Blog Entries - August 2008

"May you live in interesting times"

wordshop1@verizon.net — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 06:00:00 +0100

"May you live in interesting times."

Old Chinese curse. And so very true. There are days I wish for boredom, but since I'm not easily bored I rarely enjoy one. But then there are the interesting times, of which I often feel I have too many. However, sometimes those "interesting times are full of good news. :)

The Man From Nowhere emerged from the darkness last Friday in a half-hour brain-storming session. Unfortunately I can't tel [...]

The Man from Nowhere

wordshop1@verizon.net — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 06:00:00 +0100

It's time to propose a new book.

This is the hard part, especially with life swirling around me. Kids need attention, son is vacuuming for me, mate is playing 90,000 versions of "Waltzing Matilda" on YouTube, dog #1 has decided he's hungry.... And I'm still hurting all over from a fall that sprained my ankle.

Not to mention we're in the "cone of uncertainty" for an approaching tropical system, and I've got to consider things like: getting pr [...]

Comments on the blog

wordshop1@verizon.net — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 06:00:00 +0100

There is now a place on the forum to discuss the blogs, ask questions and suggest other topics you'd like me to write about. I hope you'll join me there!

Where stories come from

wordshop1@verizon.net — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:00:00 +0100

One of the questions most frequently asked of an author is: Where do you get your ideas? And the answer is invariably: they're everywhere. From the back of the mind, from news items, from the world around us.

Just as invariably, that answer proves to be disappointing.

But there's actually no magic to story-telling. Psychologists have come to recognize that story-telling is how we create our own lives. It's the way we put information together into a nar [...]