The Story Frame Newsletter

The Story Frame

Short and funny personal stories and thoughts on how to write them.

The naïve desire most of us harbor that we can somehow connect and understand each other through reasoning is based on the wrong assumption that our rational ideas are the only rational ideas. In gentle parenting, there is a concept called “the right to oppose.” The principle states that it is ou...

by Carlos Garbiras — Jun 19, 2025 creativity productivity storytelling writing

The Royal Pains of Parenting No One Tells You About

Or, as my daughter says, "Off with my father's head." My daughter was pretending her animal figurines were lively dinosaurs roaring at each other. I sat beside her, and it felt contagious when I saw her enthusiastically roaring. I growled, and the sound surprised her and scared her. She screamed...

by Carlos Garbiras — Jun 18, 2025 culture parenting storytelling

Saving Face Has No Place in Art Making

The dangers of cutting deals that undermine our desires I wish I could tell you I'm familiar with Brad Paisley's work, and that's how I found the below quote rather than telling you the truth. "When you save face, but your heart breaks, well, you've cut the wrong deal!" The truth is I play a lot ...

by Carlos Garbiras — Jun 12, 2025 artmaking creativity mindset storytelling

I'm Committed to My Wife but Not THAT Committed

Ink Life Commitments (1/3) My daughter told me, "Daddy, I want to get a tattoo." She was four the first time she said it, so she was probably talking about the fake tattoos, which are very popular with her friends, the ones you put on and wear off a few days later. I don't see any harm in that,...

by Carlos Garbiras — Jun 11, 2025 culture relationships satire society

Art Appreciation Insight Straight From Jeff Koons’ Balls

In his 2015 art installation, Jeff Koons placed blue gazing balls in front of 35 repainted and enlarged classic masterpieces like Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa or Titian’s Venus and Mars. You have to give it to the man because not many people look at a classic and say to themselves, “You know what this...

by Carlos Garbiras — Jun 05, 2025 artmaking creativity productivity writing

Don’t Forget The Milk

My AI companion won’t love me back Photo by Maximalfocus on Unsplash Literary Week. We are shaking things up this week. Many of you know that I started my writing journey with a strong desire to become a novelist. Hundreds of rejections in and my first novel manuscript is still collecti...

by Carlos Garbiras — Jun 04, 2025 fiction script

Creating Art When You Are Busy Living

Don't feel bad about your erratic creative journey In Barranquilla, on Good Fridays, my mom wouldn’t let us do anything at all. She would say that anything we did, we were doing it to Jesus’ body. So when my friends asked if I could join them in the field to play soccer, I would ask my mom. She r...

by Carlos Garbiras — May 29, 2025 artmaking creativity productivity storytelling

Your Kids' Indiscriminate Pruning Independence

Or how kids have plans and don't care about yours. "Stop!" I shouted from across the yard. I find myself shouting this a lot around my daughters. I don't necessarily want to. I want them to grow up feeling the world is a "yes space," but it does seem like the world is not a "yes space" outside o...

by Carlos Garbiras — May 28, 2025 culture parenting relationships satire

(Video Included) I Slipped on a Banana the Night Before My Biggest Performance

Life happens before, during and after art-making I was there for the Story Grand Slam. A grand slam is an annual competition where the monthly winners of a story slam get together to compete once more. I checked in with the show's producers, said hello to the other storytellers, and then went fo...

by Carlos Garbiras — May 22, 2025 creativity life parenting performance productivity

I Survived a Tornado in Dallas But Barely

Becoming a storm chaser for a night Living in Texas is not for the weak of stomach. Sure, property is cheap there. Sometimes, you go to Buc-ee's for gas, a Slurpee, and some Venison jerky. When you walk outside, you realize the clerk stuffed the title to a giant ranch right under your armpit. ...

by Carlos Garbiras — May 21, 2025 culture relationships satire society travel

Writing Without an Audience in Mind

Publishing platforms are not created to improve your writing Photo by Rahul Mishra on Unsplash Social media and content platforms create a problem for artists they didn’t need to deal with before. The same place where artists publish their work is also where they go to check for the wor...

by Carlos Garbiras — May 15, 2025 creativity productivity storytelling structure writing

You Eat Chinese Food at a Chinese Restaurant

The Virgin Can Be Scarier Than an Atomic Iguana (3/3) For the celebration of my first communion, my dad took us to the fancy Chinese restaurant, Jardines de Confucio, or Confucius' Garden. My younger sister, Rosy, came with us to celebrate my first wafer-cookie-eating event. When the waiter came...

by Carlos Garbiras — May 14, 2025 coming of age culture growing up intercultural relationships

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The Story Frame

Short and funny personal stories and thoughts on how to write them.

The Story Frame

Short and funny personal stories and thoughts on how to write them.

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