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SPORTS LITERACY FOR BOOMERS: KNOW WHEN ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Sports literacy runs through all sports, not just your favorite team, or my favorite team, though that would make things so much easier. It’s more than the Yankees, the Cowboys, or the Celtics; more than the Mariners, Seahawks, and your Portland Trail Blazers. On Friday nights it’s more than the high school football playoffs, more […]

STORY TIME FOR AN INVITING TREE AND BABY

Story time begins a long, long, time ago when a little girl picked up an acorn, but not just any acorn. This one had a special shine so she buried it in a special place. The oak tree from the special acorn grew faster than the other acorns the little girl planted. As the years […]

WRITING ADVICE FOR A BROKEN HEART HOSPITAL CAMPOUT

Writing advice from writers usually comes with a warning, or should: This is what works for them. It might work for you or another writer, but it definitely works for them. After a single night campout in a hospital bed, their advice carried more weight for better or worse. A week out from the event […]

DESPERADO DAYS, AN OLD SONG FOR CURRENT TIMES

Desperado days come into focus when you ask a millennial if they’ve heard the song before. Maybe it depends on how you ask? “This is my anthem song, my guide in the ’70’s, the song that rang true then and now. Ever hear of Desperado?” I’ll be honest here, if someone asked me like that […]

WRITING CONFERENCE UPDATE FROM CHUCK SAMBUCHINO

How the writing conference update started: Hi David, Chuck Sambuchino here (formerly a long-time editor with Writer’s Digest and the GLA). The GLA is the Guide To Literary Agents, a book I’ve bought. I follow Chuck on Twitter. He sent me a message, which is different than a notification. This is Chuck Sambuchino:

WRITING COACH PUMPS UP ALPHABET: FOLLOW THE GAME PLAN

Every writing coach, or anyone who calls themselves a writing coach, has a similar goal: Get something down on paper, on a screen, a phone, just get it down. It can be good, bad, indifferent, it doesn’t matter. Just get it down. A good writing coach doesn’t emphasize the difficulty. Between coach and player, they […]

STORY CATCHER IN THE WRITING ROOM NOT SO WRY

J.D. Salinger was a story catcher who wrote books. One of them sells like new today: Approximately 250,000 copies of The Catcher in the Rye are sold each year – which is almost 685 per day! The Catcher in the Rye was first published in 1951. That’s quite a record for keeping readers coming back. […]

CONFLICT WRITING: WHEN DOES IT HIT HOME

Conflict writing happens in every story, every movie, every book. Without conflict, there is no tension, and no reason to turn the page. Weak writing is a list, an inventory of boxes to check, instead of personal involvement. What’s the difference?

WORLD STAGE: PLAYING MANY PARTS AT HOME

The world stage for Shakespeare was a different world than we live in today. “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts. . .” Is the Shaker talking about multiple personality disorder? No, but he […]

STORY TIME STORY WITH DAVE, OR IS IT DAVID

Story time begins with tradition. What tradition, you ask? All good stories begin the same. They might still be good stories, but not classic Story Time. Once Upon A Time: