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 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 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 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 read
Published in The Shortform·17 hours agoMember-onlyIs “So” the new “Well”?Have you noticed a change? — Essay1 min readPeggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke / PixabayIs “So” the new “Well”?Have you noticed a change?----2
Published in Fictitious·3 days agoMember-onlyA Fate Worse Than DeathA young woman prepares for her first night at the Last Chance Saloon The saloon doors swayed in the evening breeze. Mary Lou stood beside them, smoothing the new frilly pink dress that Mrs. McCoy had given her to wear on her first night in the Last Chance Saloon. Betty…Short Story6 min read
Published in The Shortform·5 days agoMember-onlyWesternsSome of the best — Essay1 min readOpenClipart-Vectors / PixabayWesternsSome of the best----1
Published in The Shortform·Aug 4Member-onlyIf You Don’t Have Something to Say . . .Don’t feel badEssay1 min readBenoit DE HAAS / PixabayIf You Don’t Have Something to Say . . .----
Published in Writers’ Blokke·Aug 4Member-onlySpellingHow bad spellers can learn to spell better — Those of us who spell badly can be flattered by Robert Graves and Alan Hodge, who in The Reader over Your Shoulder offer this observation about some of us: “They were quick-brained as children and learned to take in two or three words at a time, before going to school…Essay2 min read
Published in The Shortform·Aug 1Member-onlyA Writer’s MaximMore is sometimes too much — Essay1 min readClker-Free-Vector-Images / PixabayA Writer’s MaximMore is sometimes too much----2
