Life in the fast lane--where's the on ramp?

By Pat_B - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Journal

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Cops are interesting folks, especially retired cops with stories

Ran into my old friend Chuck at the grocery store yesterday. He's a short little Irishman, and in later years he's been making up for short by going wide. Still got that grin, that attitude -- he grew up in New Jersey, big Irish Catholic family. After the hi, how you been, good ta see ya, I ask if... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 4:23 AM | add or view comments (10) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, November 5, 2010

Something's up. (or maybe down)

Sometimes a thought passes through the mind, unbidden, like a cloud passes above on its way somewhere else. At first you pay no attention to it, but for some reason the memory of it keeps coming back. The soft gray fuzziness of it begins to solidify and set up, and the next thing you know, a couple... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 7:09 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Zero words yesterday. NaNo (no Wri) Mo

I got up feeling like I'd been run over by a full-size Dodge Ram pickup with a hemi engine hauling a load of big heavy rocks. Ached all over. My feet felt stuck to the ground, my head was full of cotton batting, my eyes hurt. I blogged. I checked Facebook. I watched some TV, hoping to get a rundown... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 6:47 AM | add or view comments (4) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Election Day.

I don't even care who won! I'm just glad to see the end of the ads. And the robo phone calls. And candidates knocking on the door. A guy came up to the car as I was backing out of the driveway to go vote. Tried to hand me a doorknob hanger about his candidate. I said keep it, I'm on my way to... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 4:42 AM | add or view comments (8) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

NaNo writers at Borders

We met at 6:00 last night, most with their laptops. Cursory greetings and then they get right at it. Each one had the laptop, a cell phone, and one had his Itunes going. Says he can't write without music. Mahler, I believe. Shostokovich. I thought it was to be a social event, talking writing...... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:07 AM | add or view comments (8) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, November 1, 2010

June Was at the Library Sunday

As I picked up my key to the storage in Carnegie's from the real librarians, I heard June chatting with someone over near the coffee machine. "I used the same plot every time," she said. "Ideas I got from the newspapers, something a kid won, how they worked for a prize of some kind. There was always... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 4:22 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, October 31, 2010

On Becoming a Novelist...

At the time I bought this book by John Gardner I had no intention of becoming a novelist. Maybe one "Great American Novel," but short stories and non-fiction were my thing at the time. Still, he'd been a respected writer and the foreword was by Raymond Carver, who was one of my favorites. Maybe it... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 6:34 AM | add or view comments (3) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Oh-oh! I just thought of something...

I don't know the layout of the house! I don't know if the bedroom where the murder took place is upstairs or on the ground floor. And it's too late to call Cindy, who owns the house at 922 Holyoke, to get the details. Maybe I can imagine it... Let's say when you come in the back door there's a... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:50 AM | add or view comments (11) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, October 29, 2010

There's a parade on Sunday: the annual Halloween parade.

They form on the football field at what used to be the high school, now Lincoln Middle. From there it's up the hill to St. Louis street as far as the bank, then up South street past the county's planning department -- used to be a four-unit apartment building, adapted now to offices on the second... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:36 AM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, October 28, 2010

About yesterday's scene...

First things first: I love the feedback you've given me. Priceless! Secondly -- "Murder at 922" is the working title of my 2010 National Novel Writing Month project, which is now only three days away. I've been working on the pre-write for a couple months researching my characters, going over the... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:15 AM | add or view comments (3) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

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Sometimes you have to write it down in order to learn what you really think about life, what it means, how to do what's best. Sometimes you need feedback from someone else to put things in perspective.

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