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WRITER ENCOURAGEMENT: WHY IT MATTERS

Writer encouragement works like this: “I just read a book so good I will stop writing forever.” That’s encouragement if you read between the lines. Read a book that moves you to feel something. My favorite book?

WRITER LIFE CHRISTMAS WHEN IT’S NOT ABOUT WRITING OR LIFE

Does ‘writer life’ mean writing about life, or the experience of someone who writes? Answer silently while you write about a life of writing. Writer’s Life? Mine began as a small child at my Grandma’s house. She handed me a book.

ROAD TRIP AMERICA WITH LEWIS AND CLARK AND BOOKS

The road trip for the original Corps of Discovery hit this beach in 1805. The modern Corps of Discovery pulled up in a tour bus yesterday and marched to the spot above the beach. That’s one way of doing it. There are other ways, but they all have things in common with Lewis and Clark. […]

NEEDY READERS? GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT

What do needy readers want? Tastes change, fads come and go, but the top selling book of all time is pretty clear. Across all platforms one book stands higher than all the rest. Do you need a hint? Think ‘Tale of Two Cities.’ Wait, that’s the title. Damn. The big question: Is it worthy? What […]

BASIC WRITER QUESTION: WHY BOTHER

The best writer question is the one they ask themselves before starting their daily word haul. It’s a question writers never want readers to ask, so they ask themselves: Why bother? Here’s why:

WHAT READERS DO? READERS GONNA READ, READ, READ

Real readers handle books different than than rest of us. Who is that real reader? I watched a librarian friend pick up a book and go through the process. From contents to index, then everything in between, he handled the book like a pro. He was a pro, but what about the rest of us?

BLOG READERS, BOTS, AND WRITERS

Google analytics on blog readers is either the biggest tattletale in history, or an effective research tool. It shows and tells where blog readers like you find boomerpdx. Apparently I’m a big hit in Chicago, at least that’s what the bots say. Bot? What else hits a blogger page fifty times for an average of […]

RISK MAKES THE REWARD ALL THE BETTER

    Looking forward to life after BIG LIFE events seems a little hollow. Less attention, more routine, but those damn feelings? When a normal day asks you to do something with it, what’s the answer? You’re still amped up on the big life event to risk taking on anything with other than full steam […]

Health Writing? Start With Cancer And Drill Down

  Health writing is about bringing hope to the afflicted. Cancer writing, not so much. One is about the future and the steps to make it better. The other is layered with dread.   One is about improving conditions, about personal bests, about gains; the other is layered with dread.   Health writing brings nutrition, […]

Life Long Learners Get Life Lesson Whether They Learn Or Not

Life Lessons start early for writers, then they spend years figuring it out enough to make a joke, a poem, a short story, novella, novel. Maybe more, like a groundbreaking memoir. If it’s worth learning, it’s worth writing about to drill it in. Like most children of my generation, baby boomers, I had it made […]