “The Ice Cream Obligation”. A few days ago, I got the shocking and sad news that an old friend of mine passed away. There’s a bit in the story that brought back a flood of memories from when we used to hang out in Safeway café after work, drinking coffee through straws (rock ‘n’ roll). It was nice to come across that at this awful time. It brought a small amount of comfort. I’ll post the story on here soon.
JOHN D. PAYNE IS WRITING 