Taggart is not only a student of theology and a pastor and director of education in a Baptist church in Jefferson City, Missouri, but...

We buried Virginia Mae Dietterich, my wife’s mother and my mother-in-law, on Monday. (In case you’ve been wondering, that’s why I haven’t...

10 RULES FOR GETTING AND KEEPING READERS’ ATTENTION HAVE A MESSAGE.  “To get attention, the first golden rule is, always say something...

Well, the new year has barely begun, and I’ve been thinking about and beginning to act on my reading. In fact, I received a magazine in...

Happy New Year to all the readers and followers of this blog. A new year is also an opportunity to evaluate what was done in the past and...

The message of today’s blog post is simple and straightforward. It is no more and no less than the title indicates: Merry Christmas...

As 2018 winds down to a close and the new year fast approaches, I’ve been doing some reflecting. Some of the reflections have been...

I’m a voracious reader and have been since fifth grade, when good ol’ Mrs. George sparked the reader within me, kindled that flame of...

A lot of things (more than we like to admit) are out of man’s hands, beyond his control. One of those things is the weather. Yet, we...

The difference between minor surgery and major surgery is determined by whether you are having it. That’s sort of the way it often is...

As I sat engaged in the various tasks of readying Christmas cards for mailing, I began to muse. I weighed how the practice has changed...

One of the key ingredients of both good fiction and creative nonfiction is realistic dialogue. Readers certainly know that fact. Writers...

Things notoriously often move slowly in the publishing world. Quite some time ago, I queried an editor with an article idea I had. I was...

Another month has flown by. It’s only 25 days until Christmas! Wasn’t it just last week that we were returning Christmas decorations to...

It’s always been hard, it seems, to get “back in the swing” once I’ve been away for a while, and the week just past has been no...

The best writers, writing teachers often say, are avid readers, and high on their reading lists are great writers, those who stand as...

“You get only one chance to make a good first impression.” That statement is especially true when it comes to submitting your writing to...

He was born on this date in 1928, about 11 months before the big crash. Most of his formative, pre-adolescent years were within that...

Whew! It’s finally over. We’ve survived yet another election cycle with all the now-all-too-familiar and ubiquitous yard signs, robo...

Recently, I’ve been reading a little [DRUM ROLL, PLEASE!] fiction, and old fiction at that. Few people today recall the author or his...