Hey there sports fans! I am like many people in Chicago today -- nervous, unable to concentrate, wondering about the future. And it is all because the Cubs are in the World Series, a feat that has made even the Sox fans in my household cheer for the Northsiders. Go Cubs!! I have been remiss in letting you know what's new with Solace in So Many Words contributors, so here's some new info. Patty Somlo, whose prose piece "Learning to Breathe" appeared in SISMW, has a new … [Read more...]
Thomas G. Fiffer: Finding my resolve
Finding my resolve “Life changes in the instant. The ordinary instant.” – Joan Didion When I first learned I was infertile in the spring of 1996, I thought I could handle it. After all, I had been through tragedy before and come out whole. Tragedy was no stranger to my family. When I was two, my oldest brother had been partially paralyzed in a high-school wrestling accident. Later, he went to Yale and the University of Chicago Law School, onto a successful career and … [Read more...]
Blog Tour stops here
Susan Perry who has a great blog on creativity (Creating in Flow) at the Psychology Today site asked me to participate in a Blog Tour. It’s a way to introduce you to my writing process and two or three other creative people (I feature two). The Blog Tour asks that I answer four questions about my writing process. And I will, but let me tell you a little more about Susan Perry. She has a novel, Kylie’s Heel, and a website so be sure to visit them also. Now to the … [Read more...]
Thomas Fiffer: Clear the cache and stop the recrimination
Clear the cache and stop the recrimination This morning, after staying up extremely late writing, I heard the words "straight from the conscience" and "stop the recrimination." I don't hear voices, but I take the words that float into my head seriously. And when my conscience speaks, I listen. As I tried to divine what these phrases might mean, I also heard "clear the cache." I had cleared the cache on my laptop last night after Blogger started acting wonky. For … [Read more...]
Thomas G. Fiffer: Rubicons
Rubicons On my way to work each day, I cross four rivers. Driving to the train station, I slide over the Saugatuck, then follow its course for a mile and a half, observing its marshy banks lined with houses and studded with private docks. Once on the train, I navigate the Norwalk with its bridge that splits and rises for high-masted ships, the Byram in Greenwich, whose mouth was once a bustling commercial center, and finally the East as the train barrels from the Bronx … [Read more...]