Now that it’s December 1, I feel like I can freely confess this: I blew off NaNoWriMo this year. I’ve written a “novel” (I use the term loosely) every year since 2004. Some are better than others; none are great. I’ve always been ok with that. I know that I’m not a novelist, but after…
Category Archives: writing
Not My Job. Or Is It?
We sat at breakfast one Wednesday morning, and I was recapping the previous night’s Team in Training run with my then 3-year-old son. He listened carefully as I talked about our tempo run, and seemed deep in thought as he ate his oatmeal. “Is running your job?” he asked between bites. “No,” I explained. “I’m…
Harnessing My Inner Nerd
I don’t think that my nerdiness comes as a surprise to those who know me. I embrace it. And yet, there are still moments where even I’m surprised by the extent of this affliction. As I sat down to review the 54 pages of session listings for the 2010 AMWA conference, I was smiling. Writing…
The New Project
I’ve made some references to a new project on the horizon, and it’s finally here. Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce my new blog: What Would Betty Do? As you’ve probably noticed, a significant number of my blog posts were about food, fitness and my Team in Training progress. The new blog will allow…
Pens, Lost and Found
All my life, I wanted a nice pen. My father had a golden Cross pen and pencil set, and I just loved it. The weight conferred a sense of importance upon anything written with it, from my fourth grade Social Studies paper to my college applications. When I graduated from high school, I asked for…
Not-So-RDQLUS Thinking
Ever since I read this blog post from Steve Gordon — a.k.a. RDQLUS — I’ve been thinking about the creative professionals that I’ve worked with during my career. “I’m so sorry,” they say by way of preemptive apology. “I’m not much of a writer.” I always cringe when I hear that. Sure, maybe they’re intimidated…
Economies of Scale: Why Shorter Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Cheaper
There was an awkward silence on the other end of the line. My client was dumbfounded. “How could a web page cost so much? It’s only three paragraphs!” I hate having this conversation. It’s not that I can’t justify my rates – oh believe me, I can, mostly because I’m far from the most expensive…
What I Did On My One Day Vacation
As I sit here listening to the clock tick in an otherwise quiet house, I’m marveling at the fact that I took the day off — most of it, anyway — and the world didn’t end. Aside from being on an island beach somewhere, this day was probably as close to ideal as it could…
New Project in the Works
I’m not going to bore you with the details of my new project yet — at least not until I have more details to share — but I will tell you that it’s based on this woman: Betty. Betty was my maternal grandmother. She was struck by lightning before she was 6, and lived to…
The Next Big Thing
I had the privilege of watching Dyana Valentine work her instigator magic at the Creative Freelancer Conference last weekend. It’s the second time in three years that I’ve walked away with a Dyana Valentine moment. Two years ago, it was her guidance that helped me to distill my professional pitch from a lengthy ramble to…