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Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith

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Author Archives: Michael D. Smith

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Sculpture

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on January 16, 2011 by Michael D. SmithFebruary 23, 2023

While my visual art has primarily been geared to painting and drawing, I occasionally do some sculpture. Three-dimensional design is high energy and compelling. The factors of gravity and balance are a delightful challenge, and they ground me in what’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Art Process, Art Shows, Sculpture | 2 Replies

The Art Supply Barn

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on December 31, 2010 by Michael D. SmithJune 28, 2019

On a cold morning I visit the second floor of an art store and I see folks I’ve been out of touch with for years.  They are passionate, hearty, close to the world, not given to cynicism or hip irony.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Art Process, Dreams, Stories, Writing | Leave a reply

How Have TV Show Plots Affected Novel Writing Over the Last Sixty Years? (English Graduate Program Thesis II)

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on December 26, 2010 by Michael D. SmithJune 28, 2019

A second (and final) graduate thesis, which I again give to someone else to execute, would explore the evolution of novel plots since the development of television. We’ve had to be influenced by television and its time constraints.  By 8:28 … Continue reading →

Posted in Novels, Stories, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

The Blog Evolving into the Entire Journey

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on December 16, 2010 by Michael D. SmithJune 28, 2019

Old Things My first blog entries have been oddly coalescing around past writing. I’ve wondered at the look backwards: “A Mule for Billy” and “Five Query Letters” from the 90’s, Total Annihilation: Camouflage! from my Rice days, “Case 9 of … Continue reading →

Posted in Novels, Stories, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

How Did “They” Get Started? (English Graduate Program Thesis I)

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on December 4, 2010 by Michael D. SmithJune 28, 2019

They’re building a new Starbucks down the street. They’re about to raise interest rates. They’re planning a new freeway through my back yard. They’re thinking of putting in a new sewer line. They’re coming out with more efficient electric cars. … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

Flashpoint’s Daughter

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on November 6, 2010 by Michael D. SmithJune 30, 2020

What’s up with bones, daughters, and duplicate titles? Several years ago I began to wonder why so many novels had the word bone in the title, and I went through the library catalog to make an extremely long and astonishing … Continue reading →

Posted in CommWealth, Marketing, Novels, Publishing, Writing, Writing Process | 1 Reply

Exhibit A: “Slime in the Mind,” by Edward Duce (The Politically Correct Theology Student Song)

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on October 29, 2010 by Michael D. SmithJune 28, 2019

Deleted from an early version of my novel Sortmind, the chapter “Twenty Years Ago at Darkforce” (its 9,600 words omitted here), recounts theology student Edward Duce’s interrogation before the Feminist Trial Board of Darkforce Theological Seminary. Duce, the future founder … Continue reading →

Posted in Novels, Satire, Writing | Leave a reply

Total Annihilation: Camouflage!

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on October 11, 2010 by Michael D. SmithOctober 31, 2021

Why should I post a play I wrote at the end of my freshman year at Rice? Because it does seem timeless to me. It seems like one of those wise childhood things we sometimes write and then forget for … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Writing, Plays, Writing, Writing Process | 5 Replies

Is Abstract Art More Difficult?

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on September 23, 2010 by Michael D. SmithJune 10, 2015

Why does abstract art seem more difficult to me than does representational art?  Abstract would seem to be play, and sometimes in fact it’s easy play.  But the easy gifts are just that, gifts.  The gifts are welcome to an artist, … Continue reading →

Posted in Acrylic, Art Process, Drawing, Painting | 3 Replies

Case 9 of the New Fritening Experiences: Attack of the Taoists!

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on September 5, 2010 by Michael D. SmithJune 9, 2015

The following is offered in homage to my literary beginnings as a fifth grade science fiction author of such works as “February 11, 1971, DOOMSDAY,” “Blast-Off to Eternity,” “MONSTERVILLE, U.S.A.,” and “Journey to the Center of the Sun.”  “Fritening Experiences” … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Writing, Science Fiction, Writing | 2 Replies

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Recent Posts

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Recent Comments

  • Trip to Mars, the Picture Book, Newly Reincarnated – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on Trip to Mars, the Picture Book, or, How the Ship Became a Fantastical Theater Stage
  • Why New Akard 1979? – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on The Sortmind Draft One Project
  • Why New Akard 1979? – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on Akard Draft One Art Objects
  • Introducing The Benign Incursion – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on The Unknown Ending for The Martian Marauders
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on Trip to Mars in Paperback

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Michael's books

Why Meditate: Working with Thoughts and Emotions
4 of 5 stars
Why Meditate: Working with Thoughts and Emotions
by Matthieu Ricard
WordPress Web Design for Dummies
4 of 5 stars
WordPress Web Design for Dummies
by Lisa Sabin-Wilson
Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End...
5 of 5 stars
Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End...
by Philip Plait
Using Joomla!
3 of 5 stars
Using Joomla!
by Ron Severdia
Serpent's Tooth
5 of 5 stars
Serpent's Tooth
by Toni V. Sweeney
On a cruise Melissa bonds with an older man, Travis, who turns out to be a famous celebrity in hiding from a once successful life. But by degrees we become aware that his enormous success came at the price of bonding with demonic forces...

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