Writing students often fantasize about the life of a writer. I know I did. You see yourself starving to death, living in a small studio apartment somewhere, maybe even writing with a quill pen or an old beat-up Smith-Corona…well that dates me a bit. But you get the idea. Writers don’t often fantasize about the … More Grunt Work
Yes, it is on my to-do list to crank up the number of blogs that appear here. But today, I invited myself to be a guest blogger for the Rough Writers blogsite. You can read it here. And here’s a promise that you’ll be hearing more from me in days to come. gr
I’ve been writing a long time. More specifically, I have been writing stuff off the mainstream for the past five years or so. I tend to choose stories that don’t comfortably fit into one genre or another. And because of this, I’ve often gotten the word from publishers and marketers that my stuff may be … More The Self-Publishing Experience
Harald was alarmed to see a cluster of fellow college students standing outside the old bookstore. It was thirty minutes until curfew, and to see four young men standing in the cold, facing each other, their breath puffing smoke in the frigid air, looked to him fairly suspicious. He locked wary eyes with Sigi from … More “Buried Alive”
About two decades ago, I was a book editor at Pacific Press Publishing Association in Boise, Idaho. One of the books that came through for my consideration was a manuscript from my friend Clifford Goldstein entitled “Best Seller.” In it, he tells of his desire to become a world-famous novelist and how he struggled for … More Sacrifice, Surrender and Commitment: A Christian Writer’s Dilemma
One of the first exercises I had the students in my Narrative Writing class do this semester is write about their greatest fear. It was hard; I know, because I did it myself. And I will have to admit that I cheated somewhat. I told the class three things I was afraid of, but the … More Life Outside the Comfort Zone
What are you really afraid of? … More Embrace the Fear
They warned me that I would never get rich writing. And they were right. I’ve been writing stories, articles, books and all kinds of other things for the past 40 years, and the proverbial check is still in the proverbial mail. But when it comes down to it, I know I won’t get rich. Oh, … More The Real Reason I Write
Yesterday was my first time teaching my new Narrative Writing class. I’m a communication professor, and it’s an English class, so it seems a bit odd. But the English department is excited, I’m excited, and I hope my students will be excited too. Actually, the feeling I got from them yesterday morning was one of … More To be totally honest….
Yesterday I finally got up the courage to publicly announce that I was going the self-publishing route. I gave several reasons for my irrationality. Then after I finished my blog, I thought of some more. Here’s a specific one that comes to mind. Publishers tend to be married to specific audiences. They produce magazines and … More The Island of Misfit Authors
