Image by Pixabay What is a story within a story? Wikipedia defines it as "a literary device sometimes referred to as a frame story or a frame tale or a frame narrative in which one character within a narrative narrates. The inner stories are told either simply to entertain or more usually to act as an example to the other characters. In either case, the story often has symbolic and psychological significance for the characters in the outer story. There is often some parallel between the two stories, and the fiction of the inner story is used to reveal the truth in the outer story." Within my novella entitled MASKED IDENTITIES , the frame story is a book the protagonist (Brooke) reads to herself. The idea is similar to the NeverEnding Story, the 1984 West German fantasy film based on the novel of the same name by Michael Ende. However, unlike NeverEnding Story, Brooke does not interact with the characters inside the frame story. So, the question I am often asked is why write a story within a story? Like many of my story ideas, the story idea came to me in a dream. During my waking hours, I contemplated the story concept and found a desire to further explore the story idea. Was it possible to expand the concept into a cohesive and interesting story? First, I wrote the frame story. A period tale of Christian and Ezra in 1890 Victorian London. I wanted to separate the two storylines, so they were distinctively different, yet they would have similarities. Two young men became the primary characters, not just any lads, but gay men. The intent was to bring to light homophobia and the challenges gay men face in today’s world, which was not so different from 130 years ago. The timeline of the story was arbitrarily set in the first week of April for two reasons: (1) springtime is usually depicted as a season for love and (2) to contrast the freshness of spring against the bleak backdrop of London during the time period. However, I did not want the story to take place on Easter weekend (April 6). I did a little research into theater playbills from April 1890 and found one stage production which matched my intended story. I changed the date to Friday and Saturday, April 18 and 19 which historically coordinated with a popular staged presentation at the Queen’s Palace of Varieties Theatre, Poplar. As with all aspects of the interior story, historical facts and events were important in keeping with the story. I had no intention of changing history, but to use history to further the interior story. After completing the frame story, I wrote the exterior story featuring Brooke and Chase in present-day. The story begins with Brooke discovering an unusual book in Grandad’s library and begins to read it. At this point, the frame story starts. The manuscript moves back and forth between the exterior story to the interior story; all the while, Brooke recognizes similarities between her life and that of Christian and Ezra. The similarities are intended to suggest that gay and hetero relationships are not as different as one might think. One of the many similarities between the two stories is that Brooke cannot understand why she fell for Chase initially. Chase knew from the start that he and Brooke were not of equal social standing, but he fell for her anyway. Ezra falls head over heels for Christian, even though Christian is not the kind of man he desires. A universal theme here? Love is unexplainable; it happens, and it doesn’t always make sense. Brooke’s epiphany comes when it dawns on her that she and Christian are a lot alike; both come from influence, money, and personal traits. Chase and Ezra are from backgrounds where money was tight and have similar personality traits. Gay and straight similarities again. Tensions rise between Christian and Ezra in the frame story, at which time Brooke realizes she doesn't want to lose Chase and she wants to patch things up with him. She learns a valuable lesson from the tale of Christian and Ezra, to not put off telling someone you love them, or the moment may pass and it is too late. Chase has to make a decision, at a time when he is frustrated and angry. His heart tells him one thing, yet his head says something to the contrary. Earlier in the frame story, Ezra deals with a similar personal dilemma with Christian. Love is love, no matter if it’s in today’s world or 130 years ago across the big blue pond. Gay or straight, love can be confusing, challenging, and frustrating. That is how MASKED IDENTITIES became a genre-complicated hetero-contemporary story wrapped around a gay-historical tale. MASKED IDENTITIES is available in ebook and paperback HERE . I would like to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment in the Comment Box at the bottom of the page. Dale Thele Bestselling Fiction Author Stories with an LGBTQ+ Twist corrupting readers since 2008 Don't miss another blog post! Get new blog post notifications and new book/story releases sent directly to your email. Click here to subscribe .

Photo by Pixabay This is probably the most asked question of writers. Without a story idea, the writer has nothing to write about. The only occurrence I can recall a writer wrote about nothing was T he NeverEnding Story (Die Unendliche Geschichte ) by Michael Ende. He wrote of The Nothing . Writers find inspiration in diverse ways. Some writers get ideas from something they see, a result of brainstorming, and some have found inspiration from reading other writers' works and they sense the story should go in a different direction. There are infinite ways a writer comes up with ideas. As for myself, I find my ideas in real-life situations or through nighttime dreams. Let’s take Harvest Moon my favorite piece of writing to date. It’s a short piece of fiction, a whopping 1300 words. The idea came in a dream. When I woke up, I jotted down as much of the dream as I could recall. One marvelous fact about my dreams is that they repeat each night until I get all the details on paper. Some folks may call it my muse. I accredit my dreams as being stubborn. Whatever the case, the dream reoccurs over and over until I get all the details recorded. I never had the dream again once I’d gotten all the details. That’s how Harvest Moon came to be. Another short story entitled Roadhouse Friday came while dining at a local family restaurant. I was people-watching, which is one of my favorite sports. But, when I watch I enjoy making up their backstory. There was one autumn evening at one of my favorite restaurants when I found the customers to be more diverse than usual. Maybe it was the fried mushroom appetizer, but backstories just popped into my head as I watched the patrons. That’s how Roadhouse Friday came to be. My novella, Masked Identities , came as a dream. However, the story idea came in two parts making it rather complicated to understand. The first part was the story of 1890 London of two gay men. The idea was intriguing but seemed to be an incomplete story. It replayed night after night and each morning I jotted down the details. Then the dream stopped. I tried to force the dream to return, but it wouldn’t come. Instead, a new dream took its place, a contemporary story of a college girl and her boyfriend. Again, each night the dream replayed and each morning I captured the details on paper. This went on for about a week, then that dream stopped. Confused. I racked my brain trying to understand the two-story ideas, and what did they have in common? After several days, I realized their connection, two unique stories from different time periods, different locations, with different characters yet they were similar stories. At that point, I visualized structuring one story within another story. That’s how Masked Identities came to be. My current work-in-progress (WIP) is my debut novel, Clipped Wings . The underlying idea came from real-life experience, while the fictional parts came from dreams. This is the first manuscript I’ve written where the ideas came from real life and nighttime dreams. Combining the two has been interesting and challenging, but it makes for one helluva story. I suppose the lesson to learn is that it makes no difference where story ideas come from, as long as the ideas evolve into a story in which a reader can lose themselves in the writer's imagination. I would like to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment in the Comment Box at the bottom of the page. Dale Thele Bestselling Fiction Author Stories with an LGBTQ+ Twist corrupting readers since 2008 Don't miss another blog post! Get new blog post notifications and new book/story releases sent directly to your email. Click here to subscribe .

Photo by Pixabay I would like to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment in the Comment Box at the bottom of the page. Dale Thele Bestselling Fiction Author Stories with an LGBTQ+ Twist corrupting readers since 2008 Don't miss another blog post! Get new blog post notifications and new book/story releases sent directly to your email. Click here to subscribe .

Photo by Pixabay Writers are often considered quirky, eccentric, weird—you get the idea. No matter how deranged you may think writers are, famous writers had set routines they followed religiously. Can we prove or disprove their bizarre routines? After all, they were famous. There’s the old saying: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it . Maybe there’s something to these strange habits of famous writers. Isabel Allende began each of her novels on the same day: January 8. J.A. Jacobs author of Drop Dead Healthy writes while walking on a treadmill. Walking pales in comparison to Kurt Vonnegut’s preferred fitness habits. The Slaughterhouse-Five writer walked and swam every morning, and claimed to do pushups and sit-ups all the time. Haruki Murakami takes things a step or three further with his routine, which includes a 10-kilometer run, 1500-meter swim, or both, each day. While Ernest Hemingway, Charles Dickens, Virginia Woolf, Lewis Carroll, and Philip Roth wrote by standing. In Stephen King’s earlier days, he used drugs and alcohol to write better, so much so that he doesn’t remember writing Cujo. Maya Angelou rented a hotel room in her hometown every month. She’d go in at the crack of dawn, write until the early afternoon, then take her work home to look it over. Angelou asked the management not to enter her room, except to remove the paintings and other decorations. Instead, to occupy herself while she brainstormed, Angelou kept crossword puzzles and a deck of playing cards handy. Thomas Wolfe wrote while leaning over a refrigerator. Some authors prefer to write lying down as standing up, like Ernest Hemingway, Edith Wharton, Charles Dickens, Virginia Woolf, Lewis Carroll, and Philip Roth were all known to write while lying down. Truman Capote was, as well, but that’s hardly the strangest thing about his routine. Capote was certainly a persnickety writer. Not only did he claim to be a horizontal author and could not think unless lying down. Capote had more superstitions than most people could keep up with. He wouldn’t begin or end a piece of work on a Friday, would change hotel rooms if the room phone number involved the number 13, and never left more than three cigarette butts in his ashtray, tucking the extra ones into his coat pocket. Both John Cheever and Victor Hugo thought writing in various states of undress was beneficial. Cheever may have written in his underwear for practicality, given he had but one suit at the time, but Hugo had other motives. The Les Misérables author gave himself only a few months to write The Hunchback of Notre Dame . To ensure his success, Hugo had his valet remove all of his clothes from the house. With nothing to wear except a large gray shawl, it forced the author to meet his deadline. James Joyce wrote lying on his stomach in bed, with a large blue pencil, clad in a white coat, and composed most of Finnegans Wake with crayon pieces on cardboard due to his failing eyesight. John Steinbeck, who liked to write his drafts in pencil, always kept twelve perfectly sharpened pencils on his desk. He used them so heavily that his editor had to send him round pencils to ease the calluses Steinbeck developed on his hands from the traditional hexagonal ones. Agatha Christie munched on apples in the bathtub while pondering murder plots, and Flannery O’Connor crunched vanilla wafers. As for myself (I’m not a famous author, yet), I have a few quirks. I compose my rough drafts with a fountain pen and cheap Composition Books. I’m not superstitious, but I ring a brass bell before I write, warding off negative vibes. A silver pendant of St. Paul (patron saint of writers and teachers) hangs around my neck. I’m protestant, but why take a chance, right? So, I think we can agree, writers are a strange breed of kookie. We hide dead bodies in our attics and kill our darlings, yet we write fantastic prose. In my humble opinion, I say do whatever makes you feel more confident when you write. If what you do hurts no one, why not? Is it worth tempting fate and possibly pissing off the muse? I would like to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment in the Comment Box at the bottom of the page. Dale Thele Bestselling Fiction Author Stories with an LGBTQ+ Twist corrupting readers since 2008 Don't miss another blog post! Get new blog post notifications and new book/story releases sent directly to your email. Click here to subscribe .

Image by Pixabay Most writers have a daily goal to write a set number of words. Those goals can vary between writers. Here are examples of some famous writers' daily word count goals. Ernest Hemingway: 500 Words Stephen King: 2,000 Words Jack London: 1,500 Words Tom Wolfe: 135 Words Mark Twain: 1,400-1,800 Words W. Somerset Maugham: 1,000 Words Anne Rice and Arthur Conan Doyle: 3,000 Words As you can see, famous authors have different word count goals. How are your daily word count goals working out for you? Are you achieving your goals? How much of your daily writing gets “red-inked” or pitched into the trash? What percentage of your writing is salvageable? So, my question is: Are daily word count goals productive or counterproductive? Setting word count goals motivates a writer. A writer enthusiastically begins the daily writing routine, working diligently until reaching a predetermined number of written words. This approach can be intimidating or counterproductive, especially if the writer is experiencing writer’s block or unsure what should happen next in the manuscript. In determining a daily word count, would an individual who writes by hand share the same daily word count goal as someone who uses a typewriter or even a word processor? Writing by hand is a much slower process than using a word processor. However, it’s been shown that handwriting increases creativity and deepens thinking , keeping the brain sharp and increasing comprehension . ( Oxford Learning ) Time restraints are essential for setting word count goals. Some writers have more time than others. Suppose you work a full-time job and have a limited amount of time you can allow for writing. The same is true for a stay-at-home parent taking care of a child or homeschooling. Unless you are a full-time writer like the ones listed above, you may not have the time to devote to your writing. How about quantity over quality? A daily word count goal may produce a set number of words, but is it your best quality work? It takes time to cultivate a quality manuscript. So, is one sacrificing quantity over quality by limiting oneself to daily word counts? I’m not saying daily word counts are right or wrong; only YOU can decide after weighing the pros and cons. As for myself, I’m a proud pantster who writes in fountain pen on paper, and I do not set daily word counts for myself. However, each morning when I sit down at my desk I set a goal for that day—maybe it’s completing three chapters, maybe just one, I don’t set a word count for myself. Of course, I’m not a New York Times best-selling Author either. But I do crank out a book or two every so often. My point is that maybe you should take a closer look at daily word counts. Are they working for you? If so, kudos to you. But, if you’re like me, an individual who has found a process that works for you yet goes against what’s being preached, congratulations. Writing is personal; each writer has their way of doing things. There’s no right or wrong way to write; just get the words down in whatever way suits you best. (Yes, this post title is a spoof on One Republic's - Counting Stars ) I would like to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment in the Comment Box at the bottom of the page. Dale Thele Bestselling Fiction Author Stories with an LGBTQ+ Twist corrupting readers since 2008 Don't miss another blog post! Get new blog post notifications and new book/story releases sent directly to your email. Click here to subscribe .

Photo by Pixabay You may already be in one of my stories I say this not as a warning or to shock you. When I develop a story, I have a basic plot (and subplots) in mind. For any plot to occur, there must be at least one character. I imagine someone I know or someone I’ve seen as an actor on TV or in a movie who might fit the role. From there, I craft the character, taking characteristics from different people to produce a character profile. Usually, I start with someone I know in real life, from my present or past, as the base personality, and then I build on that until I visualize a character that best suits the story. From there, I Google-search for a photograph that best fits my image of the character. I then attach the photo to a character profile sheet describing the character. The profile includes a physical description of the individual’s likes, dislikes, dreams, fears, etc., until I have compiled a complete character profile. Rarely do I use the attributes exclusive of one individual. When crafting a character, they are a composite of qualities from many diverse people. Sometimes, I craft a character(s) out of the blue. Take, for instance, my novella, MASKED IDENTITIES . The interior story's two characters (Christian and Ezra) are entirely made up—two fictional characters from 1900 London, England, without connection to anyone from the real world. However, I researched popular names of the period, clothing, and hairstyles, including facial hair. In my upcoming novel CLIPPED WINGS , most of the characters are composites of real-world people. Shane Davison, the 18-year-old narrator and protagonist, is loosely based on me and some of my real-world experiences. I base other characters in the novel on real-world people from my past and present. I made up only a few characters with no specific individual in mind. So, when you read something I’ve written, don’t go searching for yourself as a character. However, should you recognize an aspect or trait within one of my characters, embrace the recognition, knowing that maybe, just maybe, you were part of the inspiration for that character. I would like to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment in the Comment Box at the bottom of the page. Dale Thele Bestselling Fiction Author Stories with an LGBTQ+ Twist corrupting readers since 2008 Don't miss another blog post! Get new blog post notifications and new book/story releases sent directly to your email. Click here to subscribe .

Photo by Pixy Point-of-View (POV) in literature is the narrator's position in relation to how a story is told. A story's POV sets the tone and mood of how a story unfolds for the reader. There are four basic POVs: 1. First-person point of view. First-person is when “I” am telling the story. 2. Second-person point of view. The story is told to “you.” 3. Third-person point of view, limited. The story is about “he” or “she.” 4. Third-person point of view, omniscient. Sees and knows all. A POV can also be combined with any of the others. Some stories are told using several POVs throughout the life of the story. So, why is POV important to a story? It depends on the kind of story and how the author best feels the story should unfold. Myself, when I began writing the novel CLIPPED WINGS , I experimented with different POVs. The manuscript wasn’t working for me resulting in severe “writer's block”. Not until I tried writing in First-Person did the story flow freely. That’s when I knew I must tell the story in First Person POV for several reasons. 1. The novel is a personal story told by an 18-year-old searching for answers. How better to draw the reader into the story than to have him tell it in his own words? 2. The entire novel hinges on Shane’s (the protagonist/narrator) perception of the world around him, giving the story a one-sided view. 3. Shane views the reactions of people and situations without the aid of an outside narrator filling in the blanks. Everything is up to Shane to figure out in his own time and on his own terms. 4. Shane does not know what other characters are thinking, so he’s left to make assumptions . Without an outside narrator, it pulls the reader into Shane’s head and his limited logic. 5. Shane offers many of his own thoughts and opinions, which he justifies through numerous flashbacks from his earlier life experiences. 6. The reader is free to disagree with Shane and to make his/her own assumptions and predictions about situations, other characters, and the direction the story is going. 7. Shane relays conversations (dialogue) between himself and other characters. He recalls what he hears , maybe not what is literally said or implied by other characters. The First-Person POV works best in this situation, drawing the reader into the story—or rather into Shane’s head. If the novel were drafted using one of the other POVs, the story may not have provided the essential components required to develop into a personal, emotional, and moving narrative. I would like to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment in the Comment Box at the bottom of the page. Dale Thele Bestselling Fiction Author Stories with an LGBTQ+ Twist corrupting readers since 2008 Don't miss another blog post! Get new blog post notifications and new book/story releases sent directly to your email. Click here to subscribe .

Photo by Pixbay For the younger generation who have grown up with computers, smartphones, iPads, etc, there was a time when there were no computers. Yes, I’m referring to the “ dark ages ” before email and texting. When we communicated by snail mail, phone (connected by wires to a wall outlet) and yes, we even spoke to one another in person (face-to-face)—can you believe that? Scary ain’t it? My first foray into computing was a Commodore 64. I waited outside in a long line at Service Merchandise to order mine. People lined up nearly around the building for their turn to place an order for the first affordable home computer. None of us knew anything about computers, except for maybe making punch cards for binary computers at universities or major employers. We were entering an uncharted and exciting era into the unknown. The Commodore 64 was revolutionary at the time, one could create data lists and play games. We were amazed and entertained by our new home computers. Then a new must-have innovation burst into our homes—the Web TV. By hooking up a converter box to the TV one could access the Worldwide Web right from the comfort of our living rooms. With a simple keyboard on our lap, we could write and send emails from our television sets and surf Web TV-compatible websites. Web TV is where I discovered webcam sites. For hours upon hours, I was intrigued by watching ordinary everyday people broadcasting images of themselves from their homes. The “live” pictures refreshed about every 15 seconds. Depending on the traffic to the webcam site and the internet speed. Frequently, the images froze, and I’d have to reboot the Web TV. Rebooting was slow because of a dial-up connection. I will never forget that hideous Web TV music that played as the unit gradually linked to the web. After a couple of months of no sleep because of my addiction to watching webcam sites, I wondered if I too couldn’t do the same. All I figured I'd need was a tabletop computer and a webcam. So, I ordered a computer from an ad on Web TV. My new IBM-compatible computer was delivered by UPS on Christmas Eve in 1999. I tore into the shipping box, unpacking my first real computer. So excited, I set it up and attached the cables on the floor instead of on top of my earlier purchased computer table. Plugging the cord into the electric socket, I flipped the power switch—nothing happened. There were no blinking lights, no humming motors, zilch. Well, I think I cried for a little while, disappointed I’d spent my hard-earned money on a piece of worthless junk. To top it off, it was Christmas Eve, and I’d waited nearly a week for my custom build computer to arrive. Disappointed, I gathered the packing materials of styrofoam, plastic bags, and waded paper. Then, I happened to stumble upon a sheet of paper with red printing. “For Customer Service Call 1-800-XXX-XXXX.” Of course, I immediately dialed the number. An amazing and patient service tech guided me through the disassembly of the entire tower. Unidentifiable computer parts lay all around me on the floor. It worried me I’d not be able to put it back together properly. After all, until that evening, I’d never used a real computer, let alone taken one entirely apart. By dawn on Christmas morning, I had ultimately reconstructed the tower (with the help of the service tech). Lo and behold, the computer worked. All night on the phone and with a bad case of cauliflower ear, I’d unassembled and reassembled my first computer tower. Building a website was my next challenge. Knowing absolutely nothing about coding, I rapidly self-taught myself through many hours of trial and error—and a LOT of failures. At the time there were few books on web design and WYSIWYG editors were extremely expensive. Somehow, through diligence (sheer stubbornness) and endless hours of frustration, I launched my first 3-page website on the afternoon of February 26, 2000. Pages filled with random moving gifs and smart-ass sayings. Don’t ask me if I understood how any of my codings worked, all I can say is that I had a webcam site of my own making. There were a grand total of four visitors during my initial hour of broadcasting. The webcam site changed and grew over the eight years of its online life, growing from one webcam to six webcams in my condo, operating from three computers. Countless people aided me along the way to better understand web design coding, but mostly, I’m self-taught. It’s been 11 years since I operated a webcam site. Today, I prefer a quiet and very private home life where I can write tales of made-up characters and the predicaments they find themselves in. Over the years, I’ve continued to make my own websites, reflecting the various paths my life has taken. Life isn’t static; it’s always in flux and transition—or that’s how it's been for me. Please visit the website I completed this past weekend, my umpteenth website design: https://www.dalethele.com . I would like to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment in the Comment Box at the bottom of the page. Dale Thele Bestselling Fiction Author Stories with an LGBTQ+ Twist corrupting readers since 2008 Don't miss another blog post! Get new blog post notifications and new book/story releases sent directly to your email. Click here to subscribe .

Photo by Pixbay It’s that time of year when the temperature is cooler, trees turn from green to vivid colors, and holidays line up one by one. Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year, there’s something in the air (most likely allergies). But there’s something else, something magical, maybe it’s anticipation, maybe it’s memories, maybe it’s just the shift in seasons. The time of year when afternoon shadows grow longer, leaves crunch underfoot, and curling under a blanket provides extra comfort. Some years ago, I wrote a very short short story about a walk under a Harvest Moon. Although it was a work of fiction, there was a lot of truth in the words, as I told of an actual personal experience. No, it wasn’t a story of self-revelation or a life-changing epiphany; it was a simple story with a simple message. I hope you will take the time to read it. (It’s a free PDF download ) Harvest Moon https://www.dalethele.com/books#harvestmoon I would like to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment in the Comment Box at the bottom of the page. Dale Thele Bestselling Fiction Author Stories with an LGBTQ+ Twist corrupting readers since 2008 Don't miss another blog post! Get new blog post notifications and new book/story releases sent directly to your email. Click here to subscribe .

1939 Parker Parkette Mechanical Pencil and Fountain Pen Set In September of this year, friends gifted me with a vintage fountain pen and mechanical pencil set, which once belonged to their mother. What little they knew of the set’s history was that their mother purchased the set before starting nursing school. Other than that little bit of knowledge, they knew nothing else. I'm proud of the small collection of restored vintage fountain pens (Sheaffer, Parker, and other brands). My favorite are the original Esterbrooks. Since I’ve only been a collector/user for about five years, I don’t have a great deal of expertise in vintage pen history. The pen/pencil set did not come with the original box so I had to do some research on the set. Luckily there was some etched information on the pen barrel. With the aid of a lighted loupe, I was able to gather enough details to research the manufacturer's details. Turns out, the fountain pen is a 1938 Parker “Parkette” (type 3B) lever-filler, made of gray, black, and red celluloid. It is fitted with a 1939 Rador Point Steel Fine Nib. According to Parker’s 1939 retailers catalog, the Suggested Retail Selling Price was $1.95. Decades have passed since the pen had probably last been used, so it was not in working condition. First, I had to remove the dried ink and deteriorated ink sac from inside the barrel. Once it was clean, I replaced the J-Bar and rubber ink sac, then polished the barrel and brass trim with a jeweler’s polishing cloth. Filling the pen with Parker Blue Ink, I was able to test the pen. It’s a smooth writer with light feedback and is quite enjoyable to use. The mechanical pencil is in working order just required some cleaning and polishing. After a modest investment in restoration supplies, a couple of YouTube instructional videos, and my personal time, the Parkette pen and pencil set are now valued pieces in my vintage pen collection. Words can’t convey the extraordinary feeling of history while writing with a restored eighty-year-old fountain pen. Then, of course, it may be because I’m a fountain pen nerd. I would like to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment in the Comment Box at the bottom of the page. Dale Thele Bestselling Fiction Author Stories with an LGBTQ+ Twist corrupting readers since 2008 Don't miss another blog post! Get new blog post notifications and new book/story releases sent directly to your email. Click here to subscribe .

Photo by Craig Adderley from Pexels The condition of being unable to think of what to write or how to proceed with writing has plagued writers for eons and will continue to do so in the future. It’s an occupational hazard. So, what is the underlying cause of such a disabling condition? Here’s my take on Writer’s Block. 1. Procrastination. Writers are the worst procrastinators. Admit it, writers use some of the most creative excuses to delay writing. Checking email, browsing social media, watching television, or daydreaming all in the guise of finding inspiration, or waiting for the Muse to speak to them. When actually, the writer is simply making excuses to delay the deed of writing. 2. Mentally stuck. Writing requires an open mind for the thoughts to flow. The mind can get bogged down with life details such as overdue bills, car repairs, what to make for dinner, and tens of thousands of other thoughts. These life details build up in the brain, building a damn so new thoughts can not flow freely. The brain becomes constipated and literally stops the creative writing process from occurring. It is said we have between 50,000-70,000 thoughts per day, this means between 35 and 48 thoughts per minute per person. Neuroscientist and philosopher Dr. Deepak Chopra agrees, although–being a rigorous, skeptical scientist, he acknowledged some error in his measurements and said “60,000 to 80,000”. That’s a lot of neurons working overtime, creating massive amounts of chatter inside the head. With all that mental noise, how would one hear the voice of the Muse? To clear my head of the chatter, I write a to-do list. This helps to reduce some of the static trapped inside my brain. It also helps to focus my thoughts, to prioritize details, and it reduces mental stress. A mind can not function at peak performance when one attempts to remember every single thought banging around inside the head. I’m not a huge fan of multitasking, so I try to focus on one thought. When the brain tries to do two things at once, it divides and conquers, dedicating one-half of our gray matter to each task, new research shows. But forget about adding another mentally taxing task: The work also reveals that the brain can’t effectively handle more than two complex, related activities at once. Multitasking Splits the Brain by Gisela Telis. The whole point of writing is to get your thoughts down on paper or on a word processor. If the thoughts aren’t yet formed or I’m not sure of the direction the writing should take, I don’t seek out things to keep me busy until inspiration strikes. I begin writing about the chatter inside my head. With 3 to 4 dozen thoughts per minute, there’s plenty to write about. I just let the words flow. I don’t try to direct the ideas, I simply record the thoughts that are in my head. This exercise has nothing to do with the writing I should be doing, but I’m also not sitting around waiting for inspiration, If anything, I force inspiration by documenting the static in my mind. Once I begin writing, thoughts begin to gel and peculate and within no time, I’m humming along with the muse and back on track with my primary writing. As for the dribble I wrote while clearing my head, that’s filed away as a reference for future writing projects. I don’t truly believe there is a thing called Writer’s Block. It’s simply a term writers tack onto those occasions when their brain is constipated, filled with too many thoughts. I don’t give myself permission to get bogged down in a counterproductive concept. Writer’s Block is real, I know cause I have a wooden block that sits on my desk. It’s etched with “Writer’s Block” on the side. For me, that’s Writer’s Block. I would like to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment in the Comment Box at the bottom of the page. Dale Thele Bestselling Fiction Author Stories with an LGBTQ+ Twist corrupting readers since 2008 Don't miss another blog post! Get new blog post notifications and new book/story releases sent directly to your email. Click here to subscribe .

Photo by Pixabay Picture, if you will, a spotless expansive lobby, void of chairs and tables, only the lingering pungent scent of disinfectant hangs precariously in the air. Where only last week folks laughed and told jokes around tables of lively dominoes and friendly card games. What a stark difference one week makes. I’m referring to a 164-unit downtown high-rise apartment building where most of the residents are single senior citizens living on meager monthly social security benefits. A community of aging folks who gather daily in the lobby to socialize with their neighbors, in most cases, the only social interaction they have. A community setting where they claim a complimentary morning cup of joe, play weekly Bingo, or other games, participate in on-site Sunday church services complete with a continental breakfast, activities these folks look forward to each week. Then the Novel Coronavirus put an end to all of that for these folks, as they are banned from gathering in the lobby. Today. the lobby sits empty, with no chairs, no tables, no residents, and even the often-played upright piano is gone. Only ghostly echos of bygone laughter and fading memories of neighbors enjoying each other's company haunt the deserted lobby. What will become of these forgotten folks who are living out what are supposed to be their golden years? Cooped up in their modest apartments, they’ve been robbed of their social support system. Isolated and afraid of their own shadows, they huddle behind securely bolted doors, waiting, wondering what’s to become of them. They have nothing to look forward to, no one comes to visit, and many do not own a television or even a radio to keep them company. Some own cell phones, but they never ring. They stare blankly out of windows that separate them from the outside world where a menacing virus lurks, waiting to pounce—if contracted, it could put them in the hospital—or worse. What do they have to look forward to? Before you lament about how challenging it is to be confined to your home—complete with your computers and laptops, cell phone, television, video games, friends and family you text and chat with daily—imagine what life is like for the less fortunate, the vulnerable, the lonely who have little to nothing. Social distancing has proven to slow the spread of the coronavirus, but at what cost to our forgotten elderly? In these uncertain times, reach out to your elderly and vulnerable neighbors with a weekly (or daily) phone call or anonymously hang a frequent care package on their door. Find a way to let them know they have not been forgotten. Just remember—one day in the future—you too could be in their shoes. Be safe. Be kind. Be patient. But most of all, show compassion for your neighbors. Don't make them suffer this temporary storm alone. I would like to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment in the Comment Box at the bottom of the page. Dale Thele Bestselling Fiction Author Stories with an LGBTQ+ Twist corrupting readers since 2008 Don't miss another blog post! Get new blog post notifications and new book/story releases sent directly to your email. Click here to subscribe .