The Story Frame

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

A man is more than the sum of his names When I think of manly, I think of my friend Travis. It's weird that I don't think of myself. I'm just not that guy. I'm the guy who gets excited about artsy chocolate truffles, can tell you what a pecan duja is, and who you can find saying phrases like, "W...

by Carlos Garbiras — Jul 02, 2025 culture masculinity society

The Polynesian Art of Wayfinding and Storytelling

The very first cellphone my family had was a Motorola MicroTAC flip phone, which was made out of the same mold used to make bricks. If someone studying cold cases discovered that this model was used to kill several victims in the early 90s, I would totally buy that. And I loved taking it out at n...

Jun 26, 2025

Telling a Bartender in Birmingham, I Dropped My Daughter in the Water

The unspoken risks of traveling to the South early in the pandemic Our drinks were side by side, and we had ordered the same thing: Glenfiddich 18 on the rocks. But while he had a proper single, my glass seemed three times fuller than his. I know why I got more than my coworker, Trent; my charm ...

Jun 25, 2025

Artmaking and the Right to Oppose

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

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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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