Why Dungeon Masters Make Great Marketers
You’re two pepperoni pizzas deep, hunched over as your friends toss dice onto your banged-up basement table. At least, that’s what it looks like. What everyone is imagining, however, is a group of intrepid adventurers fighting a pack of goblins that accosted them on their way to town to return the mayor’s lost prize swine:…
Big Dumb Crybaby
I cry a lot. I’m not talking about a full sob or dramatic weep. I get the eye stings. That salty leakage after a particular thought, sound, sight, or smell brushes up against that little thing we call a soul. It’s a cathartic rush. A gasp. We’re really good at feeling things. Almost as good…
AI is destroying your confidence as a writer.
There’s an unspoken rule in creative writing workshops: don’t rewrite someone’s work when giving feedback. At best, it comes off as dismissive. At worst, it can destroy their confidence. So why are so many people letting ChatGPT rewrite their work? Just like in a creative writing workshop, when ChatGPT rewrites your prose—even ifyou’ve trained it…
Okay with Being Okay
There’s a space in my mind. It sits at the center of my grey matter. A little sanctuary. A tiny chamber that brushes up against everything else. It’s the focal point of my brain in the same way a big, ugly-ass vase is the focal point of a poorly-furnished living room. Even when I’m not…
I am Afraid to Die
We’ve all been there. It’s say, 1 am, and you’re tossing and turning in bed. Maybe it’s too hot in your room. Maybe it’s too cold. Maybe your partner or roommate is snoring like the world’s sleepiest jackhammer. Either way, you can’t sleep, and suddenly, you’re slammed with that thought that’s been lurking in your…
It’s so Easy to Feel Like Sh*t
It’s so easy to make yourself feel like shit. Seriously, it is! I know you agree. Sit there for a minute and think. Are you thinking? How does it make you feel? I bet you feel super shitty. Yeah, me too. Don’t worry we’re going to get through this together. During lunch a co-worker told…
What Happened to the Bad Guys?
“What happened to the bad guys? I mean the real bad guys. Those real pieces of work. The irredeemable shitheads. The melt the polar icecaps because it’s fun kind of guys. The ‘I’m going to blow up the Grand Canyon’ fellows.” “They aren’t very relatable.” “So? I don’t want them to be. I want some…
Hitchhikers
Dad always had a weird fascination with hitchhikers. “You get the best stories from hitchhikers.” He’d say whenever we’d drive past someone with their thumb out on the freeway. He had promised Mom he stopped years ago, but we knew the truth. He’s a bad liar. Too proud of the good he thinks he’s doing…
Marlo’s Wagon
Been working on a few longer pieces over the past few weeks. Threw this together this morning for a bit of a break.
Ocean of Gas
A small little world building blerb i’ve had stuck in my head. Still may work on this more, but just wanted to get something out there.
Twenty Years to Live
Twenty years ago, they told us we had ten years until our hearts failed. Many called the lifesaving operation a miracle. I still have the headline stuffed in my bookshelf: “Miraculous medical breakthrough saves lost generation.” They were calling it the Second Chance Procedure. Everyone marveled and watched and cheered as they rolled us out…
Wrestler
With my curtains closed, I lurk in my room. My bed is unmade, and dishes orbit my monitor like planets around an LCD sun. A solid imprint remains where my ass has spent the last evening. The door isn’t locked, but it hasn’t been open since sunrise. My phone casts the only light in my…
Passing Time
I drive through my hometown and back like an echo. I pass storefronts and roads and churches in an afternoon that I’ve experienced more times than I can count. It’s the same glow over the bridge and the river, but for all that’s the same, nothing is the same. The McDonald’s on the corner is…
A Request to Colonize
“I, Fa-rex, president of Federation Mining Co, bring the settling of planet E4-T44 to the attention of the Intergalactic Colonization Committee.” The three committee members, Fa-ree, Fa-roo, and Fa-raa, sat still as Fa-rex continued to deliver his information. “E4-T44 is an oxygen-based planet with an abundance of liquid water, an ample supply of biodiversity, and…
Pest Control
I reached into the burrow up to my forearm. Warm slime coated the concrete, bored out by pincers as strong as industrial clamps. My face pressed against the gymnasium wall as I fished inside for the little critter. A small gathering of teachers and students watched from the other side of the gymnasium, straining to…
Drinks on the Beach
Two couples swirled ice in their empty glasses while waiting along opposite ends of the beach bar. Only one of their drinks was full; vodka with a hint of raspberry. The owner of the drink wasn’t a drinker. Her boyfriend was. “Another?” the bartender, a tan man with a rough, accented voice—probably Mexican, asked. “Hot…
Goin’ it Alone
This is an old piece I wrote around 3 years ago now. It’s one I was meaning to send out somewhere, but never managed to get around to it. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
My Ocean
When I was young, Dad used to talk to us about Mars on the beach. He would lay out his big AC/DC towel while Mom rubbed us down with sunblock and warned about the dangers of sunburns and skin cancer. While my brother and I made drippy sandcastles, Dad described rust-colored mountains and endless red…
A Short Rant on Rejection
Rejection letters. We all get them. A lot of them. It’s the cost of trying to get your work out there; never-ending, hammering rejection. They are the constant speed bumps for the writer’s ego and confidence. Stories I’ve been proud of have been chipped at email by email until I start to question my sanity.…
Musical Memories
Sonya took her seat, placed her water bottle beside her keyboard, and rubbed her hands with moisturizer. Outside, sunlight reflected off the morning frost. Stout, gray buildings squatted in feet of snow—the pathways still not cleared. She looked out to the towering mountains that enclosed the valley and then turned her attention to the blinking…
Falco's Words 