Academic Writing… Grade Inflation: What’s Really Going On 3 Sep 201213 Oct 2012 I had the dubious honor of starting college during the first crackdown on grade inflation. My professors overtly ensured that every grade on our transcripts was hard-earned. Then I immediately…
Children… Oh, the Places You’ll Gather Memories 2 Jul 201213 Oct 2012 At Brenna Martin's high school graduation, she received a surprise that took her father Bryan 13 years to prepare: a favorite Dr. Seuss book filled with comments from all her…
Change the World… Poetics and Paralysis 29 May 20126 Sep 2020 Continuing this theme of learning to listen to silence, consider Matthew Sanford. He teaches yoga, his spinal cord has an interruption, and his story and poetic observations teach us about…
Incubation… Your Writing is a Horse 20 Apr 201213 Oct 2012 What if your writing were a horse? And what if you didn't have to chase it down and manhandle it? Kafka said if you could only be still--"just learn to…
Books… Book Design Part II: Interior Layout 25 Jan 201224 Jan 2012 Everyone knows a graphic designer. "My daughter just graduated--the top of her class!" "My cousin does CD covers in LA!" "My neighbor is such a good artist!" But book design…
Books… Book Design Part I: Judging Your Book by Its Cover 18 Jan 201224 Jan 2012 "Don't judge a book by its cover." It means don't assume your first impression of a person is accurate, but that doesn't apply to books! Potential buyers won't give your…
Books… You Talkin’ ta Me?? 13 Jan 201215 Jan 2012 The invitation arrived: wouldn't I love to drive a brand-new Medicare-funded scooter?! "We've seen it time after time. "People who are reluctant to use any mobility assistance because they think…
Blogging… “Just Put One Foot on the Ground” 4 Jan 201230 Dec 2011 About a month ago, Mimi Meredith shared her mother's advice for cold Montana mornings: "Darlin' girl, just put one foot on the ground." I've been smiling over that ever since.…
Film… Friday Flick: Two Brothers 4 Nov 20116 Nov 2011 Filmmaker Rick Stevenson vividly recalls certain observations he had in his childhood. (I LOVED his brilliant and candid introduction.) He was ambitious enough to follow over 60 children through 5000…
Journaling… Checking Your Book for the Time 27 Oct 201125 Oct 2011 Art Spiegelman was probably ahead of his time when his publisher produced a CD-ROM of The Complete Maus in the early '90s, and he's still combining media to create and publish…
Blogging… My International Guests 26 Oct 201124 Oct 2011 "If you are writing the clearest, truest words you can find and doing the best you can to understand and communicate, this will shine on paper like its own little…
Blogging… Two Kinds of Writers 24 Oct 2011 There are two kinds of writers: (1) Those who make their own writing their highest (or almost highest) priority. (2) Those who try to finish every other task before they…