On Writing: Get It Out There

            In space, according to Ridley Scott, no one can hear you scream.  For you non-science types, that’s because outer space is a near vacuum and can’t carry sound.  For others: well, duh.

In most cases, there’s a similar vacuum around the spaces, people and events we create through writing. If your protagonist is attacked by gnarly gnomes in the forest, but no one other than you reads it, does he make a sound?  No. He might be doing a lot of howling in your head, but sans reader the poor fellow will die alone and unmourned.  It’s bad for him, but worse for you.  If no one can hear you, how can they offer help?

On Writing: Late to the Party

S.E. Hinton started writing The Outsiders in high school. Stephen King sold his first story, The Glass Floor, in 1967, when he was 20.

I turned 39 in October and, I guess by those standards, I’m coming to the fiction-writing party relatively late.  To extend the metaphor, it feels a little like I’ve just showed up with chips and dip to find out all the beer is gone, the DJ is tired and the attractive partiers have paired off and are making out in dark corners.

The Blues: A Mustache for Charity

You may see me looking a bit like your creepy Uncle Barry this month, but there’s a reason; I’m growing a mustache to raise money for prostate cancer research.

The Mo, slang for mustache, and November come together each year for Movember.  Movember challenges men to change their appearance and the face of men’s health by growing a mustache. The rules are simple, start Nov. 1 clean-shaven and then grow a mustache for the entire month.  The mustache becomes the ribbon for men’s health, the means by which awareness and funds are raised for cancers that affect men.  Much like the commitment to run or walk for charity, the men of Movember commit to growing a mustache for 30 days. 

Teaching: Google Tools in Public Schools

This is quick white paper I wrote on using Google Tools in the classroom. Share it as you will: