Published in About Me Stories·PinnedMember-onlyAbout Me — John Douglas PorterI manage my family’s cattle ranch, and I write stories, essays, and screenplays — I began writing seriously in the mid-1990s, when I was feeding cattle with my brothers, Charles and Chris, on our family’s ranch, which our great-great-grandfather Isaac J. Sparks received from the Mexican government in 1843. While forking out a bale of hay, my brother Chris suggested that we write a…About Me2 min readAbout Me2 min read
Published in Fictitious·PinnedMember-onlyOn the RoadI could get a job of work, or I could step into a saloon I’d been running Red, my big sorrel gelding, for I don’t know how long, glancing over my shoulder every minute, expecting to see somebody. I glanced again and didn’t see nobody. So, I slowed Red to…Western7 min readWestern7 min read
Published in Fictitious·PinnedMember-onlyYou Don’t Know What You’ve DoneAn old baker looks at his life and tries to find some value in it Theophilus Jones leaned forward, peered into an oven in his bakery, and saw a loaf of bread. “A minute more,” he said. He closed the oven and straightened, then grimaced and grabbed his back. …Fiction3 min readFiction3 min read
Published in Writers’ Blokke·PinnedMember-only“In Terms Of”Why does anyone speak and write in terms of something else? — In Modern American Usage, Wilson Follett says that the construction “in terms of” has become extremely popular: “The rage for expressing everything in terms of something else is a disease traceable to college-catalogue English. From 1900 on a college course was hardly respectable if it did not offer to present…Essay2 min readEssay2 min read
Published in The Shortform·2 days agoMember-onlyDon’t Complain, I Say To MyselfI’d like to use another word — Writing1 min readWriting1 min read
Published in The Shortform·Mar 24Member-onlyThe Great Relay RaceDon’t drop the baton — Reflection On Life1 min readReflection On Life1 min read
Published in Fictitious·Mar 21Member-onlyLast WordsIf he had the chance, what would he say? — While bullets riddled the walls of the old shack, Buster Willis lay flat on the dirt floor. If I run, he thought, they’ll kill me. He raised his head. Bullets splintered the door. He lay flat again. If I give up, maybe they won’t. “Come out, you woman killer!” …Short Story5 min readShort Story5 min read
Published in Writers’ Blokke·Mar 20Member-onlyMisrelated ModifiersWhat they are and how you can avoid them — One of the ways in which I have failed to communicate clearly is that I have misplaced modifiers, which are words and constructions that limit or qualify other words and constructions. If you have failed in this way, I hope you can learn from my mistake. Here are seven kinds…Essay2 min readEssay2 min read
Published in The Shortform·Mar 19Member-onlyEarwormsHow can you get rid of them? — Reflections1 min readReflections1 min read
Published in Fictitious·Mar 10Member-onlyFood for ThoughtA dinner that Ed and Sue will remember forever — Ed and Sue Brown were deliriously happy. They’d celebrated their wedding in Chicago, then flown to Mexico City, where they began their honeymoon by exploring a culture that had always mystified but enchanted them. They saw the Palacio de Bellas Artes, where they heard the glorious music of the National…Short Story3 min readShort Story3 min read
