Category James L’Etoile
A Crappy Commute
When did the daily commute become a trial by fire? These days my daily commute consists of a few yards from the coffee urn to the desk. Barring unforeseen complications, I make my journey in a few minutes, negotiating the stairs and stray dog toys. On those occasions where I am required to leave the compound, […]
Do You Suffer From Revision Brain Syndrome?
Revision Brain Syndrome (RBS) RBS is destined to be added to the list of serious psychological maladies in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – 5th edition (DSM V) as a condition plaguing millions of writers. (cue Sarah McLachlan sad puppy music here) Self-diagnosis is difficult and I’ll warn you now to stay […]
A Survivalist’s Guide To Writing
Survive You need to think like a survivalist when you start out on a writing adventure. The only goal in this first draft is to survive. The key to surviving your writing project is all in the preparation. Traditional survivalists are a sturdy lot who know what they are getting into before they step out into the […]
Wanna Go To Mars?
We got this all wrong… I’m sitting at my keyboard and revising (as I’m supposed to do) and something shiny crosses the monitor and pulls my attention away like a moth to a flame. A news wire reports that over 200,000 people have applied to travel seven months through space and live on Mars. The […]
Decompression With A Fluffy
Sometimes you need a little fluffy to make everything all right. No, no, no a fluffy, not a Furry. One of these… I’ve mentioned Emma and Tanner the Corgis in a few previous posts. I write with them and they are both trained as Therapy Dogs. Today, Emma and Tanner joined with nearly a dozen other […]
What Color Is Your Asshat?
What Color Is It? Recently, social media went on meltdown status over the color of a dress. A Tumblr photo set off a barrage of comments over the viewer’s perception of the color. Was it white and gold, or black and blue? (It was white and gold – and hideous) Perception. This little haute couture […]
What Is The Honey Badger Telling Me?
Honey Badger Don’t Plot So, I’m sitting at my keyboard drafting the last few chapters of a novel and I know where the story goes. I know how the plot lines come together, how the characters change and I’m just about ready to wrap this one up. I’m at this point because I’ve outlined, planned and […]
50 Shades of Big Brother
Is there a ghost in the machine? Technology is prepping for a takeover, if you believe the news accounts these days. Nanomachines, gene therapy, smart phones, a proliferation of drones to serve mankind and self driving cars are on the drawing board. While it isn’t the Jetson’s flying cars and robot maids we were all […]
Words As Weapons
We have lost our mother fricken minds! When did being civil to one another become a bother? I mean, really, is it too much to expect a real exchange with a honest to God human entity? We live in a world of automated artificial bliss, where faceless programs exist “supposedly” to enhance our customer experience. […]
How Real is Too Real?
Something I’ve been stewing on for a couple of years, is the bridge between reality and your fiction work. The rule is that you have to keep your reader in a state of willingness to suspend belief. So, here was my dilemma. I worked in and around prisons for over twenty-five years. I’ve seen what […]
James L'Etoile 