Ma Gill
had two girls and seven boys. Two of her children died in infancy: Eugene and Iola. Dean died at twelve from Leukemia. Left were one girl, Clarice, and five boys, Howard, Horace, Arnold, Jer…
Read entry →Journal & writing tips
Notes from a
writer’s life.
Craft, memory, imagination, and small observations gathered across the years.
In the archive
Journal entries
Working for Babb Motors
I lay awake last night trying to think of people’s names that I worked with at Babb Motors from September 1966 until I went to Paducah Sash and Door late 1967. Freddie Babb, Billie Frances Y…
Read entry →“Ingredient” December, 2000, Kirchoff’s
I think of poison. Am I deranged? Maybe cyanide, arsenic, or what’s that other one? Strychnine. And then there’s poison mushrooms. When I eat mushrooms I always hope that the person who pick…
Read entry →Another rambling from Kirchoff’s
A cool wind blew from the north, spreading yellow and red leaves over the graves. The headstones spoke their age from their slants. Celtic crosses, spires, and angelic figures marked the gro…
Read entry →Kirchoff’s August 29, 2000
Flossie said she didn’t care that Herb had gone away. She wouldn’t miss him. Wouldn’t miss the crumbs, mud, and dirty clothes he threw around. Wouldn’t miss his complaining and yacking all t…
Read entry →Unknown date Kirchoff’s
Phyllis loves cats. Likes to travel. But her real love is sailing. She plans to sail from Miami to the Bahamas. She said if she went through the Bermuda Triangle, that thing that makes ships…
Read entry →“Cathedral” August 15, 2000
Make a cathedral of the moonlight. Walk in the meadow barefooted, feel the cool dew bathe toes and heel. Spread arms and twirl basking in silver light, making one’s skin pale, almost like in…
Read entry →Dysfunctional families, June 9, 2000
Dysfunctional families seem to be the norm. My son holds his thumb and forefinger so very close and says, “We’re this close to being dysfunctional. I’m not dysfunctional (grin) it’s all the…
Read entry →Unknown when where and why
Thanks! Yeah thanks for not squirting that hot sauce all over my meal. It would surely set my mouth on fire, every little bud burning, burning, burning, like a speck of oil on a griddle. I h…
Read entry →“Vertigo” from writings at Kirchoff’s
Earth spinning, coming up to meet me. The body is a miraculous machine, stands upright, keeps its balance due to a little bit of fluid in our ears. All has to do with balance, balance of lim…
Read entry →June 19, “Ghost”
Ghost is a gutteral sound. Do you suppose that when a person first encountered an apparition that they stuttered and said, “G-g-ghost?” How did the word come about and wonder who the first p…
Read entry →“permission” is the word
Permission is one of those words that rolls off the tongue like salad oil. It’s a cool word not warm and friendly like love or warmest. Permission has to be given. It can never be taken or s…
Read entry →“rhinestone” Kirchoff’s 5-15-2000
The rhinestone bracelet has been in my jewelry box for years. A friend gave it to me because she said she would never wear it. I guess one could call it gaudy. I think it’s pretty, all spark…
Read entry →Ramblings from Kirchoff’s Bakery October 15, 2001
Ramblings from Kirchoff’s Bakery October 15, 2001: When “around the corner” seemed far away. Those days are lurking in my memory–almost hiding, but I see their sleeves behind a post. I plead…
Read entry →This one comes from February 20, 2001, Kirchoff’s.
Please keep in mind that my writing tidbits are fiction. This one comes from February 20, 2001, Kirchoff’s. One can tell that I watch a lot of old, old detective stories:She peered at me ove…
Read entry →May 3, 2020
We are in the middle of a Corona Virus, Covid-19, pandemic. I haven’t been in a store in well over a month. Lana is picking up our groceries for us. I’m sure many new stories will come from…
Read entry →Using all five senses
This is fundamental in good writing. We have to describe what the character smells, hears, tastes, and feels through touch, as well as what she sees. This draws the reader into the world you…
Read entry →Right Brain/Left Brain
When we are in our creative mode, we are in our right brain. In this mode we cannot distinguish between “hour” and “our”, or their, there, they’re. But we are free to create! Editing with th…
Read entry →blogs
January 10, 2011 January 10, 2011 by ellen Filed under: Writing (Edit) Okay as of this post I have found the faucet booklet in a place where it had no business to be. Of course, it’s too col…
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