Here are excerpts, translations, or complete stories by the author.
PDF version for download Awake & Asleep By Iván Brave In the middle of all this recurrence, however, is the central recurrent cycle of sleeping and waking life, the daily frustrations of the ego, the nightly awakening of a titanic self. —Northrop Fry, “The Anatomy of Criticism” […]
Here is the final exercise inspired by The Writer’s Lexicon, by Kathy Steinemann. The book was alright, not as captivating, or enthralling as I had expected. (Did you notice the cool vocab?) That said, it did offer a fresh perspective. Focus on vocab. Keep the purple prose to a minimum. […]
Today’s exercise stretches our imaginations just a little bit further. It tasks us with picking a well established genre. Then flipping it upside down. The example it gives is of George Lucas setting a western story in outer space. In my case, we’re going to pick the Romance genre, but […]
Remember. These 8s are exercises in generating ideas for plot. Also a great way to keep the mind limber. It absolutely sucks to drag your heels through hell, when it comes to writing. I speak for all writers when I say, preferable is it to write without thought, empty of […]
We are back to cropping ideas for plot. Today’s, claims Mr Bell, works like this: Develop a dynamic character, and see where it leads. I think Cortázar claimed this method. He was always interested in the people populating his stories. The story could be about anything, so long as […]
It’s the morning, and I wake up with a terrible ache in my stomach, my wife gone, and darkness all around me. I don’t know the time, but surely she’s gotten up earlier to make coffee in the kitchen. I have to get there. My eyes don’t work, however. […]
There once was a handsome man, with a big jaw and strong hands, a great job and many good years ahead of him. But, despite these blessings, there was one thing about him not so great, something odd and embarrassing. The minute he opened his mouth, he became aware of […]
In an unlit break room, at the end of lunch, two coworkers chat. The first tries to comfort the second, because she has just had a miscarriage. The worst part, she admits, is that while she has accepted the loss, her body hasn’t, awaiting something that will not come. […]
There’s nothing I hate more than wasting time, except talking about it. Yet I knew there was a pointless fight to be had as soon as I got home from the office. So I took the highway, hoping to speed down the left lane, get to my wife quicker than […]
There once was a secretary and a school teacher who loved each other very much, but they seemed to always argue over the children. They were hers, he said. She should do more to take care of them. Yeah, but I’m more busy than you, and you live in my […]
2018. Julia sat at a table alone with a birthday cake. Stuck to the creamy icing were six wax candles and a red letter A. She had spent the morning mixing chocolate and eggs for her son, to see him enjoy the three or four slices he was capable of […]
I. Leroy was an exceptional man. Except, for one reason or another, no one wanted to date him. It led to much confusion, then suffering. Why? In answering this question, he began to consider his mother. The cause of his loneliness might be in her. Only, she was […]
Sound that breaks is noise, sound that moves is music. And from where he stood, Ilya Nikolayevich could almost hear the hum of a ship’s haul in the distance. It cut right across the line where ocean meets the sky, the horizon. He wished for the silence necessary to […]
? To be in any form, what is that? If nothing lay more developed the quahaug and its callous shell were enough. Mine is no callous shell, I have instant conductors all over me whether I pass or stop, They seize every object and lead it harmlessly through me. […]
The twins left. It was only Morgan and me in the apartment—Oslo ice blue as ever, sweet; distant Earth—we woke up late, scrambled up some sardines for breakfast and sat around all day watching videos on YouTube. There was stillness in that apartment, stillness and the occasional laugh from a […]
It is as hot as last Sunday. The air smells like sand and seafoam. There she is. The same waitress works today. She wears an apron, but who cares. Ilya is distracted. He can’t look straight at the woman he is meant to join. He sees her table has […]
I’ve realized that there is no point in occulting any more on this page, or any page really. After all, I can always delete the extremes, though I’ll try not to. Yeah. This’ll be the only fully autobiographical work I’ll write. The truest to the details. But for that reason, […]
Later that night, Ana walked to the bar to prove to Lindsey that the lighter still worked. She had called the lighter broken. “Fill it up then,” Lindsey replied, with her usual big smile, “and bring it tonight.” The gravity of these words did not escape Ana, who muttered, “T-tonight, […]
Sore-throated and restless, our hero today discovers the root. He moved to a new city last week, and has been learning the language. Technically, it’s an old city, old language, since his family is from here originally. For this, something tells him he has returned to the city, although […]
The restroom was occupied. So Margot danced to the center, where Gaspar and Linda were wrapped in a single embrace. When the couple noticed who was approaching, they made room. “Happy birthday,” shouted Gaspar. “You throw cool parties,” followed Linda. Margot thanked the new couple, handing […]