The Illness Invasion

I’m home unexpectedly today. Shortly after I arrived at work, my wife called me, and she sounded terrible. Though she said she would try to muster the strength to endure a day at home with the kids, I made quick arrangements and headed home. Hopefully she can rest while I play Mr. Mom in her place (a role I’m not terrible at, but still a far cry from the real thing).

I was fighting something on Saturday, the only remnant of which is an occasional cough. The kids took turns with fevers, but they seem normal today. I’m hoping that, as a family, we’re on the mend.

It seems like everything falls behind when illness hits. Laundry and dishes seem endless, to-do piles appear in random places. It’s like illness is an enemy invasion, picking apart all things normal and laying siege to the entire household.

My way of fighting back the horde of sickness and disease? Writing this blog post.

Mydrianna

My short story, “Mydrianna,” is now available at MindFlights.


This is my tenth published story, and it completes the series featuring Cole of Arkessler.

Outlining Short Stories

Usually my method for writing short stories is to allow an idea to rattle around in my mind for a while and to then start typing and see what happens. With my latest short story that I’m working on, I let the idea rattle around, and the idea led me to create an outline, something I’ve only used in writing longer works in the past.

A short story outline for me is a bulleted list of scenes. I’ll mention the basics of what’s happening, enough to trigger my memories about the scenes. In one case, I filled in a little dialogue because there was something I could hear two characters saying, and I didn’t want to forget it.

The outline is just a guide; the story goes where it wants to go as it gains strength, moving from an idea to a narrative plot with dynamic characters. I like this aspect of outlining, that the preconceived notions do not set the final course but merely guide the idea of going from Point A to Point B.

Outlining isn’t necessarily something I plan on doing with every story, but I like where it’s taken me with the current project. Whether or not it proves to be a great help will only be determined in the weeks and months ahead. So far, I’m glad I tried it.