The Writing Life – Uncle Josh Talks too Much

Uncle Josh on the Wedding at Cana

Published by Josh English on January 19, 2025

This week’s Gospel reading is John 2: 1-11, the Wedding at Cana, called out as Jesus’ first public miracle. As I am a writer I like to analyze these texts by asking the question why was this story told in this way? As a philosopher I am looking for the philosophy, the way of life, of Christianity.

Uncle Josh Dreams of Harlan Ellison

Published by Uncle Josh on December 16, 2024

I woke up this morning dreaming of Harlan Ellison. I never met the man but I think I have worked with people who have met him. My first exposure to Ellison was in my high school days in the 1980’s when I wrote descriptive vignettes for an English class, enjoyed them, and kept writing them. …

Uncle Josh on Canons

Published by Uncle Josh on November 21, 2024

I read this Reactor.com article about how there is “no canon in Tolkien”. It’s been sitting in my head ever since. I have also been one of those people who worried that a TV show or movie was fundamentally changing the canon of some intellectual property. I am changing in how I view these things, …

Uncle Josh on his writing career

Published by Uncle Josh on November 18, 2024

It is November, which means novel-writing month for many, even though the NaNoWriMo organization has fallen apart and seems to have no desire to put itself together again. I can sympathize with that. I am, as of today, close to 20,000 words behind the goal, with most of my words going to various projects, not …

Uncle Josh Wraps up NaNoWriMo 2023

Published by Uncle Josh on December 3, 2023

I hit 50K on November 29th, which is to my knowledge the earliest I’ve hit the goal for month. I try to pace myself during November. Lessons Learned I have learned that the weekends and writing don’t really mix, and I decided early on that any future writing schedule I keep will remove the weekends …

Uncle Josh on Checkov’s Double-Barreled Shotgun

Published by Uncle Josh on February 5, 2023

Ever since an old classmate of mine posted one of Scott Meyer’s Basic Instructions comics about Reno (we grew up in Sparks), I have loved the web comic. I think it’s one of the best web comics out there. It is dense. Usually four panels and each panel has it’s own joke. I was happy …

Uncle Josh on NaNoWriMo 2022

Published by Uncle Josh on November 1, 2022

I don’t think I’ll spin up my NaNoWhineMo bot this year. It was a bit of fun but I have no desire to resurrect it. I tried my first NaNo back in 2004 when I was just starting out on this writing diversion and I cannot remember what I wrote. I think I “won” but …

Uncle Josh on Uncle Josh

Published by Uncle Josh on May 19, 2022

One of the lies I tell myself regularly is that I’m a writer. Only I haven’t written fiction in months, and I haven’t edited any of the work I have written, and I haven’t submitted anything for a long time, either. So can I call myself a writer anymore? I have several non-personal writing assignments. …

Uncle Josh Notices a Narrative Choice

Published by Uncle Josh on January 2, 2022

During many sessions with The Story Engine Deck I find the stories can get a bit dark, or threatening, or just not ending up in a happy way. I also have a tendency then to not tell the story of that character in that character’s voice. I look for an outsider who can tell the …

Uncle Josh on Themes

Published by Uncle Josh on January 1, 2022

I have not done much writing in the past few years, and I have not submitted a story in at least three. But I have been writing, slowly, haphazardly, and sometimes way too cautiously. I didn’t make the 50K wordcount for NaNoWriMo last year, but I did get a first draft of a short story …