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GIVING UP THE FIRST TIME

November 1, 2024 by

I don’t remember giving up, quitting, rising the white flag. But here we are, and I’m not alone. There’s the rocking chair, the TV, the food delivery. As long as everything lasts, why not rot away quietly? Why not? Here’s why not with Kurt Vonnegut:

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BETTER MEN? BETTER THAN WHAT?

October 11, 2024 by

The idea of better men is different than Best Man. If you’ve ever been selected as a Best Man, you know what better feels like. Somehow, someone valued your friendship, in spite of how you might value yourself. Can anyone be a better man? Let’s not get carried away.

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WRITING TIME QUESTION: WHAT’S THE POINT?

March 1, 2024 by

Writing time is running out? Now you tell me. But I don’t agree, or believe it. My writing time will run out one day, but that doesn’t  let anyone else off the hook. Unless you’re dead. Then maybe.

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LIFE LESSONS: FIRST DO NO HARM

December 6, 2023 by

Life lessons start early and never stop. But, and this is a tough one, people do look away. “But Blogger D, aren’t older people a repository of life lessons?” Not always, but who am I to judge? If you need to ask, this might not be the place for you.

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FART AROUND LIKE KURT VONNEGUT, IT’S GOOD FOR YOU

August 4, 2023 by

Fart around like you mean it: Kurt Vonnegut tells his wife he’s going out to buy an envelope: “Oh, she says, well, you’re not a poor man. “You know, why don’t you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet?“ And so I pretend not to hear her.

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HOBBY BLOGGER EXPLAINS: WHY BOTHER WRITING?

November 6, 2022 by

Hobby blogger here, busy counting vanity metrics. Google analytics reports traffic from Seattle, not so much from Portland. West Coast readers show up more than any other region in the country. Call me a West Coast hobby blogger? I’ll take it, but . . .

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RECOMMENDED READING: T.C. BOYLE’S ‘GOING DOWN’

October 29, 2022 by

Recommended reading for writers? Common advice is to read everything, whatever that means. Do I read everything? Everything in a bookstore, or library? No, I read for inspiration, I read for cause, and my cause is writing.

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END TIMES, OR JUST A BAD DAY?

July 29, 2022 by

End Times is a notion that we’re not long for this world. The American History Channel time slot filler called “How The World Ends” includes End Times ideas. It’s pretty bleak, but there’s reason for hope. The people predicting the end of the world all have something in common:

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WRITING ROOM: FROM FAMILY ROOM TO SICK ROOM AND BACK

March 10, 2021 by

A writing room is any room where writing is done. It’s a bedroom, a classroom, or living room. It could be a bar or coffee house; a bus or train. Some writing rooms belong to writers who need ‘consistency of place’ to be productive. How can you be sure your writing room is right for […]

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WRITING LIFE LOOKS FOR SMOKING WRITERS

May 5, 2020 by

Do people in the writing life smoke to show they’d rather die than change bad habits? Or maybe they secretly want to lose a few pounds, although Joan Didion may disagree. The writing life? Please. I hear that and think of droopy people sitting around typewriters with a pipe or cigarette stuck in their face. […]

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