page contents Google

BLOG PRESSURE DRIVES PEOPLE TO QUIT TOO SOON

Quitters find a way to quit that suits them, but blog pressure? Please. Who quits a blog after twenty nine days? In a blogger rule book, #1 would be ‘Don’t Quit Early.’ Some of us have a different idea of what early means, though. Besides, if you’re going to quit something, why not try and […]

ASSISTED BLOGGING: HOW TO ASK FOR HELP

If there were an assisted blogging home I’d move there tomorrow. Would it be any different than my current digs? More community? Big outreach? Extra reminders that ‘You’re Not Alone?’ You’d think respect for the creative process would be high. Think about the possibilities of a writing retreat lifestyle. How long did that take?

CAN DIFFERENCE MAKERS CHANGE OPINIONS LIKE YOURS

Difference makers show up at the right time and we all celebrate. They show up when you get lost, when you’re confused. When you need help, there they are. But where are they when you’re not lost, not confused? What do they do when you don’t need any help? Don’t worry, they’re still out there […]

SIGNATURE MOVE, AND WHY YOU NEED ONE

A signature move is something expected, predictable. It’s an identifiable characteristic. You’ve got a signature move whether you know it or not. Ask someone. We used to watch the biggest fight in the world on free TV when Muhammad Ali was The Greatest. Once he dropped an opponent, up when his arms. That was his […]

RUNNING MAN SETS RECORD STRAIGHT AT ROW RIVER

The running man in question is Nicholas Thompson. Maybe you’ve heard of him, or someone like him. Probably not, though. He’s just another runner in a running world full of speed. Oh, he just set the American record for a 50K ultra. Now you’ve heard of him. But there’s so much more, which fits in […]

BLOG REVIEW: WHAT’S UP AND WHAT’S DOWN ON BOOMERPDX

Blog review day shows which topics are stronger than others. The second biggest hitter of all time here is a gym guide on how to deal with naked dudes on parade. Spoiler: Try and ignore them. Coming in at #1, with credit to Reddit, is a take on Michelangelo’s David. That David is different than […]

HEMINGWAY LIFE STORY BEST OF ALL TIME

The Hemingway life story by Ken Burns is a sure sign, but of what? That he grew up in what amounts to a fundamentalist family? With a mother that logged all of her sacrifices for him? Then held it against him? Add a father with well defined ideas on how to behave. And Ernest disappointed […]

HISTORICAL ADVICE: THIS IS WORTH SOMETHING, ISN’T IT

Historical advice usually comes from a book, or a class where some gray bearded funky old man in a musty suit jacket rambles on and on in a cloud of dandruff. Doing history is different than studying history. History museums Do History for everyone else. Museum visitors walk from exhibit to exhibit, floor to floor, […]

ONE WRITER: BEGINNING, MIDDLE, END, AND THEN

One writer works a story out their way, another writer does it their way. Which one gets to the next step in their process; which one starts over again and again? That’s the question that drives the industry of doubt, where one writer looks for the best solution to questions they haven’t asked. And that […]

BIG CITY DICKENS, AND FADING LOVE LIGHTS, A Short Story Of Intimacy

I got engaged and followed my future across the country. We met while I was an English major nursing a writer’s dream after an Army tour. She graduated and moved home with our wedding plans, so I dropped out and followed. Then she dropped me. Instead of hanging around New Jersey for a second chance, […]