Uugh. Wedding gifts. They can be as mindless and arbitrary as throwing a dart at someone’s registry. Oh, look, honey, another self-watering plant. Great! Put it in the basement with the rest of the crap. What to get someone for their wedding? I faced this very dilemma when I found…
Category: writing
writing
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Death Rode Into Boulder Last Night. And He Was Not Welcome.
On March 22, 2021, a gunman opened fire in my grocery store. Ten people, including a first-responding police officer, were murdered. Since then, we’ve spent time with friends and family in contemplation of the simple fact: it could have been us in that store at that time. My reaction to…
Advice
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The 7 Axioms of Writing
Over time, I’ve aggregated a number of famous (and not-so-famous) quotes that I think frame the writer’s never-ending hunt for inspiration and the ability to craft story. Here are my ‘7 Axioms of Writing’. Or maybe 7 Immutable Laws of Writing? Either way, I have this printed out and hanging on my office…
Advice
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In Memory of Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941
Today is the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, which brought the U.S. (finally) into WWII. On this date, I take a moment to honor those who sacrificed so much, including my great uncle, who was killed during the Battle of the Bulge. It seems important now more than…
Advice
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How to Eliminate Spelling and Grammar Mistakes In Your Online Communications
Oh, think of the tragedies rooted in ambiguity! So goes the old saw from Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style. The days of bad grammar and spelling errors may not be numbered, but with the browser plugin called Grammarly, typos have certainly gotten easier to hunt. Some people think…
Advice
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Halloween Advice For Writers: Don’t Write Like a Dead Guy.
Have you tried to get a kid to watch a classic horror film lately? Sixty seconds into Psycho, they’re Snapchatting their friends wondering what’s going on this weekend. Oh sure they might glance up for a second when Marion Crane gets knifed in the shower, but you know, yawn. Compare that…
Advice
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The Seven Most Indispensable Tools Every Novelist Needs
A friend of mine recently shared with me that she wanted to write a novel. She had the story, but it was locked in her head. I can acutely empathize with her. In fact back in 2012 I wrote an article about this funny yet painful process. However, what my…
writing
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The Crash of the Air France Concorde
July 25 marks the anniversary of the crash of the supersonic passenger jet liner known as the Concorde. Concorde was one of only two supersonic passenger airliners that could fly twice the speed of sound. To put that in context, today it takes about 7 hours to fly from NY…
Advice
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Why We Cannot Blindly Trust The New Economy of Trust
When do we become afraid to make mistakes? When forgiveness dies. Take a moment to watch this video: Part of me says “I’ve seen the future and the future is trust.” But then, a little warning light goes off in my brain. Like that distant flickering of a train lamp…
Advice
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How to Find the Time to Write No Matter How Busy You Are…Guaranteed!
Do you have something you’re supposed to get written? Do you need to write a letter, blog post, novel, screenplay, business plan? Does life keep getting in the way? How in the heck, with family, job, money, work do we find the time, and the cognitive surplus to write? Prepare to be…
writing
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Totalitarian Regimes and Technology a Note about North Korea's Rocket Program
If there is one thing that History has taught us…it’s that while totalitarian regimes enslave, murder and starve their citizens they can muster great leaps forward with their technology. For example Nazi Germany with the V2 rocket program and Russia with the Sputniks. Both of which soundly beat the West with…
Advice
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How To Use Computer Text To Speech To Proof Your Writing
Proofreading is a bitch. Typos are the bane of my existence. So how are you expected to proof your own work after you’ve just spent an hour or (heaven forbid) hours staring at it? One of the best techniques that every proof reader knows about is reading your copy backwards. This…
funny
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Metadata is a Beautiful Thing
I’m sitting here listening to an Underworld song. I just spent 5 minutes scanning my iTunes for something that fits my mood. I spent another 3 minutes flipping through my Pandora. Nothing I land on seems to be working. I’m in one of THOSE moods where only the right balance of…
The wisdom of Strunk & White
If you’ve never taken a couple of hours to sit down and read the book The Elements of Style by Strunk & White, you’re missing a real gem. It’s a great resource for anyone who needs to communicate with anybody else. Basically, every person should read this. There is statement…
Dot Com Blues
I wrote this back in 2002 during the first dot com bubble burst. This is (C) Scott Allen Hey mom I just got hired by a dot com. We gonna make a million. Don’t worry that the salary is low, the stock’s going to be worth a trillion. We’re going…
