The Panic and Pain of Mind-Body Dualism

In the opening scene of the classic semi-autobiographical comic novel Three Men In Boat, the writer Jerome K. Jerome is looking for a hay fever treatment when he casually begins reading about other diseases. By the time he’s finished, he concludes that he has every disease on the list. “I had walked into that reading-room a happy healthy man. I crawled out a decrepit wreck.” He goes to his doctor, an “old chum” who gives … Continue reading

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Are We All Great Writers?

Warning: I’m going to act as if I were younger and full of braggadocio like most of you young writers who boast about your voice, your muse, your “work” and fearlessly market like crazy because you are full of yourselves, as I was. What a handicap age and experience is beyond the obvious! It’s a cliché of course but as we age we increasingly understand that we know very little. While young, we understand, theoretically, … Continue reading

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Phone Home Pictures

In a previous post, I more or less marveled about how I take pictures now that I have a cell phone. Rarely took any before. These pics were taken this summer. I’ve also been reading a lot about neuroplasticity and have finally realized that I should, as all those self-help books say and I’ve scoffed at over the years, “be grateful for what you have.” So, I am grateful for where I live, in Valley … Continue reading

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Mystery Stream

Several years ago, my brother John and I hiked the Bell mountain trail, about 12 miles of it, rugged Ozark territory with some of the best views of any trail in Missouri.  On our way home, we stopped at a conservation area and checked out the upper Big River access. For some reason, I couldn’t remember us stopping there, and questioned my brothers sanity, which is something I often do with all three of my … Continue reading

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Reluctant Photographer

  With technology apparently comes unexpected urges. In this case, my cell phone makes it easy for me to take pictures, so of course I do. And for the first time in my many hikes over 40 years, I am stopping and taking photos of the flowers I’ve passed by… and I’m picking up a few snakes along the way, but that isn’t necessarily new. Share on Facebook

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Muddlehead

Informal typing straight into the blog site. Something new for me, as usually I rewrite and organize and work too hard to get it as perfect as I can approximate.  But it isn’t about perfection, is it? It’s about success, about talking to the online void.  For I am sure no one is reading this anytime soon.  I’m two weeks into quitting alcohol and caffine and feel as muddled and lethargic as  I imagine a … Continue reading

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Kindle Crossing – Why Buy an ebook Reader?

I went to turn the page but there was none. I had crossed over. I had forgotten that I was reading an electronic device. I suspect, like many of you, I was fond of explaining why ebooks would never replace real books. Throw them both on the ground and which one could you still read? Which would you rather have at poolside, a $150 dollar electronic device or a five-dollar used paperback? A friend recently … Continue reading

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Finding Your Fiction: Concise Steps to Writing Successful Fiction — Setting

Setting is character. Almost everything that applies to character applies to setting. Science Fiction and Fantasy often rely on unique settings. However, setting is no less important for realism, romance, commercial, literary, women’s fiction, and so on. A teenage girl can confront organized crime in the hills of Missouri, the slums of Chicago, on Mars, Pluto, or in a parallel universe. Creating Your Setting: 1. Choose a familiar place 2. Research unfamiliar locations 3. Create … Continue reading

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Finding Your Fiction: Concise Steps to Writing Successful Fiction — Style

“The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shock-proof, shit detector. This is the writer’s radar and all great writers have had it.” — Hemingway Style or “voice” is probably the most common excuse for bad writing. Perhaps you can hear yourself or friend saying the following: “But you’re supposed to have your own unique voice.” “I like long descriptive passages; after all, Dickens did it.” “That’s just who I am.” To … Continue reading

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Finding Your Fiction: Concise Steps to Writing Successful Fiction — Dialogue

Increasingly, I have seen the spelling as “dialog,” probably because of computers and their use of a “dialog box.” While the spelling is technically correct, I find it useful to distinguish between the two. Dialog = computers. Dialogue = written conversation in both fiction and nonfiction. Also, with the advent of online publishing, and apparent default settings, fiction increasingly is presented in block format with extra space between paragraphs. Unfortunately, if this trend continues, it … Continue reading

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