Tomorrow I return to the noise of social media. Every time I take a break, I miss much less than I loathe, but what I miss -- I really miss: chatting with friends in other cities, states, and countries; seeing friends share big news; seeing … [Continue reading]
James Rebanks's book, The Shepherd's Life, chronicles the life of a modern Scottish shepherd. I've seen it described as a book about doing very hard work to avoid simply working hard (i.e. working the land vs. having a busy day job in an office). … [Continue reading]
I could have finished the novel yesterday, but I opted to hang out with my wife in the afternoon, instead. People who live with writers are often better than the writers they support (and I do have a strong self-image...it's just that my wife is … [Continue reading]
Seven years ago today, I shared an entry here in which I mentioned a new book was knocking around my mind. I figured that book might take three or four years to get to a readable state -- with day job demands and a life to live. Seven years … [Continue reading]
Happiness by Carl Sandburg I asked the professors who teach the meaning of life to tell me what is happiness. And I went to famous executives who boss the work of thousands of men. They all shook their heads and gave me a smile as … [Continue reading]
It's not uncommon for me to chat with other writers and have the conversation steer toward this question: What do you listen to when you write? Even some writers I didn't expect to lose themselves in the question have a playlist on hand -- … [Continue reading]
Today, this little blog turns nine years old. In that time, I've been laid off from a long-term job that shut down most of a department. I freelanced with an airline in Guam and edited maintenance work cards for a major airline. I worked at a massive … [Continue reading]
I usually get 7 - 8 hours of sleep each night. But sometimes, usually near the end of a big writing project, my normal schedule falls away and I find myself filling gaps of time by writing. This means sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night … [Continue reading]
I listened to a great interview with Robert Goolrick yesterday. His road to publication was, like many, a bit rocky. A Well Worn Path Earlier in his life, he had a close call -- something he was so sure of, he packed up his life and moved to Greece … [Continue reading]
I've never been one to track my progress when it comes to writing. Generally, I try writing more days than not (4 days a week), but I don't even track that. If I really don't feel like writing on a particular day, I don't. But because I can see … [Continue reading]
September will be a busy month for me. Something fairly big at work is due in the middle of the month, and the current novel should be readable by the end of September. So...it's a good time to go silent online. The September Silence I've not … [Continue reading]
I was a 21 year-old punk when I met Cuyler Etheredge. I enrolled in the only creative writing class I ever took, and Cuyler was the instructor. At that time, I'd written the first thing I ever wrote with the goal of publication: a 12-page comic … [Continue reading]
I've never taken a social media break like the time I took the 101 day social media break. Hell, I've not done a full "September Silence" in a couple years... I've thought about doing both in recent days, but something makes it harder each … [Continue reading]