I once heard it was a good idea for everyone to have a job as a waiter or waitress at some point in their lives. (I believe the correct word these days would be "server.”) The idea is that we’ll all be restaurant customers and turning the tables on the situation---so to speak---will give us... Continue Reading →
Enter at your own risk
As much as I love writing, sometimes I hate it. After bellyaching for a while about how I don't know what to do with the feedback from my beta readers, I decided to take the cure. Once again, my weekday calendar contains a slot for writing from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. (it's my ROW80... Continue Reading →
Up is mandatory—what my Grand Canyon hike taught me about writing
The photo above explains why I have been silent for a few weeks. I was busy hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon (and back up). When I tell people, I get one of two reactions: "Wow, that's awesome!" or "You're crazy!" These responses are remarkably similar to the reactions I get when I... Continue Reading →
[Stopped here today]
Those three words are my cue. Each day when I finish writing, I type them in brackets wherever I have left off writing. The next morning, I search for [stopped here today] and go instantly to where I need to begin. (I also use [edit from here] so I know which sections need a going-over... Continue Reading →