And what lies beyond the pursuit of always being right. — The two-ship fleet searching for the fabled Northwest Passage has hit a block, literally, a massive block of ice, damaging HMS Erebus’s propeller and cutting her efficiency by half. It’s September 1846, and the European hunt for the illusory marine trade route has been going for nearly 350 years, since…

On Day 17 of the Tour de France (Le Tour), so close to the end of the race, a rider waits at the foot of the Col de la Madeleine to help his leader up the dramatic assent. Jens Debusschere, former Belgian National champion, is riding for the first time…

Three ideas from David Hume, Adam Smith, and Francis Hutcheson on making a better world. — In the 18th Century, Scotland was a land without a leader. James VI of Scotland had become James I of England. The country was Crippled by debt and blighted by poverty. Scotland was a country without a parliament. Yet out of this small country emerged a ferocious movement of innovative…

Easy tactics to add texture and dimension to your stories — When you hear the word myth, what do you think? An epic Homer text or a Euripides play? Do you think of a 10-hour Lord of The Rings trilogy? Something enormous and impenetrable. I find it daunting to think in terms of creating something that huge. And fear aside, the…

Deborah Masson meets me with a giant bosie and loads of warmth, a typical Aberdonian greeting. She is glowing with light for someone who spends so much time conjuring up nasty events for her novels. Her first of three published novels in the DI Eve Hunter series, Hold Your Tongue…

LA in the early 1930s. Around 2000 people are arriving in the city per week, driven by the great depression and looking for a better turn of fortune. In the final years of prohibition, black market alcohol is booming, and the notorious LAPD has untold resources to service the needs…

One of many pieces of wisdom I picked up in my time learning the storytelling craft in a Scott Myers online class was the idea of choosing the path of least resistance. …

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas (1973) — Ursula Le Guin Synopsis: A narrator describes a summer party in the utopian town of Omelas, the beauty and perfection of the citizens and the terrible price a young child pays for their splendour. Story Home: The Unreal and The Real …

Hi there. I’m a creative writer focusing on my first collection of short stories. As part of that mission, I’m digesting as many short stories as I can lay my time on. I’ll craft a brief article about a short story I enjoy each week, looking specifically at three elements. …