Offline for awhile may leave a somewhat indefinite timeframe in the minds of my readers. To be honest, I simply need a break from the online world. This break begins today and ends when I feel ready to open my hands and put them on the keyboard.
I hope that each of you had a joyous Christmas. Let’s look forward together to 2021, and a possible end to the pandemic as the vaccine makes its way to each of us. The past year has been hard on everyone, and sometimes that sense of oppression by uncontrollable forces requires us to hibernate for a time.
Remember how important self-care is, and practice it as you see fit.
Just a quick word about the things I “sort of promised” in a recent post on October 22, 2020. In that post, I mentioned potential writings in the works as well as some book reviews.
Quoting Robert Burns’s words in his poem, To a Mouse:
The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley.
Clarifying Mr. Burns’s language to modern-day understanding, we come up with the most carefully prepared plans that may go wrong. Continue reading →
On Saturday, March 14th, our local news announced the governor had declared a state of emergency and we were faced with a pandemic. At our ages, it was suggested we “stay at home” and/or “shelter in place.” So began our isolation.
It’s been four months since we assumed our place in the pandemic. Like good citizens, we’ve stayed at home with the exception of driving to our grocery store to pick up our grocery orders. Otherwise, church services, choir practices, committee meetings, doctor’s appointments have been held using Zoom.
Oregon is now a part of the pandemic surge with daily numbers rising more than they did during the previous three months. Why won’t people wear masks? Continue reading →
An incredible news dump consistently comes at us via TV broadcasts, the Internet, radio, social media, and in overheard conversations in restaurants or on the bus or train.
Every now and then why not focus on news relating to things we enjoy. Like writing, music, reading, technology and more.
Here are a few articles for your perusal:
Writing News and Tips:
On May 22nd Philip Roth died. According to his obituary in The Times, Roth was the last of the triumvirate of great white male writers–Saul Bellow and John Updike were the others–who towered over American letters in the latter half of the 20th century. If you haven’t read Roth’s books, this article helps you get started.
Always on the lookout for good writing tips, I came across a post titled Writing Tips from The Elements of Style: a Summary of the Most Influential Guide to Writing. A quick look proved my suspicion to be correct–we were talking about my favorite writing book. This summary of Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style is a great guide for beginning writers as well as a welcome reminder for those of us who’ve been writing a while.
Book News:
In the last couple of weeks, I read Beck Dorey-Stein’s memoir, From the Corner of the Oval. Due for release on July 10, 2018, this is a memoir you want to watch for and read. Dorey-Stein brings not only a sense of the tensions but also the humor found in the life of The White House as well as The Oval Office. She served as a stenographer during the Obama administration and flew on Air Force One several times. This experience gave her a bird’s eye view of life in the “Oval.”
LitHub bookmarked Amy Poeppel’s Limelight: A Novel as one of the best of new books this summer. Based on five reviews, Limelight is categorized as a “Rave.” This short excerpt gives you an idea of Poeppel’s premise:
Allison Brinkley–wife, mother, and former unflappable optimist–discovers that a carefully weighed decision to pack up and move her family from suburban Dallas to the glittery chaos of Manhattan may have been more complicated than she and her husband initially thought.
Some Tech Stuff:
There is no way to scan the news without finding something tech-related. And all who write want to become better at doing that, right? The Muse posts an article sharing 7 Free Tools to Become a Better Writer. Two or three of these were familiar, but the rest were new apps I’ve not tried. Give the post a quick look. Maybe you’ll find a new helper.
Have you thought about dictating your book rather than writing it? Udemy currently has an offering, How to Speed Write Your Book With Voice Recognition Software. If you’ve tried voice recognition software, please share your experience in the comments. Lately, I’ve posted about chronic illnesses and writing. That’s a situation in which this software could be beneficial.
Coming up on Tuesday, June 19th:
My review of Doom, Gloom, and Pursuit of the Sun by Antoine F. Gnintedem, a work of biographical fiction. This book shares the experiences of a young man growing up in and then leaving Cameroon.
