I live with a clock over my head. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. My intention at the beginning of the summer was to come out with three books this summer. Ambitious, but doable. One was a collection of short stories that I had almost completed anyway. The second was a compilation of my counsel on writing … More One Down, Two To Go
When I was in college—many, many, many years ago–I was on fire to become a writer. Then I graduated, got married and started looking for a job. I had in my mind that someday, someday SOON, I would become a writer. And I would be really good. Four years later, I was still waiting for … More One Way. Or Another.
I’m back in the office today; later than I should have been, earlier than I would have liked to have been. Last weekend was a quick getaway with my bride of 39 years to Broken Arrow Lake in Oklahoma, where we explored, canoed and swam for a couple of days. Before and after that, I … More Busman’s Holiday
I will be unveiling my next collection of short stories later this week, with one story that is much longer than any other short story I have ever written. At about 12,000 words, it’s not quite a novel, but it’s of a lot more substance than my other short stories. I have decided to release … More “A Hole In the Sky: Episode 1”
I see my life as a series of decisions. None of them were good or bad, but each of them set me on the path that I am on today. When I was about 10, my class visited a retirement center to sing for the seniors living there. After singing a few songs, an elderly … More Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood
You know how it goes with brilliant ideas. Sometimes there are…complications. I still think my concept of putting a low-cost e-book on the psychology of writing is a good idea. I think that the fact that I have been writing along those lines for five years in my blog is great. It’s even wonderful that … More A Complication with a Compilation
I feel guilty if I am not making progress of some sort or another. Yes, it’s summer, and as a college professor I am entitled to get away from “work” in one way or another. But since the highlight of our summer will probably be my wife’s surgery, we’re not likely to go anywhere. Meanwhile, … More Sharing the Wealth
I have a senior journalism major who has applied for an internship at the Adventist Review, an international magazine for the Seventh-day Adventist Church located in Maryland. She is a highly qualified, very motivated person, and so I encouraged her as much as I could and my letter of recommendation was as glowing as I … More Rank Hath Its Responsibilities
I find enjoyment in visiting the website Quora.com and getting the answers to my questions as well as providing answers to those who are seeking them. Recently, someone asked a question about writing that I thought I would respond to here. The question was, how do you determine which story idea you will turn into … More Whose Story Is It?
Every writing and editing project goes through what I call its “Ugly Stepchild” phase. My latest book, Chosen, is right there, right now. This is a project I have been planning for more than 20 years. I have started and stopped on it several times. Before summer started, I reviewed what I had before and … More Sow Ears and Silk Purses
