Writers dream of the day when the words they have committed to paper will be read and appreciated by people they may never meet. The desire to be published is a goal that motivates gifted scribes to spend long hours at computer keyboards, to spend money and time to attend conferences, and to join local writers
I’ve enjoyed your magazine for the past couple of years, both informative and entertaining. I’ve seen the columns where you “give advice” and I could use a little help myself. I write fiction and my wife has just caught the “writing bug” and has decided to write about her adventures with our two kids and six foster kids.
In this day and age, legalities abound, so can you tell me if we can we use the children’s real names in her stories?
We all have a story we want to tell. Maybe we have lost a parent or a loved one and realize we can
I woke up on Saturday morning to Max (26-months-old) forcibly opening my left eyelid and whispering, “Way up, Mom! Way up, Mom!” I opened my eyes and smiled and he said, “Wissen!” So, I cocked my ear up and opened my eyes wide, rolling them around to make him laugh while trying to make out the sound he was listening to (he just learned the word “noise”). A cold front had blown through overnight and I realized a cold wind was whistling around the windows. I opened my mouth wide and said, “Oooh!” And Max replied, “I hear noise! I hear wind! I like wind!” I scooped him into my arms and said, “I like wind, too!”
Writing is a passion (along with photography). What you so often share in this newsletter is that to actually write comes with purpose and joy. Even in the simple things of sharing our stories with our family. I love the ideas that you presented for gifts. It is something our family of origin has passed on in writing journals and our histories.
Thomas Edison once said, ‘Genius is 1% inspiration and 90% perspiration,’ and boy was he ever right! He also said, ‘I didn’t fail 10,000 times, I successfully eliminated the 10,000 times, materials and combinations which wouldn’t work.’ Again, right on, Mr. Edison. I confess I am a quotation junkie, and have launched several articles with a quote from someone else that seemed to get the feel of what I wanted to convey far better than me.
This week: Editor asks for a rush job, but fails to provide specs; Get rich quick copywriting schemes
From the day I decided to freelance, I knew that a column was the best option for me, that I would thrive on having a goal each month; I am the Queen of Goals. No kidding!
Well, we had an interesting week, to say the least. For the first time ever, we were blessed to be witness to the Aurora borealis! It was one of the most spectacular, beautiful and majestic phenomena we’ve ever seen! I’ve seen pictures of it my entire life, and knew, while growing up, that I’d never see it in Texas. But, after moving to Maine, I somehow assumed I’d see it each year. That wasn’t to be as we’ve been here for three years and haven’t been blessed with this event before now. But, after that large solar storm last week, my neighbor, Rita, called and excitedly said, “I’m outside and you’re missin’ it!”
