Tag Archives: Writing

Book Review: How to Write Like Tolstoy: A Journey Into the Minds of Our Greatest Writers by Richard Cohen

The title of this book, although catchy, is misleading.  Personally, I wouldn’t want to write like Tolstoy anyway.  I am perfectly content to write like John Walters.  Anyway, the author makes no attempt to teach writing or techniques of writing.  … Continue reading

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Writing as a Metaphysical Experience

My new book, Writing as a Metaphysical Experience, is now available as an e-book at multiple outlets, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple iBooks, and others.  It’s also available as a print edition here. It’s part memoir, part journal, … Continue reading

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Mistakes

We all make them as we stumble through life.  Sometimes we think we do more wrong than right in our pursuit of excellence.  Many people, though, think that books are an exception, that they should be mistake-free. As a reader, … Continue reading

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Book Review: The Best American Short Stories 2015 Edited by T.C. Boyle and Heidi Pitlor; Part One: Subjectivity in Short Story Appreciation

Reading the collection “The Best American Short Stories 2015” edited by T.C. Boyle had a curious effect on me.  Well, to clarify, I haven’t read it all yet.  I’m several stories in.  I’ve been reading modern short stories recently because … Continue reading

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Book Review: Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

I occasionally like to read books about writing, to see what other writers have to say about it.  I came across this book at a Seattle Friends of the Library book sale.  It was almost free so, since I had … Continue reading

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Writer’s Block

Near the end of last year I was on a roll.  I had been producing steadily throughout the year, with two novels and a long novella.  But the last few months of the year I turned my attention to short … Continue reading

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Mortality

Most of us, when we are young, give no heed to mortality.  Our sights are focused forward into the future, but the possibility of cessation of being doesn’t enter our awareness.  Instead, we strive to be older, more independent, more … Continue reading

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Hindsight – December 2015

I’ve gone beyond the point where I give much of a damn what other people think about what I should or should not write.  I will compose straightforwardly or I will experiment as it pleases me and as the piece … Continue reading

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Book Review: The Ballad of Beta 2 by Samuel R. Delany

I went to a Halloween party held by a local writers group and among the festivities was a book exchange.  I brought a suitably creepy Stephen King novel and came away with this one.  “The Ballad of Beta 2” is … Continue reading

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Who’s My Enemy?

The tendency of human nature is to place blame when things go wrong, or even if things don’t go as right as you would like them to.  I’m not as successful as I’d like to be as a writer.  I … Continue reading

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