– Definition: n.; pronounced “DES-wuh-tude” or “de-SUE-uh-tude.” A condition of disuse. – Used in a sentence: Unless we seek to protect them, our Constitutionally guaranteed rights are apt to fall into desuetude. – Why: It just sounds cool. Besides, who…
Category: Writing
My own serious stuff; the craft itself; those who inspire me in it; the art of reading.
Words To Bring Back: “Terrible”
– Definition: adj. Of a nature to excite terror; appaling – Used in a sentence: “That’s the most terrible Hallowe’en costume I’ve ever seen.” – Why: The current connotation of “terrible” as slipshod, sub-par, etc. really grinds my gears. Time…
5 Thoughts: Blogging Life
1. THINK OF IT AS TRAINING. If you’re blogging the equivalent of a perzine, don’t expect a lot of readers, at least at the beginning. During the first decade of The Metaphorager‘s existence, my maximum readership was about 30 people;…
Why I Love: Writing
IT’S THE SCARINESS OF THE blank screen. It’s the focused attention. It’s the mental sensation of assembling Tinker-Toy pieces into a coherent structure. It’s the way the hours fly by. It’s the nothing-else-like-it buzz (thank you, Stephen King). It’s the…
Night, Fog, and One Hell of a Bang
IF I HAD KNOWN THAT our galleon would collide with a freighter, I would have worn a life jacket. The time was February 1988. Through a curious series of circumstances, I had signed aboard the replica galleon Golden Hinde II…
Not Like It Used To Was
Mom in the drug store Called out to her son: “Brooklyn!” Am I getting old?
Windstorm Stylist
Scary loud gusts brush From the trees’ green-flowing hair Stray twigs and branches.
Autumn Sunday
ELEVEN A. M., September the twenty-fifth — Rain hits Sonoma.
Prosatio Silban and the Starving Survivor
A BUOPOTH IS A STRANGE beast: some say it is half-composed of men’s dreams, others prefer not to speculate. But of the little that is known, one thing is certain: no matter what shape it takes, its eyes are the…
Where Do The Ideas Come From?
LET’S MAKE THIS AN EXPLORATION of the landscapes of creativity — how does the creative experience feel to you? Mentally, I’m all about visualization: perhaps it’s synesthesia, but even smells and sounds have a visual component for me. So I’ve…
Love to a Cat
HAD I NOT BEEN SWIFT, He would have brought the rat in. It’s the thought that counts.
Prosatio Silban and the Visitor From The Sands
PROSATIO SILBAN WAS NOT KNOWN for nothing as “The Cook For Any Price.” He had long ago foresworn the Sacreanthood and serving people’s souls for serving their bellies and letting the souls look after themselves. Yet every now and again,…