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. My brother Chris suggested that we write a screenplay about Sparks and his friend Allen…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 Writers’ Blokke·18 hours agoMember-onlyTenseAn incomplete explanation To explain tense completely, one would first have to explain time; and time is hard to explain. “I know well enough what it is,” Saint Augustine says in his Confessions, “provided that nobody asks me; but if I am asked what it is and try to explain…Essay4 min readEssay4 min read
Published in Writers’ Blokke·Jan 23Member-onlySpeaking and WritingThey differ in ways, but our desire to communicate should remain constant — “Hey, Steve,” I said to my friend Stephen C. Doyle, a retired professor of speech at Moorpark College, “what’s the biggest difference between speaking and writing?” “Writing,” Professor Doyle responded immediately, “requires a greater amount of paper.” That comment is incontrovertible. Some Characteristics of Writing Writing, which does indeed require…Essay2 min readEssay2 min read
Published in Fictitious·Jan 19Member-onlyI Know YouSometimes we don’t know ourselves very well Wearing jogging clothes, Michael Morgan trudged along the road. “We’ve been together for two years now, Sarah,” he said to himself. “I love you, and I want to take the next step.” He patted a pocket of his pants, then stopped and looked…Short Story3 min readShort Story3 min read
Published in Writers’ Blokke·Jan 15Member-onlySidesteppingDealing with problems — In Modern American Usage, Wilson Follett says that some problems “are not to be solved, but sidestepped.” Some usages are controversial (e.g., “all people aren’t” for “not all people are,” “and/or” for “or . . . or both,” and “due to” for “because of”). …Essay2 min readEssay2 min read
Published in The Shortform·Jan 15Member-onlyAutobiographyDo you really want to write one? — Reflections1 min readReflections1 min readGerd Altmann / PixabayAutobiographyDo you really want to write one?----1
Published in The Shortform·Jan 5Member-onlyConsequencesThey always follow actions — Reflection1 min readReflection1 min readPexels / PixabayConsequencesThey always follow actions----
