Welcome to my collection of posts and random stuff related to putting pen to paper. (Or fingertip to little plastic square.)

Larger than life

(Author's note:  This story appeared in the Feb. 2012 issue of the Tennessee Cooperator.) What Thomas “Bigfoot” Spencer lacked in historical staying power, he made up for in legendary adventure It was probably the winter of…

“No color copiers” revisited

Several weeks ago, I wrote a post called "No color copiers" about a trip I made to Putnam County, Tenn., to conduct an interview with craftsman Joe Stout.  As promised, here is the resulting story, published this month in the Tennessee…

Banish the editor

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At the risk of repeating myself, I'm going to repeat myself:  I write this blog as much for me as for you. I'm really not trying to be flippant.  The fact is, it's often easier to recommend and even teach certain techniques than it…

“Lincoln” is simply amazing

Holly and I had the distinct pleasure of seeing the movie "Lincoln" over the Christmas break.  I expected to be amazed and riveted. I was. I had heard enough about the movie already to know that it mainly concerns itself with the…

To my fellow Bigfooters: Don’t stop believin’!

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OK, I'm gonna come right out with it. I believe in Bigfoot. Sasquatch. Yeti. There you go. I said it. Hello, my name is Mark, and I believe in Bigfoot. (All together:  Hello, Mark!) From the infamous evening back in 1972 when…

Consider the Chandlers

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Today is Black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving — but despite the mad rush on shopping and advertising, I'm not ready to move on to Christmas just yet. I posted something silly yesterday, but not today.  This is something hopeful.…

10 things for which I’m thankful. No, really.

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Today is Thanksgiving, and here are some things for which I am thankful: I'm thankful that the Titans are so bad this year.  Time normally devoted to watching games is now directed to more educational programming, like "Breaking Amish,"…

“Like wind through my hand”

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I think it's hard to overestimate the emotional power of music. Not all music, mind you.  And not all the time. But given the right circumstance and frame of mind, a particular song or recording can really do a number on us. It's…

How to Journal: 6 Tips to Boost Creativity and Polish Your Writing

I like this article.  I especially dig No. 3: "Capture snippets of overheard conversations to use as prompts for working on writing."  What a great idea in this world of the coffee-shop workplace. How to Journal: 6 Tips to Boost Creativity…

Interview with a semicolon | Tom Gething re: reading

Semicolons are odd things.  I'm fairly certain I use them correctly, but when I do, they almost always get edited out of my prose.  I suspect a prejudice exists against semicolons; Editors are confused by them and therefore don't use them.…