“Write what you know.” “Your writing becomes like what you read.” Since I began writing for publication back in the late 1970s/early...

I suspect, however, that for many attendees a better name might be Ignite2Write, because they often leave the conference inspired to...

I’ll soon be leaving the safety and security of my writer’s cocoon and venturing well beyond my comfort zone. And for an introvert like...

Lately, I’ve been mulling what I should title one of the books on which I’ve been working. Now that the manuscript is finished and ready...

I finished reading Louis L’Amour’s memoir Education of a Wandering Man last week in the spare moments when I wasn’t writing or doing...

As readers of this blog already know, I tend to prefer reading nonfiction over fiction. But they also know that I’m trying to break out...

It’s school time again. You can’t avoid knowing that fact because of all the Walmart aisles crowded with school supplies for sale. (I...

The wheels of the publishing machine often turn slowly, especially when an author is awaiting an editor’s response to a submission or the...

Beyond the fact that it was a work of fiction, which I seldom read (but have been trying to open myself to more often), it had a...

Perhaps you recall the famous lines about “the best laid plans of mice and men.” Often, the flow of “normal” life events tends to...

The lyrics of Joni Mitchell’s song include the repeated phrase “I’ve looked at life from both sides now.” In his poem “The Road Less...

“We want to live in the present,” he said, “and the only history that is worth [anything] is the history we make today.” Sadly, that...

I was impressed the minute the man got out of his truck. My appreciation for him grew by the minute. When the installer arrived, two...

#reading #teaching #writers #books #publishing

The children of those early settlers either established farms (often quite large ones), towns, and cities or pressed further west to do...

Time for serendipity during journeys is always good. Sometimes one experiences some of the best things during serendipitous,...

My article on the South Carolina peach industry is featured in the June-July 2019 issue of Smoky Mountain Living for anyone who is...

A writer’s work is never done, even during vacations. If a writer is not looking for ideas, then he or she is doing research, people...

But that painting, “Snap the Whip,” was more than a sanity-maintainer for me. It reminded me of three special people: my grandfather, my...

Sometimes great writers have some interesting advice and insights about the craft of writing (and many other topics). Here are a few...