Welcome To My Blog

Every so often I have nothing to say and therefore nothing to write about. I may have some opinions, but they don’t seem important and they certainly aren’t worth sharing. It’s not writers block, it’s more a feeling that my inkwell is dry. Writing is not like painting in that a painter can sit down in front of a tree and paint, and when he is done, he can turn his chair around and paint some other tree, or building, or waterfall. Ideas aren’t so plentiful. So what do I do when the inkwell runs dry? I fill it up. Or at least I try. Here are some tips: • Don’t panic. As a writer, you are good at processing and communicating ideas, but you didn’t come up with the ideas. They existed before you and will exist after you. You are simply the filter through which ideas get poured and processed. There are more ideas out there. • Get some rest. Your filter is not a fixed mechanism, it’s a living brain, and it needs rest. Take a break from all things philosophical for a while. Attend a movie, read a book, take a nap, but let your mind [...]

When I graduated high school, I’d not read a single book. If I didn’t graduate last in my class, I was certainly close. In fact, one teacher protested I shouldn’t graduate at all, and it was only a coup from counselors that got me out of high school. It wasn’t until I attended a rather academic camp in Colorado that I started reading. The camp aimed to prepare kids for college, and as such emphasized reading books, lots and lots of books. They must have said a thousand times that readers are leaders. I believed them. I started reading that summer (I was probably 18) and I kept reading, book after book for the next fifteen years. These days, I’m embarrassed to say, I read less than I have since then. I may tackle thirty books each year. I read blogs and articles on the internet, and I watch too much television. I write some sort of article or blog entry almost every day, which is a terrific discipline for a writer, but I’ve slacked off on reading. That said, though, if it’s true leaders are readers, than it’s easier than ever to be a leader. In fact, if you’ll [...]

For years, my favorite poet has been Billy Collins. I’ve shared his poetry before on this blog. As I’ve helped Lucy write her blog, we’ve warmed up our writing minds with poems from Billy. He helps me engage my heart in a way that isn’t too sentimental or affected. Anyway, today I came across this old poem called Purity and it’s one of my favorites. It’s great advice for writers, too. It’s about coming to the typewriter completely vulnerable. And not fake vulnerability like the hacks, the guys who talk about how bad they feel about how many women they’ve slept with (a sly way of bragging about sexual prowess) or about how humbled they are for having won the prestigious blogger of the week award from the local quilting circle (are you really humbled by that? You know you like those old ladies swooning over you) but the real thing, the vulnerability that costs you, that can even shrink your readership. I had lunch with a friend last week that had quit drinking. He’s an artist, a writer, and I asked about his career. He’d just released a new project. He told me he was so busy trying not [...]