Oh, the momentous choices! What font to use! I didn’t want to use my usual Helvetica or one that was fancy but hard to read. So I chose Kailasa, mostly because I tired of looking at all the choices. (Blogger doesn't give me this choice.)
Here I sit on Christmas Day having procrastinated for one reason or another. The last reason took over two days before I gave up.
The reason: having already put this off, I thought I had the perfect photo. It was a waist-high stump at our cabin that was coated with snow and was topped with snow that had slid to one side, giving the impression of a head. I was going to put under the picture:
I am not the grouch that stole Christmas;
I just procrastinate too much!
Problem is: I can’t find the picture! I spent two days looking at all my devices for the picture. I looked at some folders two or three times. NADA! Why do I have such a clear memory of a picture I can’t find? I am sure I saw it in front of the printer two weeks ago.
To make up for this procrastination, I am sending this by email. Otherwise, I might not get the envelopes done until next year!
So, here we sit in Duluth, wimping out on going to our cabin because of a predicted snow storm. Also we are getting leery of driving in the dark (now at five in the afternoon). About six weeks ago Jan hit a deer, in daylight but heavy shade. She looked for the deer but never found it. Her car was drivable, but it took a few days of body work.
Otherwise, it has been a usual year: fitness center, cabin, meetings, plays, concerts, and family visits: in person, by telephone, or FaceTime.
We are slowly growing older, sometimes feeling it, sometimes doing things better than we ever did before!
May your coming year be one of good health and interesting activities, even if it is only lots of good books.
P.S. A sister-in-law has already responded. She misses my fruitcake of yore. I replied that the recipe is at http://magree.blogspot.com/2014/12/fruitcake-doorstop-or-holiday-treat.html.
Showing posts with label letter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label letter. Show all posts
Sunday, December 25, 2016
Monday, November 10, 2014
So you wanna a be a writer!
I intended to write about writing this week, but before I even started I looked for an old column that I wrote. It was in January 2005 and I really don’t have much new advice. I have cut some to fit in my usual 900 or so words; and I have updated a few paragraphs.
If you want to be a writer, you have to write. If you don’t write, then being a writer will only remain a dream. That is what I told myself over fifteen years ago. Then I submitted my “Bear Stories” to the Northland Reader, a month or so later “Tech Staff Shortage”, then “Berlin Wall”, and before I knew it I was writing for almost every bi-weekly issue. When the Northland Reader went weekly as the Reader Weekly, I soon started writing weekly. Every so often the muse left me and I didn’t submit a column, but now it is hard not to write a column.
One way to start writing more is to keep a journal or a notebook, not necessarily a “What did I do today” but a collection of your ideas, no matter how fragmentary. I have a small collection of hard-back blank books in which I jotted ideas about what I did or felt or saw for years. One of these years I might transcribe them to my computer
You can also use little spiral bound notebooks that fit in pocket or purse. Don’t forget to carry a pen or pencil. Or you can use scraps of paper. The problem with scraps of paper is that they pile up and don’t get organized. It is fun to unbury them and read what you wrote a month or a year ago. I posted a few of these on my blog last week. Now you can put your ideas in your smart phone or tablet, but just like the scraps of paper, you may bury them among all your other info.
The really best place to start serious writing, that is writing that other people read, is to write letters or emails to your friends and relatives. Before putting your letter in an envelope or clicking the send button, reread what you wrote. Does it give information clearly, does it convey your mood, and does it encourage a response from your reader?
Write in sentences and paragraphs. Each sentence should give a single idea, and a paragraph should give a set of related ideas. I have a relative who sent emails as one big run-on paragraph; we found his messages very hard to read because we couldn’t focus on his thoughts.
Another good place to do serious writing is letters to the editor. Why not write a letter to the Reader Weekly about this column? Or to the News Tribune or the Star Tribune about what you think on an issue. I must be getting stale because my letters are not published as frequently as a few years ago. I try to follow the TUT principle; that is, a letter to the editor should be Timely, Unique, and Terse. If you wait two or three weeks to write, if you write a letter similar to all the others, and you ramble on like this column, you probably won’t get published. But if you email your letter as soon as you read an article, if you state an idea that is not given in the article, and you write in sentences and paragraphs and keep it to the size the newspaper wants, you greatly increase your chances of having your letter published.
The best basis for writing is lots of reading. Read newspapers, magazines, and books. Unless you want to write about TV, turn it off and read instead. Read novels, biographies, and histories. Read books about writers. One I particularly enjoyed is “It’s Been a Good Life” about Isaac Asimov. If you read it you will sense the joy of expressing your thoughts to others.
Every good writer has an editor. Pick up any book and read the acknowledgments; not only have many people contributed with ideas, but others have read the book and given the author comments, not only the publisher’s editor, but friends and colleagues. Before you dash off that important letter to the editor, ask someone else to read it. You might be surprised at what familiarity with your letter lets you overlook. My wife often reads these columns before I email them. Although I complain that she can be too picky, very often she finds either a blatant error or suggests a better phrasing. She’s out of town this November 2014 weekend, and so any mistakes are wholly my fault.
If you would like to meet and talk with other writers, contact Lake Superior Writers – www.lakesuperiorwriters.org or 1301 Rice Lake Road, Suite 129, Duluth MN 55811.
Finally, what do you do about the dreaded writer’s block? Generally, just go do something else for a while and try again later. The humor writer James Thurber discussed this at a party with other writers. One said he typed “The” in his typewriter and then words started coming. Thurber tried it the next time he had writer’s block. He typed “The” and just stared at it. After awhile he typed “hell with it” and went back to bed.
Or you rewrite an old article:)
This article was published in the Reader Weekly, 2014-11-06 and can be found at http://duluthreader.com/articles/2014/11/06/4303_so_you_wanna_a_be_a_writer.
If you want to be a writer, you have to write. If you don’t write, then being a writer will only remain a dream. That is what I told myself over fifteen years ago. Then I submitted my “Bear Stories” to the Northland Reader, a month or so later “Tech Staff Shortage”, then “Berlin Wall”, and before I knew it I was writing for almost every bi-weekly issue. When the Northland Reader went weekly as the Reader Weekly, I soon started writing weekly. Every so often the muse left me and I didn’t submit a column, but now it is hard not to write a column.
One way to start writing more is to keep a journal or a notebook, not necessarily a “What did I do today” but a collection of your ideas, no matter how fragmentary. I have a small collection of hard-back blank books in which I jotted ideas about what I did or felt or saw for years. One of these years I might transcribe them to my computer
You can also use little spiral bound notebooks that fit in pocket or purse. Don’t forget to carry a pen or pencil. Or you can use scraps of paper. The problem with scraps of paper is that they pile up and don’t get organized. It is fun to unbury them and read what you wrote a month or a year ago. I posted a few of these on my blog last week. Now you can put your ideas in your smart phone or tablet, but just like the scraps of paper, you may bury them among all your other info.
The really best place to start serious writing, that is writing that other people read, is to write letters or emails to your friends and relatives. Before putting your letter in an envelope or clicking the send button, reread what you wrote. Does it give information clearly, does it convey your mood, and does it encourage a response from your reader?
Write in sentences and paragraphs. Each sentence should give a single idea, and a paragraph should give a set of related ideas. I have a relative who sent emails as one big run-on paragraph; we found his messages very hard to read because we couldn’t focus on his thoughts.
Another good place to do serious writing is letters to the editor. Why not write a letter to the Reader Weekly about this column? Or to the News Tribune or the Star Tribune about what you think on an issue. I must be getting stale because my letters are not published as frequently as a few years ago. I try to follow the TUT principle; that is, a letter to the editor should be Timely, Unique, and Terse. If you wait two or three weeks to write, if you write a letter similar to all the others, and you ramble on like this column, you probably won’t get published. But if you email your letter as soon as you read an article, if you state an idea that is not given in the article, and you write in sentences and paragraphs and keep it to the size the newspaper wants, you greatly increase your chances of having your letter published.
The best basis for writing is lots of reading. Read newspapers, magazines, and books. Unless you want to write about TV, turn it off and read instead. Read novels, biographies, and histories. Read books about writers. One I particularly enjoyed is “It’s Been a Good Life” about Isaac Asimov. If you read it you will sense the joy of expressing your thoughts to others.
Every good writer has an editor. Pick up any book and read the acknowledgments; not only have many people contributed with ideas, but others have read the book and given the author comments, not only the publisher’s editor, but friends and colleagues. Before you dash off that important letter to the editor, ask someone else to read it. You might be surprised at what familiarity with your letter lets you overlook. My wife often reads these columns before I email them. Although I complain that she can be too picky, very often she finds either a blatant error or suggests a better phrasing. She’s out of town this November 2014 weekend, and so any mistakes are wholly my fault.
If you would like to meet and talk with other writers, contact Lake Superior Writers – www.lakesuperiorwriters.org or 1301 Rice Lake Road, Suite 129, Duluth MN 55811.
Finally, what do you do about the dreaded writer’s block? Generally, just go do something else for a while and try again later. The humor writer James Thurber discussed this at a party with other writers. One said he typed “The” in his typewriter and then words started coming. Thurber tried it the next time he had writer’s block. He typed “The” and just stared at it. After awhile he typed “hell with it” and went back to bed.
Or you rewrite an old article:)
This article was published in the Reader Weekly, 2014-11-06 and can be found at http://duluthreader.com/articles/2014/11/06/4303_so_you_wanna_a_be_a_writer.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
End of our skiing?
From: Mel Magree
To: oldmanwinter@spiritmt.com
End of our skiing?
Hello,
The rumors have been flying about reduced hours for skiing. One couple reported that the web site said that Spirit Mt. won't open until 1:00 on most weekdays. I tried to find it on my iPhone without success this morning. After much hunting on my laptop I found the tentative hours. Sadly, the tentative plans are as they said.
From http://www.spiritmt.com/ski-board
As I left Spirit Mt. this morning, I noticed that all the near parking was filled and people were parking in the lower lot. How many of these people will come at 1:00 instead?
You have probably considered many of the ramifications of this later opening.
Besides those who are morning skiers, will you be getting as many school groups? Will they want to ski for an hour-and-a-half before they have to get on the bus to return to school? Those same buses and drivers are going to have to be on routes at school closing.
How many people that would come up from the cities for a day will come for an afternoon of skiing? It will be easier for them to go to Afton Alps.
What are the ramifications for the hospitality industry in Duluth? Spirit Mt. is a "breeder reactor". It's existence creates business for the city of Duluth that is not on Spirit Mt's books.
I hope you can come to a definite schedule for next year before April 15th, our last day to get the discounted season tickets.
To: oldmanwinter@spiritmt.com
End of our skiing?
Hello,
The rumors have been flying about reduced hours for skiing. One couple reported that the web site said that Spirit Mt. won't open until 1:00 on most weekdays. I tried to find it on my iPhone without success this morning. After much hunting on my laptop I found the tentative hours. Sadly, the tentative plans are as they said.
From http://www.spiritmt.com/ski-board
2014/2015 Tentative Hours of Operation
Monday - Thursday 1pm to 8pmIf this is the case, we will not be renewing our season passes. We are morning skiers as many other seniors are. We like the less crowded conditions at 9:00 and even 10:00. Many of those I spoke to feel the same.
Friday & Saturday 9am to 9pm
Sunday 9am to 5pm
Holidays 9am to 9pm (12/21 - 01/01, Jan. 17-18, Feb. 14-15)
Holiday Mondays 9am to 8pm (Jan. 19, Feb. 16)
As I left Spirit Mt. this morning, I noticed that all the near parking was filled and people were parking in the lower lot. How many of these people will come at 1:00 instead?
You have probably considered many of the ramifications of this later opening.
Besides those who are morning skiers, will you be getting as many school groups? Will they want to ski for an hour-and-a-half before they have to get on the bus to return to school? Those same buses and drivers are going to have to be on routes at school closing.
How many people that would come up from the cities for a day will come for an afternoon of skiing? It will be easier for them to go to Afton Alps.
What are the ramifications for the hospitality industry in Duluth? Spirit Mt. is a "breeder reactor". It's existence creates business for the city of Duluth that is not on Spirit Mt's books.
I hope you can come to a definite schedule for next year before April 15th, our last day to get the discounted season tickets.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)