It was just one of those mysteries. A classic whodunit. Human-Mom emerged from the bedroom to find what appeared to be a cat-turd on the floor. She rounded up the usual suspects. But who could have been responsible? Well, it depends what kind of mystery you’re writing. Big Cat, Little Cat We were the Mysteries…
Tag: Adam
“Where do you Get your Ideas?”
If you listen to interviews of authors, one of the questions you’ll hear most often is: “Where do you get your ideas?” I hear a plaintive note in this question. It is asked so often. Sometimes with reference to a specific work or series (like with George R. R. Martin and A Song of Ice…
Twist Endings (Caturday Questions)
Little Cat has been seeing versions of this joke all over the internet these days. And why not? It’s a classic. It’s the basis for a lot of Emo Phillips’s material. And of course, twist endings are having their day in the sun in Marvel movies, horror and thriller films… And was it only a…
“Save the Cat”: Anti-Abortion Virtue Signalers
How do fringe interests like abortion and homophobia take center stage at a time when we have bigger issues? (N. B. We always have bigger issues. So we might as well ask how anti-choice and anti-queer people ever take center-stage.) The answer actually has something to do with how to be a good writer. It…
Dreams (Caturday Questions)
Big Cat’s favorite dreams are the ones where Human-Mom grows an extra lap so he doesn’t have to fight with his siblings for his favorite seat. Little Cat’s favorite dreams are the ones where he goes on an epic quest. Although he was also partial to that one where he started a restaurant called “Mice…
Writer’s Block: Bangalore Edition
I often find that when I am feeling numb and don’t want to write, the reason for it is simple. I am afraid of what I will write. All of this falls under the deceptively simple name “writer’s block.” But why would I be afraid; that is, what would I be afraid of? There are…
Gifted and Talented (Caturday Questions)
Teachers assigned us labels when we were younger, like “gifted” or “gifted and talented.” Or, in rare cases, “prodigy.” What do these labels mean? Do they help us or hurt us? Can we change them? Can we own them? Some people discover their labels as adults. And then there are those labels on your writing….
Editor, Writer, Thrower of Wet Spaghetti
Throw a bunch of wet spaghetti at the wall. See what sticks. Who knew that the thing your parents told you not to do as a kid would be vital to your mental stability as an adult? And would be vital to my job as an editor. I have been editing this website for about…
Pride and Prejudice and Plagiarism (Caturday Questions)
Little Cat was reading his favorite book the other day (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), and couldn’t help but notice that it was a bit… derivative. It felt somehow as though Little Cat had read this book before. Which of course he had. You reread your favorites all the time, no? But that wasn’t it….
A Poem Fills a Pocket with Something
Instead of our usual Watch/Liste/Read today, we’re celebrating an extra special part of National Poetry Month with Poem in Your Pocket Day. We keep so many things there, literally and metaphorically. Today we’re asked to tuck a poem on a piece of paper into our own pockets. A poem on paper is small. It’s something…