These days spring is turning into summer and everything (at least where I live) is green and growing. Plants in stories are not usually the main focus but sometimes are used as signals of the mood or atmosphere of the story or setting. For example, if plants are dying, that is a bad sign but…
The Party Exile
The Party Exile I lie in the backyard, kicked out of the house. It’s cold. I can hear the party sounds from inside. I could go ask for a blanket, but that might be awkward. I hear something approaching. It’s my beagle Augustus. He licks my face, and I scratch his ears. “How’s it going…
Muse on Monday – May 6, 2024
Have you ever read the book Dracula? That was the first story I ever read that was told completely through secondhand sources, like letters and diary entries. In some ways, this kind of writing can seem more distant since you are not there in the moment: you are reading what they wrote after the fact….
Muse on Monday – April 29, 2024
It’s almost May, which means it’s almost summer. Where did the spring go, right? As the students start to finish up the school year and go on summer vacation, it is a time of relaxation. The Green-Walled Treehouse will still be here and this is a good chance to do some summer writing. Story Prompt:…
Browsing the Infinite
Browsing the Infinite The heaven of the AltUni Mall, with goods from every alternate universe, was the choices. The hell was also the choices. “I just want an American flag with ducks instead of stars,” Nel said for the thousandth time. Every muscle in Kylie’s body screamed. “I’ll make one in Photoshop,” she said. “Ten…
Muse on Monday – April 15, 2024
When we think of a war story, we usually think of fighting. However, there are a lot of stories that take place in a time of war that are far away from any battlefield. Here are some ways: How much the war overshadows the story depends on how much the characters or the people they…
The Lexipals Program
The Lexipals Program The good news was that Derek was heading to Spain for a dream vacation in a little over a week. The bad news was that he couldn’t remember any of his high school Spanish except the word bufanda, for some reason. Sure, there were lots of language learning apps, but they seemed…
Muse on Monday – April 8, 2024
If you were in certain parts of North America today, you could have seen a total eclipse. I am lucky enough to be in Erie, Pennsylvania, which is right in the path of totality, so we got a good view of it here. We all knew long in advance the exact minute that it was…
The Phoenix
The Phoenix Through the salt-grimed asylum windows, I watch the Phoenix enter the harbor to cheering crowds, back from miraculous wartime exploits. I launched that ship. The crowd cheered me then, right up until they stole my crown and transformed it into a ballot box. And imprisoned me here. The door opens. “Supper time, your…
Muse on Monday – April 1, 2024
Happy Easter everyone, plus April Fools Day and the beginning of a new month. Do you like April Fools Day? I didn’t do any pranks, although I have in the past a few times. Pranks work in fiction, although because fiction runs on conflict, it is much more likely for a prank to go horribly…
The Green-Walled Treehouse 