Tag Archives: Writing

The Value of Awards

This is a complex subject, but it has been occupying my mind a lot in the last couple of days, so I want to take a stab at it. Every year I read the finalists for a certain literary award … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Mad at the World: A Life of John Steinbeck by William Sounder

Before I start this review, I have to get something off my chest, because it rankles every time I see it. I can’t understand why the author of this biography titled it “A” life of John Steinbeck instead of “The” … Continue reading →

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Book Review: The Writer’s Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives by Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager

From the descriptive material announcing this book, I thought it would be different than it is. I imagined each author elaborating on one book that changed their life. I supposed I would read in-depth evaluations of particular books that would … Continue reading →

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What My Blog Means to Me

Recently someone close to me suggested that I should revamp my website/blog. It was too cluttered, they said. It needed to be streamlined, more professional in appearance, and more intense in focus. I thought long and hard about the suggestions … Continue reading →

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The Senescent Nomad Seeks a Home

My new novel The Senescent Nomad Seeks a Home was published on December 25, 2020 (Merry Christmas) and is now available in both paperback and digital formats at the links below. It is a sequel to my novel The Senescent … Continue reading →

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What a Long Strange Year It’s Been

I had an internal debate about whether to write this essay because compared to other years nothing happened. That’s not exactly true, of course, but what happened was mainly restricted to the confines of our apartment, and my interactions were … Continue reading →

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Avoiding Discouragement During the Pandemic

I am deep into writing a story that is sprouting into a novel, and so I hesitate before devoting my writing time to this instead of that. However, I rationalize the side trip by contemplating that if I help only … Continue reading →

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The Difference Between an Author and a Writer

Before I embarked upon my detailed explanation I wanted to be sure that I had my terms right, so I looked them up in the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. According to the primary definitions in this source, an author is “the … Continue reading →

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The Dark Night of a Writer’s Soul (Revisited in Light of the Pandemic)

Recently I wrote an essay called “The Great Opportunity, or, Turning Lemons into Lemonade During a Pandemic.” In it, I encouraged those who were isolating themselves while avoiding exposure to the coronavirus to develop their creativity by writing, painting, sculpting, … Continue reading →

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The Great Opportunity, or, Turning Lemons into Lemonade During a Pandemic

I empathize with those who have lost loved ones, those who fight on the medical front lines or remain at their posts performing other essential jobs, and those who have suffered loss of employment and remain helplessly at home as … Continue reading →

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