barrington99@gmail.com Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly said, “Do one thing everyday that scares you.” Although maybe she didn’t. For more courageous people, this might be a tall order. Who’s got time to go skydiving or go down in a shark cage every day? So maybe it’s fortunate for me that my bar for fear is not set so … Read more
From The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip by George Saunders: “If you want my advice?” said Sid Ronsen. “Work harder. Actually, no, don’t work hard, work smarter. Be more efficient than you’ve ever been before. In fact, be more efficient that is physically possible. I know that’s what I’d do.” “That’s also what I would … Read more
In a minute I have to get out of bed. When I do, I have to mix up the nasty, sea-water-tasting solution I will have to start drinking as soon as I arrive home from work. I will put it in the fridge to chill, because chilled sea water is more palatable than warm sea … Read more
Just a quick note to say that my short story “To Fairer Weather,” will be up at Devilfish Review through the month of October. I’m happy about that!
Woke this morning to find October bearing down upon me like herd of stampeding horses. “Herd” is not right, though. That’s for cattle. It’s morning and my brain is losing words, but you get my drift. I mean a large group of stampeding horses. Or other large animals that stampede. October has come really fast, … Read more
(Note: This post was copied from my blogspot blog, The Daily B, where it was originally published, so I guess what was divided is now unified again.) You might or might not have noticed that I have been writing less about writing on this blog. It does not mean I am writing less about writing … Read more
When it’s really hot on a Sunday, the coffee shops and the few libraries with Sunday hours are overrun with writers and students escaping their air-conditionless environments. The Beverly Hills Library is one of those few that is open, and I am one of the many who has arrived, trolled the back room of tables … Read more
The paragraphs following this one duplicate part of a post from The Daily B. I’ve been trying not to do this in my endeavor to keep my little collection of “writing posts” separate from my collection of “life posts,” but this section seemed to straddle the line pretty evenly… After many more years than you … Read more
Two pieces of encouragement from the universe last week: A script I’m writing with partner Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn, called Lovers in Their Right Mind, advanced to the second round for the Sundance Screenwriters Lab. From the time we were notified until ten minutes to the deadline, we made a marathon push to give the selection committee … Read more
End of the week, beginning of the weekend. Weekends can be kind of tricky because they “feel” like weekends, but really, as a writer with a day job, there’s some heavy lifting to be done on the weekends. Up until today I had several quasi-plans for the weekend–these are plans that people have broached but … Read more