Don’t Teach Me; Thrill Me
One of the things that divides me as a writer (hence, the title of this blog) is how much–if at all–I “teach” my readers any valuable lessons. Much of my past writing in this blog has been didactic in nature, asking you semi-philosophic questions about how we live our lives. The response has been great, [...]
Reclaiming my space
I’ve had this “debate” with writers for decades now, about the necessity of having your own “space” to write. There are basically two sides to this argument: Side no. 1: Get over it and just write. You don’t need to be in that perfect world, that perfect setting to let the words flow. Just write. [...]
SOMIRAC Presentation: Metajournaling
Greetings, all (especially those who joined us today in Hunt Valley for the SOMIRAC Conference!): Here is a copy of my presentation at the SOMIRAC conference. Please feel free to email me with any questions about the concepts and applications of metajournaling. SOMIRAC MetaJournals
Productive Day
I feel….well, I feel like I have a connection with you, Constant e-Reader. And so I just wanted to let you know that I had a productive day today. I am back on Twitter and establishing some good correspondence with other writers, and I spent a great deal of time researching the realities of publishing. [...]
Thoughts on Writing/Publishing/Making A Living
Hello, folks. (Listening to Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders, 9/1/74, Berkeley) Been thinking a lot these past few days about the realities of writing/publishing/making a living. I’ve come to the conclusion that there are three types of writers: 1. Writers who write because they can’t stop. It’s in them. Regardless of how rich or how [...]
Why Do(n’t) You Write?
Last week, while on vacation, I spent one mid-morning watching tv with my younger two children. They channel-surfed between PBS, the Disney Channel, and the Cartoon Network with the navigation of a highly trained professional. I was extremely impressed with their efficient use of commercial time to 1) find other shows not on commercial break, [...]
What do you pursue?
Earlier this month I picked up Shady Grove by Jerry Garcia and David Grisman, a 13-track compilation of acoustic folk songs and ballads that Jerry and David did between 1990 and 1995. A few days ago, I heard Jerry and David do “Bag’s Groove, Take 1″ on the Dead channel on Sirius Radio, and they [...]
Revisions and re-visions: love the process
Well, well, well. Much to share. Finished reading A Simple Plan. I think I mentioned that in an earlier entry. I bring this up again because I am thrilled with what I learned from Scott Smith’s style. Concise. Powerful. Each word matters. More than that, though, I realized something about Story. You gotta want it, [...]
Nano: The Final Week
Those of us who are writing novels or blogging daily in the month of November are facing the home stretch; many of us are being asked many of the same questions, so I thought that I’d address some of them here… Q: Will you finish? A: Of course we will. It’s what we do, we [...]
I am the Sun…Finishing Cold Rock!
Now that “In the Living Years” is published and off the docket, my plate has been cleared to finish the final revisions to Journey to Cold Rock, the novel I wrote last November during Nanowrimo. I wanted to finish it much earlier in the year and have it sent off (and under contract, and published, [...]
rusvw on Facebook
rus vw’s bookshelf
the my99 Challenge, 2008!
Web Badge Image Code