Baby Boomers… The Lady with the Pineapple Hair 8 Mar 201112 Mar 2011 As teenagers, we stifled giggles whenever we sat behind the lady with the pineapple hair. I theorized that she hoped its astounding height would be slimming. I also guessed that…
Academic Writing… How to Get that Easy A 3 Feb 20113 Feb 2011 Show up. Show up on time, every time. Stay the whole time. Read the instructions. Listen to instructions. Try common sense. Be sober. Care for your health. Choose to learn.…
Academic Writing… I Am Woman; Call Me She 27 Jan 201127 Jan 2011 Since Facebook already knows whether you are male or female, and even distinguishes between your "Cousin (male)" and "Cousin (female)," a distinction the English language doesn’t make, then why can't…
Collaboration… Not a Poem a Day 1 Jan 20116 Jan 2011 “It isn’t every day that the world arranges itself into a poem.” — Wallace Stevens Wally must have been as disappointed about that as I am. Maybe every day a…
Change the World… Therapeutic Draft 15 Dec 201029 Dec 2010 Almost everyone I meet admits to a book-writing dream, usually a flaming bestseller about what the aspiring author has suffered: twelve chapters detailing the ordeal, and one on the happy…
Change the World… Four Seasons 14 Dec 201029 Dec 2010 It's finally autumn in the Arizona valleys; it lasts about a week. I think I mentioned this before—along with my tree where the spring buds opened on the east before…
College… Txt Translation 6 Dec 20105 Jan 2011 Who says today’s college students can’t write? With texting, messaging, chatting, blogging, and social media updating, you write all day and half the night. What you need is a handy…
Business… Typo costing #Twitter 23 Sep 201029 Dec 2010 Death, taxes, and typos. They happen for everyone. And most of the time, if readers even notice typos, I hope they say, "Yeah, I know what she meant" and forgive…
Business… Question the Preposition 9 Aug 201029 Dec 2010 Remember when teachers assigned papers by length, and adolescent ideas didn't stretch that far? Did you turn "Japan exports transistor radios," into "One of the prime exports of Japan would…
Change the World… Assembly Required 12 Jul 201029 Dec 2010 Wouldn't it be nice if your first thought was a brilliant opening? And every thought thereafter arrived in the most logical order until your book was complete? Then again, unless…
Business… Writing as Cloud Painting 21 Jun 201029 Dec 2010 Have you been cloud gazing lately? Have you noticed that when you share the sky with someone else, you see more? Someone points to a catch: “There’s a crocodile! See?…
Critiques… How to get and give a champion critique 19 Jun 201029 Dec 2010 At a writing conference, one author shared her simple method for teaching anyone (fellow writer or clearly not) to provide a helpful (and free!) critique. You teach your aspiring readers…