It's important to open with a strong hook, especially in a short story. I did fifteen short stories in the month of May, for a challenge on Forward Motion, a website for writers. Here are the openers (ie, the first paragraphs) from thirteen of them. Any of them make you want to [...]
13 weird things that I enjoy:
Primus. I first heard Tommy the Cat on the soundtrack to Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, and I was instantly hooked.
Crushed-up soup crackers in chocolate pudding lends that needed extra crunch.
How I miss Freakazoid.
Top of the Food Chain—one of the funniest spoofs of Golden Age SF movies ever. [...]
Things that make me smile. Reasons to be cheerful, as they say.
My darling wife:
This one's a little image-heavy, so I've added the "Continue Reading" link.
September 13th is my anniversary.
13 Engines' Perpetual Motion Machine, alt-rock from 1994, rocks.
Half of the Friday the 13ths that fall are paydays for me.
The other half are not.
But that's okay because my wife's payday is offset from mine by a week.
Hercules, a well-known and easy-to-find constellation in these northern latitudes, contains the globular cluster M13.
There's [...]
13 favourite songs from movie soundtracks.
Thirteen Things about Patrick Johanneson
Primus, "Tommy the Cat", from the soundtrack to Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey.
This song introduced me to Primus, the bass-centred wacko-lyrics band from El Sobrante, and I've never had cause to look back since. It's the story of a female cat out lookin' for some [...]
…of which I am especially fond.
Thirteen Things about Patrick Johanneson
Tachi-waza, or standing techniques
Hane-goshi, or the "Springing Hip Throw". Fast, and efficient, and you don't have to turn your back to your opponent.
De-ashi-barai, "Advancing Foot Sweep". There's a subtle trickery to this one that appeals to me, a subverting of expectations when it's done [...]
My first-ever Thursday Thirteen.
Thirteen Things about Patrick Johanneson
My latest ficlet