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The Non-Christmas Cactus — or The Art of Continuity

Today, on the shortest day of the year, a soft snow is falling and the skies are as gray as my sweater. Our bird feeders, now on new hooks, have attracted a fresh invasion of feathered friends:...

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The Story in the Spoon

Are you stuck for an idea or plot line?  Try this trick. Look at an everyday item — or even better, an usual item   — and think about it.  What are its origins? Its purpose?  How did it get here?...

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Subtle Choices = Big Differences

If someone said to me, “I have red roses and yellow daisies in my garden,” I would think of red roses as the focal point and daisies as ground cover.  However,  if they said, “I have yellow daisies...

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How To Freshen Up Dry Content

Last week a friend of mine sent me an email with a sample of a corporate history he had written. He is one of the most thoughtful sales and marketing people I know. When I say “thoughtful,” I don’t...

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Whatever Happened to the Inverted Pyramid?

(ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON LINKEDIN PULSE) Anyone who has gone to J School or taken a journalism course is most likely acquainted with the concept of the Inverted Pyramid – a style of writing that...

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The Pros & Cons of Choices in CTAs

A few weeks ago, I had the wonderful experience of going to a small town ice cream shop – one of those corner dairies reminiscent of the 1950’s, a wholesome place where the entire family would go...

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Cut It Out — How to Self Edit

REPRINTED FROM MY POST ON LINKED IN PULSE I’ve always liked the phrase that’s been attributed to Mark Twain: “I didn’t have time to write a short letter so I wrote a long one instead.” According to...

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Place Names Can Inspire Plots

Sleepy Hollow in New York State is a real place that inspired a classic story. Chances are there is such a place in your backyard. I know of a small piece of land in Massachusetts tucked under an...

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The Importance of Fresh Perspective

I sometimes recall a long-ago Sociology class where our professor had us all sit on the floor. The objective was to help us gain a fresh perspective about the world – to look at things differently, to...

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The Little Shoe

It might seem trite to say that every item has a story, but surely, some items have better stories to tell than others – and for a writer, this is a magnetic pull that wants to be drawn out. So it is...

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