(This is a free-verse poem I discovered today, written by me not long after my mother died.) WHAT REMAINS A wooden nailbox, obviously handmade stands ready to work On the floor of my garage beside the workbench. It still displays black electrician’s tape To reinforce cracked wood and shelter hands From slivers of … More What Remains
I think I’ve probably written about 18 book manuscripts over the years, and had eight of them published. That’s a lot of misses among those hits. And that’s one of the downsides of learning by doing; sometimes you do, and you learn that what you did doesn’t work. At least for someone else. But one … More The First Chapter
The book–excuse me, books–is/are finished. Of course, I’m only talking rough drafts. I still have a mountain of work ahead of me that I can’t even conceive of at this point, nor do I want to. But the framework for the three-part books Champion series–The Champion, The Heretic, and Elijah–is complete. Am I satisfied with … More The Day After
I never really thought I was crazy. That’s despite the fact that a panel of three psychiatrists, a judge and jury of my peers, and an ongoing evaluation by a state-certified mental institution said that I was. Three years in the Hillsboro Institute for the Criminally Insane was like thirty years anywhere else. Screaming at … More “Crazy Man”
Almost 30 years ago, I had the idea for my first book. It was a how-to book for Seventh-day Adventists entitled “Fifty-two Things to Do on Sabbath.” I was just short of 30 years old, and very unsure of myself as a writer. I sent out a letter to three publishing houses outlining my idea, … More Five of Seventy-two
I’ve always loved to write. In fifth grade, my teacher told me I would someday make a great freelance writer (I had no idea at the time what that meant, but it stuck with me). When I was in high school, my friends dubbed me the poet laureate of our class. And so I dreamed … More Quitting Your Day Job
“Know thyself.” –Socrates A few weeks ago I wrote a blog stating that you can’t learn how to write by reading other people’s writing. Well, you know how it goes: just about the time you put your foot down and make some kind of summary statement, you prove yourself wrong. I still believe that learning … More Observations and Revelations
Classes are over. Grades are turned in. My office is actually clean, even. So why aren’t I working on my novel? Yes, the idea is to switch from professor to novelist with the advent is summer. And yes, I am eager to get started writing. I even have company for my usual summer endeavors. (Thanks, … More Ready? Set? Ready? Ready?
Ok kids, if you didn’t get involved with this last summer, now’s your chance to get in on the fun. Here’s the deal: 1. The trick is to write 1,500 words a day for 30 days for a combined total of 45,000 words. 2. You don’t have to work on one item during that time. … More Announcing the 2011 30-day Summer Writing Challenge
My father died of cancer at the age of 70. His death, with about three months notice, was a shock to all of us in the family. He was a relatively quiet, very humorous, intelligent man. For the most part, he educated himself. His greatest advances in education came when, at the age of 17, … More Letters from Iwo Jima
The Great Adventure 