Category Archives: diction

Thoughts on The Thief of Time by John Boyles

Kelli Jae Baeli Posted on by

I have missed sitting down with a physical book and reading. My recent decision to take a sabbatical and just allow myself to be creative and deadline-free, had me standing in front of my fiction bookshelf, seeking something new. Something enjoyable. As most of you know by now, I have become quite finicky about my fiction reading. I read so much of my own work in pumping out work in the last ten years, that I have had little time to read for pleasure, and when I do, it’s inevitably just before I go to sleep, and by then, my … Continue reading →

Domino Bones

Kelli Jae Baeli Posted on by

…Average Morning Weirdness… This morning, I rolled over to greet my honey, as she sat down on the bed (she almost always rises before I do). I heard three pops–one in my right shoulder, one in my neck, one in my left shoulder. I made some comment like, “Oh, my crunchy joints…they pop in sequence…it’s like dominoes. I have Domino Bones.” Then, I realized how much I liked the phrase. Domino Bones. “Sounds like the name of a canyon in Montana,” I say. Then put on my announcer voice: “They were lost in the canyon of Domino Bones and had … Continue reading →

Glaring Errors

Kelli Jae Baeli Posted on by

  This is a wide subject area, but I want to focus on just a few things. As a segue, I have to share this post I came across. I was on a forum where people were posting for help about making money blogging. One poster was frustrated and confused and posted this: “Been using these for over a year and made 2 penies.  How do I earn money on goggle.  It is simply frostrating.  I posted so many adds  on my blog but I have earned no money. what is happening? I have been trying to write all the … Continue reading →

Regrettable Profile of the Day: "In My Late Fourty"

Kelli Jae Baeli Posted on by

This is an actual profile on a dating site for LESBIANS.  My self-summary IM IN MY LATE FOURTY I HAVE BLUE EYES 6 FOOT AND WAS MARRIED FOR 13 YEARS AND LOST MY SPOUSE IN 09 AND IM EASY GOING WOMAN LOOKING FOR A FRIEND FIRST AND THEN A LONG TERM RELACTION SHIPAND HAVE NOT BEEN WITH ANYONE IN OVER ABOUT 2 YEARS AND LOVE TO GET OUT AND START DATING AND ENJOY MY NEW LIFE AND SEE WHAT PATH IM ON AND LOOKING FOR A SWEETMAN AND LAID BACK I LIKE COUNTRY MUSIC AND I LIKE PRO FOOTBALL BRONCOS … Continue reading →

Critique of Bad Fiction

Kelli Jae Baeli Posted on by

Several years ago, I did a critique for a friend who wanted my editorial-writerly insight on some stories she wrote. After I read them, I was then uneasy, because I am not willing to lie, yet I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. When she asked about the results of my reading, I told her I was afraid she wouldn’t like my critique. She stated emphatically that she wanted the cold hard truth. And so, that’s what I gave her. Below, is the critique, and I post it because I feel it covers lots of territory that every new writer … Continue reading →

Diction Deja Vu

Kelli Jae Baeli Posted on by

Even though I tend to have a Swiss cheese memory, there are times when at least I recreate something almost verbatim, without even realizing I have done it before. (Which comes in handy if I do something stupid and delete some writing accidentally). For example, in doing an edit on As You Were, I came to this one sentence: She breathed cautiously at first, –and felt it needed a little more zap, so I added: …like some wayward astronaut stepping from the ship on some unfamiliar planet. …and then i read the next sentence that was already there…and saw: Then … Continue reading →