Tag: Writing as a Craft
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On Writing and Storytelling: The Making of an Unplanned Literary Series
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Poland, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Summer of Two Movies, Writing as a CraftThursday, August 20, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Every story—or, in this case, every collection of stories—begins somewhere. It may start with a flash of inspiration, a lingering memory, a familiar-looking person or place, or even an old college creative-writing assignment that suddenly makes you want to revise, expand, and share it. In the introduction to…
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I’m Not Ready to Return to My Creative Writing Desk Yet
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Poland, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, Creative Writing, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftTuesday, August 18, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. I’m still on my self-imposed break from Professional Daydreaming.™ Reluctantly, yes, but still on it. I had hoped to start writing—or at least seriously thinking through—the fine details of the story I’ve titled And the Horse You Rode in On this week. Maybe even today. I…
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A Quick Life Update from Central Florida for August 6, 2026
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Poland, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, Creative Writing, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Personal Thoughts, Reunion: A Story, Summer 2025, Summer 2026, Summer in Florida, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftThursday, August 6, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, everyone. I’m still—somewhat reluctantly—on vacation from Professional Daydreaming™, so I don’t have any updates on And the Horse You Rode In On… or other projects in the works. This break from creative writing feels strange. After a long, frustrating stretch of “salutary neglect” toward long-form fiction—I wrote…
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My Revised Copy of the ‘Jim Garraty Chronicles’ is Here!
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Poland, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Goodreads, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), The Summer of Two Movies, Writing a First Novel, Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftMonday, July 27, 2026 – Orlando, Florida Hi, all. A few minutes ago I walked out to the street-side mailbox and retrieved my latest Amazon delivery — the freshly printed, newly revised copy of The Jim Garraty Chronicles: A Life in Four Movements. I haven’t had time for a deep inspection yet; the ink is…
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On Writing and Storytelling: When the KDP Gods Smile on a Monday
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Brazil, Amazon Canada, Amazon Germany, Amazon Italy, Amazon Japan, Amazon Mexico, Amazon Poland, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon Sweden, Amazon Sweden, Amazon UK, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Goodreads, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Jim Garraty Chronicles (Series), The Summer of Two Movies, Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftWhen the KDP Gods Smile on a Monday Monday, July 20, 2026 – Orlando, Florida “The awfulness of Monday mornings is the world’s greatest common denominator. To the millionaire and the coolie it is the same, because there can be nothing worse.” — Kenneth Fearing, The Big Clock Monday mornings aren’t usually awful for me.…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Advice for Aspiring Writers
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in Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Books, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), On Writing Well: 30th Anniversary Edition, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Reunion: Coda, Writing a First Novel, Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftSo, you want to be a writer. Adorable. Truly. I once wanted to be a writer too—back when I was young, cocky, undisciplined, and convinced that stories would simply materialize out of thin air if I stared at a blank page long enough. Spoiler: they did not. What did materialize was a long, slow parade…
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On Writing and Storytelling: The Girl Who Wasn’t Real (But Felt Like She Was)
Writing stories that draw, even partially, from an author’s lived experience can be a bit of a double-edged sword: wonderfully useful on one side, faintly perilous on the other. Memory is generous that way. It offers texture, specificity, and the small, telling details writers spend ages trying to invent—but it also comes with baggage, assumptions,…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Behold…the Power of Stories!
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Audiobooks, Books, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Family History, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Bogota, Life in Florida, Life in Miami (1972-2016), Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Writing a First Novel, Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftMonday, May 25, 2026, Orlando, Florida If you are a regular visitor to this space, you already know my favorite label: storyteller. Not influencer, not pundit, not a man with suspiciously strong opinions about semicolons—just a storyteller. I have been under the spell of stories for as long as I can remember: first as a…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Stories, Sunshine, and the People Who Read Them
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Audible, Books, Brandon Padilla, Bryan Haddock, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Florida Weather, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Life in Bogota, Life in Central Florida, Life in Florida, Life in Madison (NH), Life in Miami (1972-2016), Life in New Hampshire (December 2023 and Onward), Life in South Florida, Life in the Tampa Bay area, Personal Thoughts, Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, Spring 2026, Spring in Florida, Stefan (Steve) Lee, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftThursday, May 14, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi, there. It’s another scorchingly hot late‑spring afternoon in Central Florida. As I write this, the temperature sits at 87°F (30°C) under mostly sunny skies. With humidity at 42% and a west‑northwest breeze of 11 MPH (17 km/h), the heat index nudges up to a sticky 92°F (33°C). The…
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On Writing and Storytelling: Pushing Forward, Even When My Heart Wants to Work on Something Else….
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in Alex Diaz-Granados, Amazon, Amazon Reviews, Amazon Spain (Amazon.es), Amazon UK, Comings and Goings: The Art of Being Seen, Creative Writing, Kindle, Kindle Create (Publishing App), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Reunion Duology, Reunion: A Story, The Jim Garraty Chronicles, The Summer of Two Movies, Writing and Editing, Writing as a CraftWednesday, May 13, 2026, Orlando, Florida Hi, there. It’s another torrid and sticky late spring day in Central Florida. As I write this, it’s already early afternoon, and the temperature is summer-like 85°F (29°C) under partly sunny conditions. With humidity at 70% and the wind blowing from the west-northwest at 8 MPH (13 Km/H), the…
A Certain Point of View, Too 