The Confabulator Cafe

Author: kwohler

  • Heroes and Villains

    Superman by Alex Ross
    Superman/Clark Kent by Alex Ross in Superman: Peace on Earth. ©1998 DC Comics.

    When people ask me what I write, it’s not easy for me to give a simple answer. I’m a writer, and I write short stories, novels and even a little poetry.

    I’ve written in a number of genres, including contemporary fiction. And though most of my writing falls into the fantasy genre, most people upon hearing the word “fantasy” immediately think I write stories of wizards and dragons — which I never have done.

    I could explain that my current work-in-progress is in the fantasy superhero sub-genre, but that almost always leads people to think I write comic books. (I wish. I’ve often dreamed of getting a shot at writing a Superman story — finding the perfect blend of action and drama.)

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  • 5 Changes to Succeed in Writing

    When you want something you've never had, you have to do something you've never done.About 20-some-odd years ago, I decided I was going to be a published author. After many mistakes and missteps, this dream finally became a reality in 2012 with my first sale of a short story. (My story will be published as part of an anthology in August.)

    Now, 20+ years is a long time for such a dream to come to fruition. Certainly. But to be clear, this was not some arbitrary self-imposed deadline. I never said 2012 was going to be “the year I get published.” (In truth, I’ve been saying that for several years.)

    So, what made this year different?

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  • Greatest Hits of 2012

    Pencil on calendarWhen I started writing for the Confabulator Cafe in January of 2012, I didn’t know what to expect. I’d had my own website, my own blog, and I’d worked on several others as a contributing writer or editor. The Cafe, however, took me into experimental territory.

    The idea for the Cafe was born out of the Lawrence writers group, specifically Sara Lundberg (our editor-in-chief and founder). She proposed a group blog where our collective writing experience could be shared with the world at large. It seemed like a good idea, but I didn’t know if nearly a dozen people could write each week on a single topic and not come off sounding derivative or repetitive.

    I shouldn’t have worried. While we did have weeks where we seemed to be singing the same note across the board, we also had weeks where differing opinions created serious tension in the Cafe.

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  • The Musician

    I love the holidays, and I’ve always been moved by the charity of people at this time of the year. Stories of generosity have a way of hitting me on an emotional level, and I always want to share them with others. My hope is that if a tale of giving can bring out the charitable side in even a single person, then it has done its job.

    When I was a kid growing up, I had an uncle who used to read us the same letter every Christmas.  Written by a distant cousin, it told the story of how one late night encounter with a musician changed the way their family celebrated the holidays. Here is his letter:

    Several years ago, my wife and I were traveling across the state with our first child through a snowy Wisconsin night. We had been visiting her parents for the holidays, and we were driving on a lonely stretch of highway. With an hour or more to go, we noticed a young man walking the side of the highway thumbing for a ride. My wife asked me to pull over and we offered him a ride. (more…)

  • Bells

    Rocking Horse Room — 1943

    Straeon Manor - Rocking Horse RoomFrom the attic to the wine cellar, their voices whispered my name, “Eliza. Eliza. Eliza.” I had come home for Christmas. I had returned to Straeon Manor.

    The rocking horse wallpaper had been replaced by utilitarian white paint. The child’s bed gone, replaced by a single adult bed. The nightstand – where I kept my mother’s bible to comfort me during the long, dark nights – had been replaced by a small dresser where sat a small tray of food.

    A rocking horse sat in the corner of the room. Had it been mine once upon a time? Perhaps I had left it behind when we moved. I couldn’t remember. This was no longer my bedroom, just as this was no longer our house.

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  • The Do’s and Don’ts of Shopping for Writers

    Doctor Who journal
    Riversong’s Journal, from Doctor Who. The perfect gift for a writer who is also a fan of the television series.

    Despite what you may think, writers are some of the easiest people to shop for. Want to know why? Because we usually want books, whether they are in hard copy or electronic format.

    Last year, my wife purchased me a Kindle Touch from Amazon. I don’t need the latest Kindle Paperwhite. But you can always buy me a few books off my wishlist.

    First, let me say that owning an e-reader does not preclude wanting hardcover books. It just makes me more selective about what books I want in hardcover. Some books — coffee-table books, for example — are always going to be in hardcover. I am also very fond of my Easton Press collection of science fiction novels.

    But what do you get for a writer besides books, most of which are likely to be read and forgotten in a month’s time. How can you make an impact all year long with the proverbial “gift that keeps on giving”?

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  • Post-NaNo Stress Relief

    NaNoWriMo 2012If you read last week’s Dispatches from the Trenches, you know how NaNoWriMo turned out for me.

    In a nutshell, it didn’t. This is not to say it was a disaster. I didn’t have a meltdown. I merely realized that it wasn’t working for me.

    Instead of doing more recap of the downside of my personal experience, though, I’d like to talk about what went right.

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  • Dispatches from the Trenches – Week 4

    NaNoWriMo 2012This is it. The end of the war. And while many of our brave writers have already passed that imaginary line marking the end of their involvement in NaNoWriMo, I am looking at a word count that is just over halfway there.

    I will not finish my 50,000 word count by tomorrow.

    I’m not happy about this. But neither am I depressed. I finished NaNoWriMo last year, but failed to finish my novel. I was determined this year to spend the month editing and finishing last year’s manuscript. But, as you may know, I realized early on that the novel could not be salvaged. I needed to start over.

    So I decided to join in on NaNoWriMo this year. Again. One more time.

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  • Dispatches from the Trenches – Week 3

    Although the NaNoWriMo tradition suggests that every day should be filled with writing, it’s Thanksgiving in America. I know this day will be spent with my family. I’m even writing this post in advance, so I won’t be distracted on the big day.

    NaNoWriMo 2012

    For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been posting my correspondence from the front lines of NaNoWriMo. As the battle to finish my story rages on, I’ve shared my triumphs and losses. But not today. Instead, I want to take a break from the war on words and talk about why this holiday really means a lot to me.

    We all have our particular Thanksgiving traditions. When I was a kid, Thanksgiving always meant an extra trip to church, followed by a big family dinner that my mom would prepare — often skipping out on the church service because the turkey needed to be basted or the potatoes needed to be mashed.

    I remember rushing home from church to catch as much as possible of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. For me, the holiday season couldn’t start until I saw all the balloons and floats — and, of course, the jolly old man himself, Santa Claus — march down New York City’s 34th Street.

    Macy's Believe MeterThese days, Thanksgiving is a time for me to share with my wife and family. My wife and I wake up early on Thanksgiving morning. We have coffee while we watch the parade and slowly get ready for visiting family members.

    She and I still delight to see our favorite childhood characters represented on floats and as gigantic balloons. We love to see the Muppets, and the characters from Sesame Street. She cries when the Radio City Rockettes perform. We still wave to Santa at the end of the parade.

    Why? You might say it’s because we’re still children at heart. We still believe in magic. And when the Believe Meter in front of Macy’s goes from “Imagine” to “Believe,” our hearts swell with happiness and tears come to our eyes because we believe in the promise of hope that comes with this season.

    I think that’s what I’m most thankful for — this year and every year. I’m thankful I have a wife who shares my hopes and dreams about the future. I’m thankful that she is a writer, too, and understands my need to tell stories. I’m thankful she still believes in magic. And I’m thankful that she refuses to grow up, even as we grow older together.

  • Dispatches from the Trenches – Week 2

    NaNoWriMo 2012The second week of writing has taken its toll on my resolve, but I have not given up the fight.

    The first couple of days were rough. I barely made headway last Thursday, and Friday night was a wash. I regained ground over the weekend, barreling through 4,000 words on Saturday. But by Sunday, I was losing ground again. My hopes of hitting 20,000 words by Sunday night fell short.

    On Monday, I rallied and hit the 20,000 word mark. And though I was still on target, I could feel the Week Two NaNo Blues begin to overtake me. Luckily, I wasn’t the only one. The camaraderie I shared with my fellow writers helped alleviate some of the stress, but the words…

    Ah, the words. Alas, they did not come.

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