F Is For Fort McHenry

F Is For Fort McHenry

Anyone who is familiar with basic American history has probably heard of Fort McHenry. But, before we get to the reason why most Americans know Fort McHenry, we need to know its early beginnings. It started out as a small earthen star fort called Fort Whetstone during the American Revolution. The fortress was situated at…

Where Do You Get Ideas?

Where Do You Get Ideas?

People ask, “Where do you come up with your ideas?” We had this discussion on the LitForum not long ago and my answer there was, “Where don’t you get ideas?” I’m a people watcher. I watch not only appearances, but also mannerisms, clothing, speech. Interesting bits will trigger scenes. A man on twitter started following…

A-Z Theme

A-Z Theme

Well, I’m doing it again. I’m going to do the A-Z Challenge. Last time I wrote a blog post each day and didn’t even know until that day what I was going to write. This time I’m at least going to be a little more prepared. So, here’s the theme and those of you who…

Opium Beds and Butterflies

Opium Beds and Butterflies

In an interview with On The Road, Diana Gabaldon touches on “kernels” in writing. This is where you have some little bit of something that triggers and image or thought in your writing and you build a scene around it. Listen to the interview, it’s well worth it. I’ve run into several of those while…

Blogging A-Z Z Is For Zouave

Blogging A-Z Z Is For Zouave

I appreciate more than you all know how you have supported me through this. I know the posts have been long and windy, taking up valuable time. Bless you for it. Zouaves were originally certain French light infantry regiments, which served in French North Africa. Not only did they have distinctive uniforms, but they had…

Blogging A-Z X Is For Xanthic

I like sprinkling “gems” of description through my writing. I don’t go into great detail about every person and every item, though I do offer more than many writers do. Instead of describing a round, yellow green apple of medium size, sometimes it’s more efficient to just say, “He bit into the Granny Smith apple…