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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You are a human. You are creative.
Before you run off, consider Tom. Other than Mrs. Steed’s eighth grade art class, he’s never drawn a thing. Other than that high school short story project (grade…
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You can write a novel. Lesson 2.
I’m certain I never would have written eleven novels since November 2015 if it hadn’t been for the wonderful writing software known as Scrivener. It is the best…
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Novel in progress 12/22/21
Here’s how I left my Scrivener project today (left side is the Binder; middle section is the text for Scene 7, and the right side is a character…
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Wrought-Iron Words: How to read like a writer
Wrought iron words are carefully selected, soft but tough, malleable, forged to the scalding point in the writer’s mind, then poured onto the page. With tong and hammer…
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Wrought-Iron Words: The Benefits of Reading Fiction
Wrought iron words are carefully selected, soft but tough, malleable, forged to the scalding point in the writer’s mind, then poured onto the page. With tong and hammer,…
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Sanity Snippet—Biking update
As of October 24, 2021, Sanity Snippets are snapshots of my daily life, those things I’m doing—such as reading, writing, biking, photographing, and gardening—to maintain sanity while living…
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Maybe you need an addiction
Hold on a minute. Merriam Webster states there are two definitions for addiction. Here they are: “1: a strong and harmful need to regularly have something (such as…
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Sanity Snippet: Biking & ‘Reading’–11/30/21
As of October 24, 2021, Sanity Snippets are snapshots of my daily life, those things I’m doing—such as reading, writing, biking, photographing, and gardening—to maintain sanity while living…
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Sanity Snippet: Ten Things Christians Wished Jesus Hadn’t Taught
As of October 24, 2021, Sanity Snippets are snapshots of my daily life, those things I’m doing—such as reading, writing, biking, photographing, and gardening—to maintain sanity while living…
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Sanity Snippet: Biking & ‘Reading’–11/29/21
As of October 24, 2021, Sanity Snippets are snapshots of my daily life, those things I’m doing—such as reading, writing, biking, photographing, and gardening—to maintain sanity while living…
Richard L. Fricks 