characters « Storytellers Unplugged

Thomas Sullivan: BREAST-FED BRAINS vs. NOITANIGAMI

By Thomas Sullivan, on May 15th, 2012

Think back. Way back. Lying-in-your-bassinet back. What kind of formula were you raised on? No-no…I don’t mean breast milk/formula. I mean how was your life orchestrated? Dr. Spock baby? Schedules/organization/chaos/mommy-was-on-Valium? Meat and potatoes lifestyle? (Dunno…I’ve repressed all that)? The answer is very important to your imagination and creativity. No question, creativity can either be given [...]

Thomas Sullivan: AMERICAN “IDLE” or HOW I MET RANDY, JENNIFER AND STEVEN AT A MOTEL 6

By Thomas Sullivan, on April 15th, 2012

Well, actually the Motel 6 was a Best Western War Bonnet Inn, but that makes the title of this essay too long. In any case, that’s where I was the night a pet theory of mine was severely wounded if not shot through the heart. See, it was my belief that listening to radio as [...]

Patchwork Dreaming

By Gerard Houarner, on February 4th, 2012

Or…”interrupted by a person on business from Porlock” — sustaining the vision of the story you want to tell as life’s storms rage around you.

Trust me, it’ll make sense.

Quite some time ago in a LOCUS interview, Jay Lake talked about the challenges of containing the story he’s working on in his mind, or living in [...]

Thomas Sullivan: SEGAMI RORRIM

By Thomas Sullivan, on January 15th, 2012

If something has to be kept secret, it must be true. Secrets are self-proving. Lies are loud and wear red hats, e.g. Santa Claus. Okay, I’m being a tad glib here. I do not mean that only secrets are true or that all red hats – i.e. loud proclamations — are lies (your red hat [...]

Thomas Sullivan: ANGELS IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR

By Thomas Sullivan, on December 15th, 2011

There have been moments — bound in some way to a place or a period of time — that have taken my compassion to another level and made me a more complete writer. Such a time and place was a bitterly cold Christmas when I was living in an old men’s hotel filled with human [...]

Thomas Sullivan: FATE, DESTINY, SERENDIPITY, KARMA, KISMET AND STAR-CROSSED IRONIES & COINCIDENCES

By Thomas Sullivan, on October 15th, 2011

As one control freak to another… Uh-oh, way to go, Sully. You’ve alienated your entire readership already. But the essential thing about being human – about being anything with a pulse and choices – is trying to control one’s living conditions to make them beneficial to one’s self, isn’t it? AKA survival. Like I was [...]

Thomas Sullivan: SEX & ROMANCE, BORING BINGES, and WHY MOSQUITOES SHOULDN’T HAVE GUN PERMITS

By Thomas Sullivan, on September 15th, 2011

The Grand Inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition hisself – Torquemada – has nothin’ on you guys! What a bonanza of questions and comments came in from around the globe last month in response to the Q. & A. format. Probing, intelligent, deep and even beastly stuff – and damn near Truth or Dare. You’re having [...]

Thomas Sullivan: PANNING GOLD, FREEDOM, & THE GREAT SHOPPING CART FIASCO

By Thomas Sullivan, on August 15th, 2011

Help…I have locked myself in the bathroom with a loaded pistol and I don’t know how much time I have left before I pull the trigger. I know this is where I have to be now. It’s a desperate move, but I am desperate. I saw the mosquito fly in here, and if I don’t [...]

Thomas Sullivan: FINDING WOR(L)DS

By Thomas Sullivan, on July 15th, 2011

Hey, you want to bug out with me? You know, ditch this horrible, awful agony of trying to create characters, plots and settings? I’ll tell you a secret. When your imagination goes stale, you don’t have to put it to bed until it recovers. In fact, that may be the worst – and certainly the [...]

Thomas Sullivan: LION LUNGS, DEMENTIA DOG & THE KILLER GARAGE DOOR

By Thomas Sullivan, on June 15th, 2011

Maybe I’ll write humor today, you decide.

It is 4:41 AM and your sawdust-for-brains next door neighbor has just “unleashed” Lion Lungs – the hyper barking pooch – for his pre-dawn serenade. Your spouse slumbers next to you, and if you move to the computer downstairs, there is a good chance you’ll wake the baby. Better [...]

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