For many years I wrote about fiction, story, belief, ordinary life, and the questions that shaped my work. More than two thousand essays remain here—not because every one represents my current thinking, but because together they tell the story of a writer learning over time.
Search for a subject, browse by month and year, or begin with the most recent writing below.
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The archive begins with the most recent writing. Use the numbered pages below to move backward through time.
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Writing Journal—Tuesday writing prompt
Your character is caught in a waking nightmare, the type where they are late for every meeting, forget important documents at home, and spill coffee all over the…
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01/30/23 Biking & Listening
Biking is something else I both love and hate. It takes a lot of effort but does provide good exercise and most days over an hour to listen…
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Writing Journal—Monday writing prompt
Your empty nest protagonist is settling down for a quiet evening of TV when the door bursts open. It’s her daughter, who’s supposed to be attending college three…
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Drafting–King of Prussia > Philadelphia
Millie watched Tracey as she walked across the parking lot toward the bus station. Lacy flakes were drifting out of the sky and slowly covering pavement, walkways, and…
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Writing Journal—Sunday writing prompt
Your character is planning on poisoning someone today. Write the scene, showing who their target is, why they’re doing it, and how. Include a moment where they are…
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01/28/23 Biking & Listening
Biking is something else I both love and hate. It takes a lot of effort but does provide good exercise and most days over an hour to listen…
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Singularity: An Animated Ode to Our Primeval Bond with Nature and Each Other
Here’s the link to this article. A song of praise for life and “the smallest possible once before once.” BY MARIA POPOVA This is the fifth of nine…
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Writing Journal—Saturday writing prompt
Your character comes home to find her children missing and a gun left behind with a note from the kidnappers. She must kill someone within 24 hours or…
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01/27/23 Biking & Listening
Biking is something else I both love and hate. It takes a lot of effort but does provide good exercise and most days over an hour to listen…
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Writing Journal—Friday writing prompt
Your protagonist watches as a military force shows up in the middle of the night, pulling people out of their homes and loading them onto military vehicles without…
Richard L. Fricks 