Neil Gaiman says just write; just get the words down; don’t worry about your first draft, no one will ever see it; get the ideas and the words down. Just write. That is hard advice for me to follow. I … Continue reading
I know just enough Latin to be dangerous (though how dangerous can a dead language actually be?) and only enough to understand the basis of words in English. And I do the same with other languages such as Spanish (took … Continue reading
We’ve all done it, at one time or another. Like misheard lyrics of a song (‘Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy), a misheard phrase can and does easily work itself into our everyday speaking, sometimes to hilarious effect. Here … Continue reading
Every Wednesday, the good folks at Global English Editing post their “I Love Writing” weekly roundup of the best writing on the web for the previous week. I’ve been subscribing to their RSS feed for a few weeks now and … Continue reading
It was on this day in 1850 that “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne was first published. I remember my 11th grade American Literature teacher in high school assigning it to us to read and how legalistic in their religious … Continue reading
One of my favorite writers is Neil Gaiman. He has an imagination that creates some fantastical, out of this world stories and the writing talent, skill, and ability to make those stories believable. In this short four minute video, Mr. … Continue reading
It’s the birthday of Jack Kerouac, born Jean-Louis Kerouac in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1922. He was from a working-class French-Canadian family; he grew up speaking French, and he wasn’t fluent in English until he was a teenager. In New York … Continue reading
Do you remember the Book of the Month Club? I can recall that my mom was a member when I was growing up. You could initially join by choosing 3 or 4 books from their catalog of bestselling books and … Continue reading
Yeah, that’s the way it usually goes…
On National Grammar Day, we honor our language and its rules, which help us communicate clearly with each other. In turn, clear communication helps us understand each other—a critical component of peaceful relations. March 4th is observed as National Grammar … Continue reading
I first discovered Dr. Seuss when I was 5 years old and in kindergarten. Our bookshelf contained “The Cat in the Hat”, “The Cat in the Hat Comes Back”, “Horton Hears a Who”, “Green Eggs and Ham”, and “How The … Continue reading
After reading and reviewing “What Every Author Should Know”, I leapt at the chance to receive an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) of Deb Vanasse’s latest book for writers, “Write Your Best Book.” Vanasse begins by dissecting the “exceptional book” which … Continue reading
I follow a Twitter feed called VeryOldPics and this one caught my eye. Theists have their idea of heaven (whatever it may be), but this is my idea of heaven.
Back on Sunday, February 8th, New York Times bestselling author Tim Dorsey was appearing late in the afternoon at the downtown branch of the Orlando Library. I really wanted to go, but I already had a previous engagement that prevented … Continue reading
My new business cards arrived in the mail yesterday.
The following story about James Joyce is told by Stephen King in his famous memoir, “On Writing” (which I need to read again). A friend came to visit James Joyce one day and found the great man sprawled across … Continue reading
Fourteen year old Kevin Gillooly and his mother retreat to her father’s Appalachian mountain home in eastern Kentucky following the horrific death of Kevin’s three year old brother. There, both mother and son heal under the wise and caring influence … Continue reading
Below is a book review I wrote back on February 20, 2006 for a now-defunct blog. It’s hard to believe this was nine years ago. In that time, Morris has written three additional books starring Zack Chasteen; “Bermuda Schwartz”, “A … Continue reading
Laura Ingalls Wilder was born on this date in 1867 in Pepin, Wisconsin. I have to admit I’ve never read any of her books, though I used to immensely enjoy the TV series “Little House on the Prairie” starring Melissa … Continue reading
It’s the birthday of novelist Charles Dickens, born in Portsmouth, England in 1812. By the mid-1850s, Dickens was a popular and successful writer; his novels included The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (1836-37), The Adventures of Oliver Twist (1837-39), … Continue reading
