The official website of Nathaniel Lee Hansen
There’s an adage that you should be careful what you say around a writer because he or she might incorporate something you say or do into a story. I’ll admit up front that my “writing senses” are always on; I really can’t switch them off. One perk of being an introvert is that I have “cover” for my observing and watching. I have sections in notebooks where I jot down what I’ve overheard and observed. Some of the those notes have been the basis of stories.
Ten years ago, I spent most of my summer drafting and revising three short stories, all of which are a part of Measuring Time & Other Stories. That summer I was also preparing for the arrival of our son, and so those three stories remind me of that season. Today, I’ll share some thoughts on the first of these stories: “Wildlife.”
For the season of Lent, I removed Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram from my phone. I also didn’t use those platforms on other devices or my computer. I did make an exception for a handful of scheduled posts and tweets related to some lecture and readings I gave.
I chose this particular fast with the hope that I would be more present in whatever I was doing, would be more attentive to those around me. Going into this fast I feared missing out on “important things.” As it turned out, however, my fear was unfounded.
Plainswriter 