For eleven hours a day, six days a week, over the course of three years Gerris mastered the Scylla Console. He knew every strength and flaw of this elite piece of technology. He knew the optimal temperature of the processor was 72.3 degrees Fahrenheit. He knew that in most of the Scylla Console’s constructed, the …
Author Archives: Sean D. Francis
Don’t Play With Yourself on Valentine’s Day
I’ve written about St. Valentine’s Day a lot in my life. Something about this day sticks in my craw. I’m a romantic but like New Year’s Eve, every Valentine’s Day I’ve tried to make special usually fell flat. The expectations of certain events are difficult to meet and exceed. I really do think of myself …
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The Neuroscience of Creativity
I still believe that sitting down and reading a book is the best way to really learn something. – Eric Schmidt Recently, I wrote about the role of noise in creativity and how to use the sense of smell to encourage creative problem solving. Â I even wrote a small post on conflict spurring creativity. Â Yes, …
Why Writing Your Novel at Starbucks Isn’t a Bad Idea
Listen. Hear the hiss of steam coming from the nozzle of the espresso machine? The murmuring sounds of people in conversations about their upcoming vacations, their late night escapades, and their fears about their careers fill in the gaps between the tinny sounds of the cash drawer opening and closing and the occasional electronic noises …
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Does Smell Hold the Secret to Creative Success?
The idea of ‘sleeping on a problem’ is well known and accepted as a perfectly acceptable way of dealing with a mental block.  A new study performed by a team led by Simone Ritter of the Radboud University Behavioral Science Institute in the Netherlands successfully linked smell with the success of ‘sleeping on it’. Participants in the study …
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Bride of Sharron County
Originally Published in Ariadne’s Thread. She sat at the end of the bar night after night. The only person she would speak to was Jim, the bartender. And even then it was just to place her order. There were rumors floating around about her. Supposedly she was left at the altar and never recovered. Some …