I just finished completing my evaluation of a book by one of my former students. It was, all in all, a very good book. In fact, I hope to see it in print one day. But one of the questions I had at the end is the inevitable “So What? question. Sure it was entertaining. … More What Themes to Be the Problem?
Yesterday I talked about tenacity and the need to learn it, both as a writer, and for everyday life. Today I am learning–relearning–how much a pain it is to learn how to be tenacious and patient. The clutch work continues. We tried to be as prepared as possible. I made sure we had the right … More Learning Patience Is Not Fun
Yesterday I spoke of versatility and how it can make or break your writing career. What I didn’t talk about was the fact that doing other stuff can actually help your writing as well. Today and probably tomorrow my son and I are spending quality time together replacing the clutch in his Mazda Miata. We’ve … More Left brain/right brain
I just got off the phone with Italo Osorio, who is the former Director of Application Services for IT at our university. He’s one of several who got a better job offer during the summer and is headed for greener pastures. In the meantime, I am one of a couple of people who is trying … More Hitting the Slider
Someone, I think it was Ernest Hemingway, gave the advice that writers should first go out and live outrageously for 20 years before they start writing. The point there was that one has to have some experience to write from before one can write seriously. Maybe that’s why so many of my writing students want … More The Wellspring of Significance
My daughter, Melissa, and I just came back from a weekend in Conroe, TX, where she was interviewed for a possible job yesterday. She is working presently, and for the most part enjoying where she is. But the new position is in a better region, pays better with better benefits. We got there Friday afternoon … More Serendipity or Divine Plan?
I’ve learned something interesting about writing blogs. I’ve known for a while that the more consistent you are with writing, the higher your number of hits will be. Other bloggers recommend 2-3 weekly. My goal is to post an average of 5 times a day. A couple of times I have had more than one … More Double Duty
When my two kids were in high school, I used to get amused by how they went about doing their homework. My daughter, specifically, would turn on the TV, have earbuds in with her favorite music, have friends calling her on her phone, and have one or possibly two textbooks open. I was amazed that … More Ambient Noise for Ambient Boys
Just as an aside from what I previously posted: I am presently looking for reviewers for two of my books. Tom Horn vs. The Warlords of Krupp, and The Kiss of Night. If you are interested in reviewing either or both of these, leave a comment with your email address, and I will send you … More Book Reviews
Well, May is gone, and June is proceeding along faster than I would like. What that does is prompt me to get done the things that I have planned, yet haven’t so far. I have learned that I can’t get writing work done at home, at least these days. Too many distractions, I guess. Even … More Junk in the Attic
