D.T. Krippene

~ Searching for Light in the Darkness

D.T. Krippene

Tag Archives: Writing

Short Story Contest for 2024 – Seasons Readings

30 Monday Jan 2023

Posted by dtkrippene in Short Story Contest

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Bethlehem Writers Group, Holiday Theme, Short Story Contest, Writing

The Bethlehem Writers Group is seeking never-published short stories of 2,000 words or fewer on the theme: Holiday Stories. “Holiday Stories” are defined as those that take place on or around any holiday from US Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day, or stories that reference those holidays.

There are many such holidays, so let your imagination fly for a chance to win:

Winners will receive:

First Place:
$250 and publication in our upcoming anthology: Season’s Readings: More Sweet, Funny, and Strange Holiday Tales

Second Place:
$100 and publication in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable

Third Place:
$50 and publication in Bethlehem Writers Roundtable

Click Here for Contest Submission Rules

Initial blind judging will be done by members of the Bethlehem Writers Group, LLC. Finalists will be notified by June 15, 2023.

Final selection of winners will be done by renowned short story author and editor Barb Goffman.

Contest winners will be announced on the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable website and on the Bethlehem Writers Group website by July 1, 2023.

Submissions open at 12:01 a.m. ET on January 1, 2023, and must be received by 11:59 p.m. EDT, March 31, 2023.

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The Legend of Four Winds Butte – Part 2

31 Monday Oct 2022

Posted by dtkrippene in Mystery Stories, Short Story

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Halloween, Short Stories, Writing

Part 2 of the Halloween Story

The Legend of the Four Winds Butte

Happy Halloween

If you missed Part 1 – Click Here

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Spring Issue of Roundtable Magazine

02 Saturday Apr 2022

Posted by dtkrippene in BWG Roundtable Magazine

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Literary Learnings, Poems, Short Stories, Springtime, Writing

The 2022 Spring Issue of Roundtable Magazine, a publication of the Bethlehem Writers Group, is now available online.

I have the honor to be this season’s featured author with, “Desert Buzz”, a short story about a New Englander’s first Southern Nevada spring that may lead to a budding romance.

This season’s theme, Spring Abuzz, offers featured poem, “Hysteranthous”, by Maggie Kennedy. We also have short stories from William Sharon and Richard L. Shelby, poems by Alexander Zera and Christopher Clauss, Literary Learnings from Carol L. Wright, and the ever-popular writing tips from Betty Wryte-Goode.

Enjoy.

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The 2022 Short Story Award is now open

31 Monday Jan 2022

Tags

Bethlehem Writers Group, Mystery Stories, Short Story Contest, Writing

Hey Mystery Writers. Short Story Contest – “An Element of Mystery”, is now open for submissions.

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Posted by dtkrippene | Filed under Mystery Stories, Short Story Contest

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Happy Hallothanksgivingmas

14 Sunday Nov 2021

Posted by dtkrippene in Blogging, Humor

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Holiday Humor, Humor, Thanksgiving, Writing

From Depositphotos.com

I’ve updated a blog from yesteryear on the writer’s site, A Slice of Orange.  Squeezed between Halloween and Christmas, it often feels like Thanksgiving might become a holiday wannabe.   

Click the link here to read – Happy Hallothanksgivingmas. 

 

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Challenges of Writing on the Road

13 Monday Apr 2020

Posted by dtkrippene in Blogging, On Writing

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Writer's Life, Writing, Writing Community, Writing on the Road

I’m on the blog site, A Slice of Orange, with an article on the “Challenges of Writing on the Road”. 

Click the link, “Challenges of Writing on the Road“, stop by, and let me know what how you meet the challenge.  

Roundtable Writing-on-the-Road

Happy Writing, and stay healthy. 

 

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Believing

25 Wednesday Dec 2019

Posted by dtkrippene in Inspiration, Musing

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Believing, Holiday Reflections, Writer's Life, Writing, Writing Muse

I miss childish times when believing was unhampered by the distractions of adulthood; making a living, raising a family – you know, the stuff of life.  The little guy above; he doesn’t quite understand the meaning of a simple tree ornament, but he believes there is magic in his hand.

I attended holiday gatherings the last couple weeks with friends I hadn’t seen in a while. The inevitable question arose, “how’s the writing going?” I delivered the usual pitch; published a couple short stories; working on finishing another manuscript, etc. etc.

We’re expected to call ourselves writers when asked. It is part of shoring up the walls of self-belief. Folks who ask, respond as expected with, “Gee, that’s neat. What have you written?” Cue awkwardness. “Oh – uh – I write apocalyptic, little paranormal – got a couple short stories in a mag you never heard of – oh, there’s my wife. Can you excuse me a moment?”  

For those of us who write but have few if any credentials to show for our hard work, the magic of believing wanes over time.

When I first embarked on this venture decades ago, it was to prove that I had it in me to write a book. I had fun doing it. Wrote another. I believed in myself.  I graduated to magazine articles and crafting words for new stories. A real full-time job and being a parent kept the effort to stolen snippets of time. I wrote without a clue how the book industry worked, blissful in my belief that I was ready to test the literary waters.  

I discovered myself afloat against a tsunami of content and woke up on a desert isle of disbelief. Reality set in with the chain of five-percenters – five percent of all writers finish a book, five percent of that never submit, five percent of that never land an agent, five percent of those never see the publishing light of day …   

What the hell was I thinking? Even if I managed to flag down one of many gatekeepers, I was up against seasoned professionals. That childish belief melted like a snowman in a winter thaw.  

Imagining stories and writing them down had always been easy for me.  Who knew there were rules, lots of rules, pretty rules for the gate-keeping cadre? Took the next few years to learn how to write, but at least I kept at it. It changed my writing style, some of it good, some of it that chipped away at my writing voice. I emerged as a self-taught gatekeeper and entered a mobius strip of write, edit, critique, prune, rinse, repeat. I’d write ten-thousand words, and trash about eight. Where once it took me six-to-eight months to finish a book, now swelled to a couple years.

Then someone asked, “Why are you still at it after all these years?” It was the same as asking, why do you still believe?  Good question. I didn’t have an immediate canned reply. In a moment of self-reflection, I rephrased the question. What plants me in front of an empty screen starving for words? I found the answer in the bio I’d written many years ago.

With an imagination that never sleeps, DT has a muse who refuses to be hobbled as a mere dream.

I’d forgotten that I write because I can’t help myself. I don’t need a reason. All I need is to believe I can translate the muse in my head and create magic on a page.

As for swimming the murky waters of publishing, cue line from the movie, Galaxy Quest. Never give up, never surrender. If the current project doesn’t float, I’ll move on and write something new. For me, the real fun is in the creating. 

To my fellow writers, may your holiday spirit be amply laced with a child-like belief in yourself.

 

 

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GLVWG Write Stuff Writers Conference™ Introduces CYBER WEEK! December 1st-December 7th, 2019

24 Sunday Nov 2019

Posted by dtkrippene in Writing Conference

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Author JD Barker, Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, Write Stuff Conference™, Writing, Writing Community, Writing Conferences

Want to attend a Writers Conference that celebrates

Creativity, Craft, and Community?

Want the perfect gift for that special writer or reader in your life?

-What about treating yourself to the perfect gift?

Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group presents:

The Write Stuff Writers Conference™

“2020 Vision”

Brochure - Website edition P1

GLVWG is excited to present you with the opportunity to attend our annual 3-day conference from March 12-14th at the Best Western Lehigh Valley Hotel in Bethlehem, PA.

Brochure - Website edition P2

For full PDF Copy of Conference Brochure, Click Here: Brochure – Website edition

Want the best value for an invaluable conference?

Sign up to be a member of the GLVWG Writers Group.

https://greaterlehighvalleywritersgroup.wildapricot.org/

For more information about the 2020 Conference,

Keynote & International Bestselling Author J.D. Barker and other conference presenters, visit:

GLVWG Write Stuff Conference™ Registration Page

 

Cyber Week Special Rate  – December 1 through December 7 ONLY

Full Conference:  Member – $299 : Non-Members – $309

                                    Thursday:       Member $99   Non $109

                                    Friday:             Member $99   Non $109

                                    Saturday:        Member $119   Non $129

Regular Registration: December 8 through February 20, 2020

Full Conference:  Member – $349 : Non-Members – $369

                                    Thursday:        Member $119   Non $129

                                    Friday:             Member $119   Non $129

                                    Saturday:         Member $139   Non $149

                                    Students – enjoy member rates!

(Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by parent)

 

So Mark Your Calendars and Please Save the Date

December 1st – December 7th, 2019 (Cyber Week) to Register for the

2020 Write Stuff Writers Conference™

March 12-14th, 2020

and take advantage of GLVWG’s CYBER WEEK deals.

We look forward to seeing you there!

And until then…WRITE ON!!

 

~The GLVWG Conference Committee

 

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Save the Date – 2020 GLVWG Write Stuff Writers Conference™

30 Monday Sep 2019

Posted by dtkrippene in On Writing

≈ Comments Off on Save the Date – 2020 GLVWG Write Stuff Writers Conference™

Tags

Writing, Writing Conferences

Conference save the date flier One Pagef copy

 

I’ve been a participant and supporter of the GLVWG Write Stuff Writer’s Conference™ for several years.  The 2020 Conference has some great speakers lined up.  

The links aren’t up yet on the GLVWG Website, but follow the Facebook Page to get notices. 

Hope to see you there. 

 

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Reflections on Expression with Good Intention

30 Sunday Jun 2019

Posted by dtkrippene in Blogging, Inspiration, Musing

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Fourth of July, Freedom of Speech, Good Intentions, Media Overload, Social Media, Unsplash.com, Writing

Norman Rockwell Town Meeting

From: Norman Rockwell Museum

On July Fourth, we celebrate our country’s basic human freedoms – one of which is Freedom of Expression.  We live in sensitive times, however, where words can inflame or incite reactions from others who take deference to those words.

That’s why I write fiction, where …

… names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or locales is entirely coincidental.

It’s a cop-out, but it keeps the litigation worms from getting into the creative literary food bin.  Of course, there are times when someone might ask – “what was really on your mind when you wrote this?”  Um – sounded like a good idea at the time?   

I revisited an article I posted five years ago, titled: The Fourth of Fantastic, where I wrote about the imperfection of our freedom of expression.

Right versus left, up versus down, it is enough to make your head spin. That’s what makes it great. People voicing opinions, standing up and saying what for. Democracy is chaotic, inclusive, confusing, open-minded, batty, and downright fantastic. Like all large families, a potpourri of multi-generational next of kin comes with large doses of squabbling and that crazy uncle we whisper about. And man, do we love to bicker.

Just for the record, I’m that crazy uncle they whisper about.

Unsplash ashkan-forouzani-July 4 Talking crop

Ashkan Forouzani – Unsplash.com

I didn’t shy away from espousing opinions in my younger years. It’s the passion of youth.  Winston Churchill never actually said it, but I like the quote: “If you’re not a liberal when you’re 25, you have no heart. If you’re not a conservative by the time you’re 35, you have no brain.” I like to think of myself as having one foot in, one foot out.  Guess that means I have half a brain. 

Sam Wheeler - Unsplash.com
Sam Wheeler – Unsplash.com
Wynand Van Poortvliet – Unsplash.com
Wynand Van Poortvliet – Unsplash.com

As an older man, I tend to avoid espousing my opinion in public forums. It’s not healthy for a writer beginning to emerge like me. Why piss off a potential reader?  I don’t want to be one of those curmudgeons who grouse at a newspaper article, then proselytize my differing opinion to anyone who happens to walk by. I save all that for my long-suffering wife, who has learned to shake her head and follow-up with, “did you cut the lawn yet?”  

Another quote I liked from an unknown author used to be pinned on my desk. 

Speak with good intention. Remember your goal is to communicate, not just be heard.

I didn’t live up to it as I’d hoped. I was too busy waiting to spout something clever or funny, and not listening. It’s still a work in process.

Unsplash jason-rosewell-July 4 Talking

Jason Roswell – Unsplash.com

I’ve historically been one of the loud ones, as if talking in a very loud voice ensured I’d be heard.  Years ago, during a transfer to a new position, a colleague presented me a phone with a noise suppression device. Subtle.  Loud didn’t work with the kids either. They’d often blink a lot when I got on a roll; their way of semaphoring a message, “Hey Dad, turn it down a notch”, followed by a negative post debate review. Too many years passed before I realized that which is spoken loudly does not equate to truth.  

Unsplash elijah-o-donnell-July 4 Newspaper Cropped

Elijah O’Donnell – Unsplash.com

I sort of miss the days of flaming editorials limited to one newspaper and three TV channels. Today, it’s instant access to thousands of media “information” sites whether I want it or not, with more truer than fiction facts than the number of fleas on a herd of bison.  As a responsible citizen, it’s up to me to sift for accuracy, some of which is more fiction than fact. When I add in opinions on social media platforms, one can get a migraine from all the freedom of expression.

Unsplash eaters-collective-July 4

Eaters Collective – Unsplash.com

My contribution to the world of social media opinionating is to avoid it (see curmudgeon on the porch comment above).  Anything I contribute tends to be pictures of the grand-boys, family gatherings, something I just cooked, clever quotes, concept art, self-deprecating jokes, vacation pics, or a rare glorious sunset in a locale I’ve come to label as Wet-sylvania.  We have plenty of podium prophets out there without my input.

What, you don’t stand for anything?  Of course I do.  When the time comes, I exercise that other American right.

Unsplash parker-johnson-July 4 Vote Cropped

Parker Johnson – Unsplash.com

Happy Fourth of July to you all.  Wrap yourself in the symbol of our country that allows freedom of expression. I just ask you do it with good intention, strive to not be hurtful, and look the other in the eye to ensure you’ve heard their side as well.

 

Unsplash jared-sluyter-July 4 Crop

Jared Sluyter – Unsplash.com

 

**************************************************************

Author’s Note:

My thanks again to the talented photographers of Unsplash.com for allowing use of their work, in order of appearance.

Ashkan Forouzani

Sam Wheeler

Wynand Van Poortvliet

Jason Roswell

Elijah O’Donnell

Eaters Collective

Parker Johnson

Jared Sluyter

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About DT

dtkrippene

dtkrippene

A native of Wisconsin and Connecticut, DT deserted aspirations of being a biologist to live the corporate dream and raise a family. After seven homes, a ten-year stint working in Asia, and an imagination that never slept, his muse refused to be hobbled as a mere dream. A member of the Bethlehem Writers Group and Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, DT writes apocalyptic science fiction, paranormal, and parallel universe science fantasy. DT has published several short stories. “Hell of a Deal”, in the paranormal collection, Untethered, and most recently, “Man’s Best Friend”, in the 2021 Best Indie Book for Fiction, Fur, Feathers, and Scales. He also appeared in the Write Here – Write Now short story collection with his middle-grade paranormal, “Locker 33C”. An active member of the Bethlehem Writers Group, he’s been a featured author in the BWG Writers Roundtable Magazine, and will appear in the July 2021 Summer Issue with “Hot as Sin”. His latest project is an apocalyptic tale of humans on the edge extinction, and a young man born years after surviving humans had been rendered sterile. You can find D.T. on his website, Searching for Light in the Darkness, and his social media links on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

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Lastest Posts

  • Short Story Contest for 2024 – Seasons Readings January 30, 2023
  • The Legend of Four Winds Butte – Part 2 October 31, 2022
  • The Legend of Four Winds Butte October 19, 2022
  • Spring Issue of Roundtable Magazine April 2, 2022
  • Revised Deadline for “Element of Mystery” Short Story Contest – April 30, 2022 March 26, 2022

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Fairy Tale of the Month

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charles french words reading and writing

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D.T. Krippene

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Irreverence's Continued Glittering Low!

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Aspiring Writers Unite! Learn from my mistakes (and advice from the experts)

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unbolt me

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