I met Russ on the Queen Mary 2 crossing from England to New York City. I attended the workshop he did on authoring and self-publishing. It was the perfect setting to talk about his murder mystery set on a cruise ship. You Become a Writer by Writing “Just sit down and start writing,” is what author and lecturer Russ Smith tells people when they ask how to get started as an author. “Think about what […]
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My Writing Story – Tassie Types
January is Share Your Writing Story Month at HowWiseThen Tassie Hewitt and I met at a critique group. I hope my laughing at her writing has been part of her inspiration. Tassie Types – The Story of My Writing Life For most of my life I’ve been a closet writer, hiding my thoughts and feelings in private notebooks. My mother bought me my first diary when I was in elementary school, complete with a lock […]
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Christmas Non-Shopping List
Does your list of things to do include Christmas shopping for people you care about but are out of ideas for what to give them? I suspect so. Most of us really don’t need more things. What many of us long for is more time. We crave more time for activities that add meaning to our lives or help us relax and calm down. Many people crave more quality time with their friends and family. […]
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Things You Did Not Know About “A Christmas Story”
The now popular movie A Christmas Story owes its existence to a short story in Jean Shepherd’s collection, In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash. Well, that’s part of the story. It also owes its existence to a Shepherd radio program Bob Clark heard while driving to pick up his date in Miami. Jean Shepherd, writer, humorist, satirist, actor, and radio, television and film personality, had a gift for telling stories. He mingled memories from […]
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The Story of “A Christmas Story”
It fascinates me how the fickle finger of fate determines which stories become famous. Consider the story behind the annual favorite, A Christmas Story, released with so-so reviews in 1983, but set in the 1940’s. The movie didn’t generate enough attention to merit running it until Christmas when it was first released. Today it is a foundational part of the season in many households. How did that happen? In case you some how managed to […]
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