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.
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The archive begins with the most recent writing. Use the numbered pages below to move backward through time.
Unscripted – Week 4: When Life Unravels Slowly — And Why That’s a Gift
Welcome to Unscripted — a weekly reflection on living without inherited stories, rigid identities, or predetermined purpose. Each Monday, I explore a different facet of this shift toward…
Unscripted — Week 3: How Inherited Stories Shape — and Shrink — Our Lives
Welcome to Unscripted, a weekly reflection on what it means to live without inherited stories, rigid identities, or predetermined purpose. Each Monday, I explore a different part of…
Unscripted — Week 2: Presence, the Quiet Skill You Already Have
Welcome to Unscripted, a weekly reflection on what it means to live without inherited stories, rigid identities, or predetermined purpose. Each Monday, I explore a different part of…
Unscripted — Week 1: What It Means to Live Without a Script
Welcome to Unscripted, a weekly reflection on what it means to live without inherited stories, rigid identities, or predetermined purpose. Each Monday, I explore a different part of…
Why the website changed — and what comes next For most of my life, I lived inside stories I didn’t write—beliefs I inherited, purposes assigned to me, expectations…
Backstory is one of the most powerful—and most misunderstood—tools in storytelling. Done well, it deepens characters, explains motivations, and anchors readers in the world of the story. Done…
Fictionary’s Story Elements Series | The Pencil’s Edge ✨ Why Revelation Matters Stories move forward when characters learn something new—something big enough to change their trajectory. This is…
📍 Back in the FlowReturning to this series after my biking injury recovery has reminded me how foundational structure is—not just in healing, but in writing. And if…
Chapter 1 Millie’s hand trembled as she steered her twenty-year-old Sentra down South Princeton Avenue. She caught her reflection in the rearview mirror – honey-blonde hair escaping its…
Chapter 1: The Foundation Cracks The rock samples sat accusingly on Boaz High School senior Bret Johnson’s desk, their crystalline structures holding secrets that threatened everything he believed.…
Richard L. Fricks 