My First Writers’ Conference

It’s been awhile since I blogged.  A lot has been going on, mostly boring stuff.  The biggest event was that we finally outsourced our policy printing after a year’s effort.  I felt like I’ve been juggling alligators the entire time.  I didn’t know much about this side of our business, didn’t know much about the … Read more

What a Day…

The following happened today, no embellishments… I woke up and walked our dog, Matty.  My left foot hurt a little, but I didn’t think much about it.  In due course, I showered.  While I dried my foot, I found the reason my foot hurt–my left big toe was red around the nail.  Red doesn’t describe … Read more

Writers’ Groups and Caretaker Scene

Originally, I was uncertain about the value of working with a critique group, but I have to say that it has been an invaluable experience overall.  To get the most out of the experience, I found that I had to sift through critiques that weren’t story centered like plot notes that, frankly, were complaints that … Read more

Mozilla Stops Development on Thunderbird…

…or how to find something else to do besides writing. I read an articleon CNET that basically reported that Mozilla will stop development of its email client Thunderbird.  Of course, I use Thunderbird because it, along with the available add-ons, provides most of what I needed in email. One of the problems with Thunderbird is … Read more

Men In Black III

As part of our 20th wedding anniversary celebration, my wife and I saw Men In Black III last weekend.  Overall, I thought it was an excellent movie, almost as good as the first and much better than the second.  I highly recommend it. I was dubious about yet another time travel movie/television episode/novel–to name a … Read more

Time…

Who has enough? I know I don’t.  Looking at a typical workday, I don’t know how I find time to write.  Out of the day, 10 hours are removed for things like work, commuting, and personal maintenance (showering, brushing teeth, etc. –yes, this is important!).  That leaves 6-7 hours.  Anymore than that, I’m stealing from … Read more

Why I Write

At my first meeting of the Round Hill Writers’ Group, Bobbi, the group’s organizer, asked why I wrote.  It started me thinking at a deeper level why I wrote.  Part of it was that my job required that I write more.  Back in 1998, I took a management position.  That transition required more communication.  Also, … Read more

Short Story: The Paperboy

In August, 2011, one of the writers’ groups I belong to, The Round Hill Writers’ Group, set a writing prompt:  Tell a story about a paperboy.  I had just started attending the meetings, so I wanted to write the story, but I had nothing.  Seriously, nothing!  I like to write speculative fiction/science fiction, and I … Read more

When Outlining is Really Pantsing

When I wrote my first novel, I pants it.  I had a handful of milestones that I knew I wanted to hit and the story meandered to those milestones.  Frankly, looking back on it, it’s unreadable.   I liked the concept and characters, but the execution was terrible. For my next novel, Shifting Mars’ Sands, I … Read more

Getting Started

Here it is.  I decided I’d try blogging my experiences as writer, good and bad. In a perfect world, I’ll post once a week or more.  We’ll see.  I work a full-time job, participate in two writers’ groups, golf, read, and futz with computers. I plan to write about my experiences writing.  That might include … Read more