Gather 'round…
How does one go about collecting words? You know, quotes from this and that. Snippets. Sentences you need to remember and hold onto. Paragraphs that are life-altering and never to be let go of. Words you simply must collect. Anybody else do this? I know you do. Tell me how you've done it. The nuts... Continue Reading →
There it is. October 8th, 2016. A gem. Believe it or not, this post was the beginning of what would become a full feature-length memoir. What is still to become a full feature-length memoir. She's only a few pages away from a completed first draft, and only a few months away from a fully completed... Continue Reading →
First of all, so as to not leave you hangin,' we made it through the Boundary Waters 2017 without incident. I think there may have been more pain and agony in the back of Canoe #1, but that beast of burden shoulder of Scott's thankfully chose not to rear it's truly ugly head that week... Continue Reading →
It's been a wild ride. But here I am, settling back into a normal, albeit new routine, and it feels good. Two weeks ago, we took kiddo #3 to Madison for the State National History Day event. We toured the Capitol. We ate Nepalese. And she, with her intrepid partner, did great, and had the 5th... Continue Reading →
Vern Libke is banging on my windshield wiper with a wrench the size of my arm. Libke's Auto Service sits here at the corner of Highway 47 and County J, just south of Woodruff, Wisconsin, in the same garage that has stood here since 1967, yet I don't remember it from a single on of... Continue Reading →
It was one of those few and far-between epiphanies. The forehead-to-palm moments. In Quiet, Susan Cain was pontificating on the need for solitude in concentration and creation. The basic need for peace and quiet when embarking upon any creative - or deep thinking - process. She wasn't writing about writing, per se, but she did quote a... Continue Reading →
That retreat, that last post about the seedlings needing tending, they both ushered in something I've never previously managed. Something I've never really even tried. Not for fear. Well, maybe a little for fear. But mostly because I have some very specific priorities, and while writing ranks pretty high on the list, it does not... Continue Reading →
I've been wondering why it is that flashes of brilliance - or at least flashes of our best selves - manifest themselves while we're in no position to act on them. Creative juices, spiritual prods, humanitarian urges. They all arrive when we are somehow incapacitated. I'm sure I'm not alone. You are resolved (and possibly... Continue Reading →
I have wanted to "make books" since around the sixth grade, and I published my first book when I was in my late thirties. My point is that the time in between was not wasted - submarine service, marriage, college, bringing up three kids, starting a school for them, and so forth. This kind of... Continue Reading →
I feel like I've been deprived. I don't rightly know how long MOOCS have been in existence, at least in any reputable form, but I believe I have been woefully ignorant for quite some time. MOOCs - Massive Open Online Courses - are just that. They are massive: the last one I took ran over... Continue Reading →
My family has been enjoying watching episodes of a very well-done show on astrophysics, quantum theory, and all the big questions that they raise. We've seen lots of approaches to the biggest and smallest science can fathom, and this series is head and shoulders above the rest. It helps that Morgan Freeman hosts, because who... Continue Reading →
You never know when new adventures will begin. A fortuitous invitation to NaNoWriMo last November proved to be the catalyst that would change life forever in the Ottinger household. Who knew that life could take such unexpected turns, if only we allow our imaginations a little freedom? "Listen to the trees talking in their sleep,"... Continue Reading →
Tales From the Nexus 