Fifteen years ago, in a faraway land, I used to write stories of living and teaching in southwestern Germany. I’d write them here, little anecdotes from the tiny world in which I lived. In the beginning, it was called, quite descriptively, “Kristi Is Teaching in Germany.” Like anyone raising financial support as a missionary in…
Tag: writing
Things That Made 2024 Better
I’ve long finished the year with a list of what made it a better year than it could have been. I’ve always hedged it so carefully, not wanting to label a year “good” or “bad,” when it was so often both, and everything in between. All I have ever been willing to say is, in…
A Novel Month
I told only a few people I was attempting it. And I always said “attempting,” as if this was word was a magic talisman to ward off any accusation of failure. Usually I am all bravado at the beginning of adventures. I’ll declare them, like a European explorer, then push my ship off into the…
Rewrites
“So, what’s up with this paper?” my students ask, wafting in from the hall and settling in their desks with a nonchalance only possible after lunch, when a free afternoon beckons and “we can only handle school if it’s relaxed” is the motto of the hour. Don’t ask too much of us; it’s sixth period….
Richer Than Hemingway
“But then we did not think of ourselves ever as poor. We did not accept it…. We ate well and cheaply and ate well and cheaply and slept well and warm together and loved each other.” A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway “Are you ready?” I ask my Period 3 Honors American Literature class as they file in,…
NaNoWriMo
Short Story Ideas: Chick Flick Action Story Damsel in Distress/Platonic Ideal: Super smart and hot Creator made a weapon and then lost it. Quest: Find it and destroy it. Wants to make something better. Trickster/damsel befriends creator, tricks him into finding the Magic Weapon. Once they find it, she steals it and threatens the platonic…
Time and Space
“Ms. Dahlstrom… can you read my paper?” -Everyone English 11 has a paper due in an hour and a half. Originally, I hadn’t intended that they would turn in their first literary essay at 10:00 PM on a Friday night. It had been Tuesday morning, at the beginning of class. Later, remembering that our department…
The Way Home 