Several readers responded to my recent blog about not liking to write but liking to have written. To overcome writer’s block, I force myself to sit still and write for a block of time. I have become a voluntary prisoner again today, at least until I finish this blog post. I have recently become aware… Continue Reading
“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” Albert Einstein, physicist, 1879-1955 I have serious doubts about Einstein’s not having special talent, but I do believe the second sentence and try to apply passionate curiosity to all facets of my life. I have been especially thinking about curiosity recently after publishing a 3-page… Continue Reading
I didn’t write this article. Instead, I spoke it using Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 Speech Recognition for PC* and edited it by voice with a little help from my mouse. I had used Dragon before, maybe 15 years ago, and found it clunky and unrewarding. But when my wrists started to ache after prolonged keyboarding, I… Continue Reading
For eleven years, I have stumbled over a large box of family photos in my garage. Every New Year I vow to organize these thousand-plus photos into albums so I can show them to the grandkids and their parents. One year, I bought all the plastic sleeves I would need and threw them into the… Continue Reading
I always startle my students by announcing that I don’t like to write. I think they probably assume: Surely a writing teacher must just love to write! I do not like to write because writing is hard work, including writing a blog. But like so many other writers, I love to have written. I also… Continue Reading
Good products require good processes. This blog post compares painting projects to writing projects. Continue Reading
If you’ve taken one of my writing classes, you recognize the value of planning your document before you plunge into writing. One tool that we writers use to help us plan our writing is a “cluster,” in which we brainstorm all our ideas onto paper. Here’s a great example of how to plan (cluster) your… Continue Reading
Years ago, I taught Business Writing at a male maximum-security prison in Minnesota. At the end of the quarter, one student asked, as he was leaving the room for the last time: “What is good writing, anyway?” ZING! I realized then that my grade for the class would have been an “F” for “Failure to… Continue Reading
Wolfram Alpha’s computational knowledge engine provides quick, aggregated information for writers. Continue Reading
Blogs make a great place to prewrite your next book! Continue Reading