For latchkey kids everywhere
Last year I set some numbers goals for my writing life. I wanted to submit every week, edit one major work per month, and write every day. The sheer volume of the work, I thought, would produce results. The hardest of those goals to achieve was to write every day. In fact, when NaNoWriMo came... Continue Reading →
On October 30th I got to sub for Keven Cohoen on the Morning Drive show on 100.7 The Point, local Columbia, S.C. radio. I have two other shows on this station, Start Something, Columbia! and Write On, SC. Since today's bit didn't really fit either of those audiences, I decided to put the show notes... Continue Reading →
Like so many things, revision of a novel takes time. It takes time to read it through and think about the cohesion of it. It takes time to map out the plot arcs and try to match each chapter with its intent and pace. It takes time to review each scene for value and construction.... Continue Reading →
Remarks made at Fast Trac Graduation at Midlands Technical College 6/23/2018 It’s a pleasure to be here with you and an honor to speak to you today. I’m sorry I can’t stay for the entire event, I promised my daughter we’d work on her diving and flip turns today. Choosing to be with her is... Continue Reading →
It started when someone hijacked a hashtag. The trending topic was a kid named #AlfieEvans and he’d just died in the UK because doctors had advised no more treatment for a terminal case. Despite the lengths to which Italian doctors and the Italian government were willing to go to admit this small child to further... Continue Reading →
Mistakes are like celebrity deaths. They often come in threes. In what turned out to be a ridiculous failure, I competed in a spelling bee for charity recently. My teammates are good friends, their daughter and I were at Clemson together and we see them frequently during football season. We have another common friend who... Continue Reading →
Last month I attended two literary festivals. This month, armed with the arrogance those festivals bestowed upon me, I took on #NaNoWriMo. Again. I'd started this short story back in the spring about a kid who goes back to Neverland after having been on the loose in London. He's grown up some, maybe he's a... Continue Reading →
It’s hard work. The bottom line about addressing racism in this country is that it’s hard work. We have to be willing to listen. We have to try to be empathetic. We have to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. And that’s hard. Most of us spend the better part of the day comfortably in... Continue Reading →
I have been known to confess my aversion to group work. In undergrad, I intentionally registered for more credits than I needed so that I could drop the two worst courses as determined by 1) attendance policy and 2) group project. Throughout my career, I’ve maintained three tenants about group work: Know your AORs Areas... Continue Reading →
