Conversations with Calliope

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How was your weekend.
JOE: I enjoyed it. On Saturday I worked on my story and on Sunday I relaxed and read.
CALLIOPE: Tell me about the story.
JOE: Okay. I told you I was working on it, but not furiously. I transferred what I had written to the computer and reviewed what I had written.
CALLIOPE: How do you usually write a story?
JOE: I usually start with a theme and begin writing. As I progress I develop the characters, plot and ending.
CALLIOPE: Did this one work that way?
JOE: For the most part. I took a walk after transcribing what I had written. When I returned, I had in my head quite a few ideas about ways to strengthen my presentation. I also had the ending in mind.
CALLIOPE: Did you finish it?
JOE: Not yet. I plan to today or tomorrow so I will have it ready for the Liftbridge Writers Group tomorrow night.
CALLIOPE: When can I see it?
JOE: I will post it on Critique Circle and Author's Den probably on Wednesday and let you know when it is ready for your viewing.
CALLIOPE: I can't wait.
JOE: I'm excited about it too. This is the first short story I have written in some time. Talk with you tomorrow.
(Cable Car- San Francisco)

Conversations with Calliope

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Raring to go again.
CALLIOPE: You didn't tell me how you made out with the column you were working on.
JOE: I thought about it quite a while and finally decided I was ready to write it. I told you it was to be on priest sexual abuse. I have pondered this issue in the process of planning and writing The Pastor's Inferno. It was hard to distill into 500 words.
CALLIOPE: So what did you decide?
JOE: I focused on the aspect of the mystery of priest motivation for abuse and limited myself to exploring just this.
CALLIOPE: And were you happy with the result?
JOE: Yes. You can see it in the usual place on my Commonsense Wisdom website.
CALLIOPE: I'll look at it. What's up for today?
JOE: I have been making some new Internet friends this week in the various groups to which I belong. I want to get to know them a little better and might start this process today. I also want to continue responding to blogs as I find them of interest. I signed up for a 24 hour short story contest starting this afternoon through Writer's Weekly online magazine.
CALLIOPE: Have you ever participated in something like this before?
JOE: No. It will be a new experience but I'm looking forward to it.
CALLIOPE: Good luck.
JOE: Thanks. I'll let you know how it goes on Monday.

(Sunrise in Batavia, NY)