About Wi-Phy

Columns

Characters Secondary Through Backward Working

Fred, this read you, Can?
Appeared 2010-05-14 in

Under the Hood - Five Questions for Tinkering With Your Stories

A good story is more than it appears on the surface.  This column revisits a forums post about Damon Knight's Five Building Blocks of short story writing, culled from his seminal work on the subject, "Creating Short Fiction".  This column introduces five questions every writer can ask themselves when they are crafting a story under the hood.
Appeared 2008-11-17 in

On Creating Memories

Linda and I were preparing to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary, by which I mean that she had showered and was dressed in some comfortable, casual sweats, and when I arrived home from work, I produced a single rose from behind my back, tadaa!

That doesn't sound like much, and if the evening stopped there, you'd be right.

But there's more to be said about creating memories, (including the crucial element of surprise), and you can read all about it here.
Appeared 2008-06-26 in

Proximity and Setting - Senses and Setting

Mystery author Elizabeth George cries "balderdash" when it comes to writing what you know.  In return, Phy cries "balderdash" when it comes to writing what you can visit.
Appeared 2008-04-25 in

Two Kinds of Writers - ...with a nod to ADD writers and readers

What do Cory Doctorow, Google Print, Jack Vance, Roger Zelazny, and Raymond Chandler have in common?

You, if you read today's column.
Appeared 2008-04-11 in

A Revelation of Light

In which Gina Ochsner replies to a question about stories that have death, darkness, humor, and hope.
Appeared 2008-01-21 in

What is a Short Story?

I've been working on the same story since November, and it is currently running about 5500 words. I knew that there was a cut-off for what is generally considered a short story and what isn't, but couldn't remember what it was.
Appeared 2008-01-08 in

Mexican Police and the Influence of Your Writing

You never really know who will be reading your writings or the effect that your thoughts will have on them.
Appeared 2007-09-29 in

Literature and the Destruction of Our Culture

It turns out it's easier to destroy a culture than I would have expected, and the freedom to read literature is at the very heart of the issue.  However, there is an even deeper aspect than subverting the mere freedom to read, and that is the trickier element of subverting the desire to read.

In this, the destruction of our culture may end up being essentially self-inflicted if we aren't careful.
Appeared 2007-09-07 in

Two Paths, Reprised

I'm a guy, a geek, and a gamer.  I love gadgets (and, apparently, alliteration).

The appearance of a new technology (especially one as portable and powerful as this) would normally be a cause for celebration, but you know me well enough by now to know that it was exactly the opposite experience for me.

You've read the the poem about two trails diverging in the woods.  This is the modern rendition.  Instead of approaching two new trails, I've been down both trails, and love them dearly.  The difference here is that, until now, these two trails have run parallel to each other.  Now, for the first time, they have intersected, and I must choose between them.

Specifically, my decision this time was different because my choice involved not which trail to explore, but which trail to abandon.

Originally written in the summer of 2005.
Appeared 2007-08-07 in

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