Dec 2010

Goal Achievement: The Nibbled to Death by Ducks Methodology

I used to teach high school. It was one of the most important things I have ever done. What I liked most was the light bulb moment when the students finally figured something out. I like to think I helped facilitate many of those ah-has. High school students are energetic, curious and driven. Granted, most parents don’t see this and unfortunately, the students don’t always exhibit these characteristics in the classroom. But, when you get them talking about their life goals, the eyes widen and the lips won’t stop moving. I enjoyed watching them develop from clueless freshmen to seniors with a plan.

However, almost universally, the students struggled with converting their dreams into reality. I came to the sad realization that teenagers don’t change their personal goals more often than their underwear only because they are experimenting and trying on new persona. Sometimes, they change because their goals seem too large, too unobtainable and they reset their sights on something easier, closer. They do so because no one has shown them how to achieve the goals they set.

In the U. S., we have a bad habit of telling every kid that they can be anything they want to be. Then, we keep the “how” to ourselves because we really don’t want the competition. Over the years and in my own act of subversion, I developed an integrated method to help students identify, achieve and advance their personal goals. In so doing, I used myself as a guinea pig and still use the method today. To demonstrate this, I will use my new personal goal of moving from being a non-fiction to a fiction writer. As I explain on my About page, I no longer wish to talk about what is, but rather, what if.
Read More...

Writing Books Part 6 Genre (Science Fiction)

Here is my sixth installment on the writing books I have read. Today, I will review Genre Books: Science Fiction. If your favorite book isn’t reviewed, I might not have read it yet. Go to my contact page and leave me a suggestion. This will be the final NaNoWriMo Book review. I will add other reviews later but not as specific sections responding to Wrimo requests.

Books on Genre Fiction

Read More...

Writing Books Part 5 Writers' Notebooks

Here is my fifth installment on the writing books I have read. Today, I will review Books on Writers’ Journals. If a book is so hideous I want to sue to get my money back, I will not list it here. If your favorite book isn’t reviewed, I might not have read it yet. Go to my contact page and leave me a suggestion. This review is much shorter as there are only two books.

I have journaled for about ten years. My own journals tend to be in 9.75 X 7.5 Composition books. I used to like Mead but they have gone to hell. The paper is so thin a regular Pilot Rolling ball V5 now goes through not just one sheet but onto the next! We are talking two sheet penetration! So... by going cheap... they now have reduced the usefulness by 1/2 as a 200 pages is now barely 100 as you can only use one side.

Disgusted, I wrote them a letter and got an email back. Sounds good right? Wrong. They claimed that the specs hadn’t changed. Um... yes, they had. A week later, I got a Fedex from Mead. In it was a letter and a gift. The letter was written on thick paper (obviously NOT a Mead product) and in it the customer service rep admitted the specs had changed... duh. The gift was several packs of ruled index cards. Cards? Not kidding. Sounds nice, right? No.
Read More...

Writing Books Part 4

Here is my fourth installment on the writing books I have read. As I’ve warned you before... if the book is so hideous I want to sue to get my money back, I will not list it here. I don’t want to give the perpetrator any publicity at all. If your favorite book isn’t listed, I might not have read it yet. Go to my contact page and leave me a suggestion if you know of a good book.

This installment is on
Books on the Craft of Writing. NaNoWriMo is over. Boohoo! After allowing the dough to rest, we must punch it down and make a book out of it. It might be worth reading some of these titles before attacking the behemoth written in November. Reward yourself. Read a book by one of your favorite authors and then one or two of these craft book and study how your favorite author reels you in. See how you can add more of that in your own work. GOOD LUCK!
Read More...