I can still remember the day that I was introduced to Contemporary Christian Music. I was on a business trip and listening in my rental car to WMBI in Chicago. It was the late 80s, and I had never sung anything but traditional hymns and southern gospel songs in my church before that. On came … More Secret Ambition
Today I head back into the classroom after a week off for Spring Break. Although “off” is relative (I ended up working the whole week), it will be good to get back into the classroom. I start off at 8:30 with my Narrative Writing class. The Friday before break, the students were supposed to hand … More Easy A
“Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.” –-J. Frank Dobie, American folklorist I deal with students and student writers everyday. Most of them are interested in writing fiction; many of them want and do write fantasy. In the mind of the common reader, fantasy is one of those genres that … More Truth and Fiction
I am presently reading a book about the Civil War–Gettysburg to be exact. I picked it up on the discount rack at Wal-Mart. I am embarrassed to say that most of the books I buy come from some sort of discount rack, either in a store on online. Because I am one of those who … More Hits and Misses
Sometimes writing is the greatest pastime you can have. Sometimes it is just work. This week is shaping up to be the latter. It’s spring break, and the indication is to be a slacker because, after all, my day job of being in the classroom isn’t happening. But I have another job, that of editor … More Slogging
Like the vast majority of authors out there, I also have a day job that pays most of my bills. In my situation, I am also a professor. Add to that freelance work as an editor for the alumni magazine and serving as the university’s webmaster, and you can see that I wear a lot … More Why Multitasking Is Bad for Authors
I just got back from Career Day at Chisholm Trail Academy, and one of the decisions I made early on was to be frank and honest with them about writing as a career. I focused on three words for success as a writer: Tenacity, Versatility, Dependability. You have to want it enough to persevere through … More We are the 99 percent
I am off in less than an hour to the local high school to talk for Career Day. They want me to talk about being a novelist; I think because it is “career” day, I will talk to them about being a writer instead. I have wanted to be a writer my whole life, and … More Career Day
It is my privilege to teach writing in a university, something I thoroughly enjoy. This semester I am teaching a class called Narrative Writing, which is a lot of fun. We have 10 students who take turns submitting their short stories (at this point; novel pages later) for critique by the class. It’s tough to … More In Search of Intimacy
A few years ago, I can’t remember how many, I wrote a blog about visiting my daughter’s high school in east Texas, where I was the guest of their creative writing club. Seven girls and one boy grilled me about the harsh reality of being a freelance author. Finally, one of them asked me, “How … More Getting Paid
