Fear is fun to blame
~ from Jon Acuff today ~ A few months ago I had a conversation with my wife Jenny at our dinner table. Here’s how it went: Jon: I’m too afraid to write this book. Jenny: No, you’re too lazy, but fear is fun to blame because then it’s not your fault. Jon (and the chorus of millions): Grenade. […]
Perfectly Proportioned
It’s empty now.Empty of the thimble that belonged to Momand the fragile figurine. Gone is thetiny pot with matching tea cups,spattered in blue paint. And themini toilet seat with lifting lid. Even the infant starfishthat accidentally tagged alongin our dive bag is somewhere’s else.So many treasures,gone missing orset aside for later days. It’s empty now.As […]
I want to write the book my kids want to keep
My bookshelves are piled high with titles from the past. Books I purchased because they were assigned. Books I used for reference. Books I consulted. Books that taught me how. Books that showed me where. Books, books, books, books! So many, in fact, that I couldn’t read many of the spines, because we were long […]
Why Do a Book Signing?
Riddle me this. Why is a book signed by the author worth more than the book, unsigned? It isn’t, to you, but it is to them. You know that your signature isn’t worth any more than the ink you use to sign it. But, your message and your signature designate this book as meant especially […]
Order in Chaos: can’t you see it?
As I look down this tunnel of books packed floor to ceiling, I hear… du-doo, du-doo, du-doo, du-doo. I am pretty sure Rod Serling is about to tell me I have crossed over into … “The Twilight zone.” I am standing in the back of a small bookstore in Lake Junaluska, NC. On entering, I […]
Can a Writer Get Laryngitis?
When you first dabble in writing, no, when you start to get serious about writing, there are questions. What should I write? What am I meant to write? How should I write it? If anyone pretends to have the right answer for that question, run. Run away quickly. Because the most thoughtful and most helpful […]
What can one voice do? write the middle chapters
I am sensing frustration and dissent out there. People who see that change is needed and want to make it. But they’re just one person. One voice. USA.gov (tagline, “government made easy”) reads, Due to a lapse in funding, the U.S. federal government has shut down. Call 1-800-FED-INFO (1-800-333-4636) for answers to government questions. I […]
Newly Written
Remember the days when you didn’t dare make a mistake typing that term paper? Because a mis-cue meant re-typing the whole thing? Slathering on the white out was unacceptable. Remember the relief when they introduced the correction cartridge? Erasing a mistake was as simple as typing over the letters in white. Only we knew what […]
Two sides of the same…notebook
Call me cheap or thrifty or just plain utilitarian, but I use both sides of a sheet of paper. I’m not proud about that, probably got it from my mom who called it “being Scotch.” If anyone knows what that means, please let me know. But this goes beyond your typical utilitarian paper-use. This morning […]
Busted ~ Over and Out
I HAVE to get my book draft finished! The first draft was so fun. The editing stinks. I find everything else in the world to do – other than finishing it. It’s me. It’s procrastination. I know this me. So does God. Help! …I say. So I’m pulling on my sweatshirt this morning – the […]