Category Archives: Writing

Driving Miss Crazy

Posted on May 23, 2015 by John Swinburn

The first Ford Fascista came off the Mountain Pine, Arkansas assembly line on November 29, 2026, five days ahead of schedule and twenty years to the day after Mountain Pine effectively died when Weyerhaeuser shut down its plywood and veneer … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Writing | 1 Comment

Buxom

Posted on May 19, 2015 by John Swinburn

Her smile was translucent, dimming—but not concealing—the rage behind her face full of perfect teeth. She had reason to be enraged. Preston Smithers had stolen her lawnmower, the same Preston Smithers who bought his daughter a brand new Porsche Carrera for her sixteenth … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Writing | 3 Comments

Dimming of the Light

Posted on May 18, 2015 by John Swinburn

Eventually, the light dims. The sun slips beneath the horizon. Darkness falls like an opaque curtain, hiding the unseen creatures who thrive on the absence of light. Fear grows in darkness, the way flowers flourish in light, except fear needs … Continue reading →

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Smithy vignette

Posted on May 15, 2015 by John Swinburn

I watched his hammer slam, over and over and over again, against the white-hot piece of iron. The metal seemed to resist the brutality. Its shape did not change; only sparks. Yet the smithy continued beating the strap of metal without mercy, as … Continue reading →

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Felicity

Posted on May 12, 2015 by John Swinburn

I’ve been thinking for months about writing a companion piece to The Story of Steve. Occasionally, I write a paragraph, but almost immediately discard it.  Nothing seems to work.  Today, instead of discarding what I’ve written, I’m putting it here.  Maybe that … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Writing | 1 Comment

An Invitation to Lewd and Lascivious Behavior

Posted on May 10, 2015 by John Swinburn

My post about the local writers’ event at which I will read tomorrow got me thinking, which is not always a good thing. I will admit to a bit of indignation at something that probably doesn’t deserve a moment of my … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Thinking, Philosophy, Rant, Writing | 3 Comments

Writers Read

Posted on May 10, 2015 by John Swinburn

I will be among nineteen writers who will read from their work tomorrow at a public event that lures people in with free wine and hors d’oeuvre. Writers know how to get an audience! I’ve considered starting a sub-club and … Continue reading →

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A Curious Experience

Posted on May 9, 2015 by John Swinburn

Why would eight to ten grey-bearded men gather in a conference room of a public library? What commonality, aside from their beards, could cause them to assemble around a conference table, nary a smile visible behind those masculine mops? Those questions … Continue reading →

Posted in Absurdist Fantasy, Writing | 2 Comments

Seduction

Posted on May 7, 2015 by John Swinburn

Seductions are, by nature, slow. They do not swirl into a life and grab the subject of the seduction by the throat and whisk that person away. Rather, they slide in through a door left ajar, hiding behind curtains until the … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Writing | 1 Comment

Race and an Ancient Artifact

Posted on May 3, 2015 by John Swinburn

Issues of race and class had become impossible to ignore.  Public policy forbidding discrimination clearly failed, viewed as it was as an attempt to legislate morality, which clearly fell within the purview of the church—which church, of course, depended on … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Writing | 2 Comments

And It Does

Posted on May 2, 2015 by John Swinburn

Our neighbors drove the three of us (my wife, my sister-in-law, and me) to Hot Springs for the First Friday Gallery Walk last night.  The guy is an accomplished artist in his own right; their house is flush with his … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Writing | 2 Comments

An Elderly, Productive Place

Posted on April 30, 2015 by John Swinburn

The walls are dull, the white paint over the cinder block walls faded and chipped.  Near one of the metal doors leading outside, dirt or mold stains the mortar lines in stair-step fashion down from the ceiling, suggesting there is, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Writing | Leave a comment

Indecisive

Posted on April 27, 2015 by John Swinburn

I can be indecisive.  Really, really indecisive. Today, our writers’ club will devote its meeting to practice readings, in preparation for our annual event, L’Audible Art, in which members read their poetry, short stories, etc. Each of us who opts … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | 2 Comments

Mistake

Posted on April 26, 2015 by John Swinburn

A massive arc of water erupted from beneath the tires of an oncoming pickup, illuminated by its high beams like a huge white fan of blinding light.  Garland Gerber hated driving at night, especially on wet roads. Roads on which … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Writing | 5 Comments

Six Word Short Stories

Posted on April 24, 2015 by John Swinburn

A bogus story about six-word short stories captured my attention a couple of weeks ago. The story claimed Hemingway won a bet against fellow writers about whether he could write a six-word short story.  He won, the story goes, with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | 3 Comments

Seeing Things Differently

Posted on April 23, 2015 by John Swinburn

I once read a description of the color of a woman’s skin that has stayed with me for years. Unfortunately, I don’t know where I read it, nor who wrote it, but it stuck with me. The description said a … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Thinking, Writing | Leave a comment

Obscure

Posted on April 22, 2015 by John Swinburn

Seven women fretted on the dock, waiting for the survivors to disembark the crippled ship. One of them collapsed, weeping inconsolably as the fifth of the five survivors to limp off the gangway kissed his wife. The last woman stood shivering, sensing the decay … Continue reading →

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Sprites

Posted on April 20, 2015 by John Swinburn

Linda awoke just before daybreak, full of energy and anxious to explore the forest. She jumped out of bed, brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and examined herself in the bathroom mirror. Her straight, shoulder-length golden blonde hair shone brightly … Continue reading →

Posted in Absurdist Fantasy, Fiction, Writing | Leave a comment

Old Men Who Turn to Writing

Posted on April 17, 2015 by John Swinburn

Writing is like a drug; it can be a cure or an addiction. Younger men write to prove themselves, to make their marks on the world. Older men write to find themselves.  They write to learn what mistakes they must … Continue reading →

Posted in Just Thinking, Philosophy, Writing | 2 Comments

Just Imagine

Posted on April 16, 2015 by John Swinburn

You’ve read The Book of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Luis Borges, right? Well, if not, you’re in for a treat.  And whether you’ve read it or not, you probably didn’t know that he based the book on stories I shared … Continue reading →

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Cultivating Ideas

Posted on April 10, 2015 by John Swinburn

If you have been reading my blog for long, you’re part of an extremely elite (read as: small) group.  That aside, you probably have noted that, often, this blog contains somewhat bizarre, stream-of-consciousness drivel that suggests I may not be a writer … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Writing | Leave a comment

You Can’t Take It With You

Posted on April 6, 2015 by John Swinburn

I didn’t tell anyone—couldn’t tell anyone—before I did it because I knew they would have stopped me, or tried to.  At the very least, they would have insisted I pick someplace closer, someplace safer, someplace reachable by more traditional means. … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Writing | 1 Comment

Another Plane of Thought

Posted on April 3, 2015 by John Swinburn

Today is my day for tooth planing.  That sounds horrible.  I hope it’s not as bad as it sounds. By day’s end, it will be behind me, save for the remnants of numbness and perhaps some swelling and a little … Continue reading →

Posted in Health, Just Thinking, Writing | Leave a comment

An Afternoon Breakfast Break

Posted on April 1, 2015 by John Swinburn

After a morning in pottery class, followed by lunch at Fisherman’s Wharf with my wife and sister-in-law and a bit of shopping, I spent the afternoon doing a bit of research on breakfasts around the world.  During my explorations of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Writing | 2 Comments

Without Reward

Posted on April 1, 2015 by John Swinburn

After awhile, I will be elbow deep in clay and glaze and the white dust that erupts from dried and drying white clay. Maybe, after I return home, I will post something of substance here. But maybe not. Some days, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | 2 Comments