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RECOMMENDED READING: T.C. BOYLE’S ‘GOING DOWN’

October 29, 2022 by

Recommended reading for writers? Common advice is to read everything, whatever that means. Do I read everything? Everything in a bookstore, or library? No, I read for inspiration, I read for cause, and my cause is writing.

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TENDER BAR, A PLACE EVERYONE NEEDS

October 27, 2022 by

The Tender Bar is a book, a memoir, and a movie. A book and a movie, for the deuce. But it’s more than a book or a movie, it’s a destination I stopped in for a drink yesterday, but it was the wrong bar.

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BOOK HOARDING ADVICE FOR BEGINNERS

July 12, 2022 by

Book hoarding is not a disease. If that makes you feel better, you might be a librarian. Not a librarian, but still have loads of books? Still not a disease, and here’s why:

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WRITER LIFE CHRISTMAS WHEN IT’S NOT ABOUT WRITING OR LIFE

December 24, 2021 by

Does ‘writer life’ mean writing about life, or the experience of someone who writes? Answer silently while you write about a life of writing. Writer’s Life? Mine began as a small child at my Grandma’s house. She handed me a book.

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TRAVEL OREGON STARTS WITH TWO BOOKS

October 26, 2021 by

Travel Oregon the right way? If you live here you know the drill: Fill up the gas tank, or unplug the battery, and head for the big north to south roads. Take in the coast on Hwy 101. Head out on I-5 for the Willamette Valley sights. Or aim your ride over the the mountains […]

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LEARNING CURVE? FIND TREASURES AND READ

June 12, 2021 by

A learning curve is not an excuse. I’ll repeat it, a learning curve doesn’t mean you’re stupid. There’s room in class for another learner. If it’s something new, you may feel a little stupid working it out, but that’s just navigating the curve. Give it a few minutes and you’ll be an expert. How? Read […]

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HISTORICAL ADVICE: THIS IS WORTH SOMETHING, ISN’T IT

March 3, 2021 by

Historical advice usually comes from a book, or a class where some gray bearded funky old man in a musty suit jacket rambles on and on in a cloud of dandruff. Doing history is different than studying history. History museums Do History for everyone else. Museum visitors walk from exhibit to exhibit, floor to floor, […]

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WHAT READERS DO? READERS GONNA READ, READ, READ

March 12, 2020 by

Real readers handle books different than than rest of us. Who is that real reader? I watched a librarian friend pick up a book and go through the process. From contents to index, then everything in between, he handled the book like a pro. He was a pro, but what about the rest of us?

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BOOK HISTORY: LIVE IT THEN WRITE IT

January 29, 2020 by

Book history could be about the printing press, except books existed before the printing press. Just not as many, and not all in Europe.

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WRITE A BOOK, IT’LL BE FUN, UNTIL IT’S NOT

November 5, 2019 by

Fans, followers, and one-timers on boomerpdx have seen my book writing posts. It’s not exactly how-to-write stuff, but it helps show process. One nice piece of advice I’ve heard: You’d better love your book topic, because you’ll eventually hate it. Since my book is a guided tour of what to expect after a cancer diagnosis, […]

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