Explore! New Gloucester-Bonus Material

In May, I began contributing to the Sun-Journal’s Explore! feature in their Sunday b-Section. I pick a town and explore it with fresh eyes. Last month I visited Wilton, and for June, I was nosing around in New Gloucester.

I had a bit of bonus content last month about a giant and a naked man in the wilderness that I tied in to the print piece. This month, with Moxie deadlines looming, a new book just off to the printer, plus a few other irons in the fire, I wasn’t intending to post bonus material. However, since Pineland Farms is in New Gloucester, and is mentioned in today’s feature, I’d be remiss if I didn’t share just a bit about Pineland’s past, my own ties to it, and the unique destination it’s become. Plus, I’m a writer and a blogger, and I can’t help myself.

The entrance to Pineland off Route 231.

The entrance to Pineland off Route 231.

Continue reading

When Weeks Become Months

Last fall I taught a class called Let’s Write That Book: 8 Weeks to Writing and Publishing Your First Book for Lewiston Adult Education. It was my favorite class of all of the ones I’ve taught in the four years I’ve been teaching writing to adult learners.

I didn’t really believe you could write a book in mere weeks, but I wanted a class that was different than the previous narrative nonfiction classes I’d taught—one with a provocative orientation. It obviously worked because we filled the class and ended up with a waiting list.

The class was beneficial for me, as it lit a fire under my own ass and got me motivated to get a fourth book rolling forward. It was also the best group of writers I’d gathered for any of my various classes. Continue reading

Deadlines

Deadlines drag us from the idolatry of ideas, forcing us to produce, and then ship. It’s the best cure for paralysis emanating from over-analysis.

At the JBE, I’ve self-imposed deadlines in order to force the issue and keep fresh content coming. Not all the content is award-winning, or apparently, even enticing to people who’ve visited the site in the past. That’s ok—I’m going to keep on keeping on, robust blog stats or not.

As for deadlines, I’m now facing other types, the ones that come from making successful pitches to editors and having them tell me when they want my article, and how many words I get to tell my story. I especially like those kinds of deadlines because they also come with dollar signs attached. There wouldn’t be these new opportunities if not for my diligence in keeping my blogging storefront up-to-date and current. Continue reading

Print That!

Sometimes I am at a loss about what is the best method for me to use in communicating my ideas to others. I am a writer, so I need to write; and believe it or not—I’d like others to read what I write.

Yesterday, I made my bi-weekly trip to New Sharon and then, Rangeley. I’m managing a grant related to aging in place. I thought about tweeting about it, but refrained. Knowing your demographic is important, at least that’s the wisdom offered by social media gurus, and other marketing “experts.” A good chunk of my demographic is 60-years-old, or older. Since they’re not on Twitter, tweeting does no good. I could use Facebook, but even Facebook has a limited reach, at least from my own experience with the demographic apt to read my blogging.

Press it!!

Press it!!

Continue reading

Explore: Wilton-Bonus Material

Like the story of “The Maine Giantess,” Sylvia Hardy, the narrative of Joseph “Joe” Knowles, better known during his flirt with fame and notoriety, as “Naked Joe Knowles,” is also intriguing.

Knowles was born in Wilton, in 1867. His story goes something like this:

One hundred years ago, Joe Knowles clad merely in a jockstrap, said “goodbye” to civilization, and marched into the woods near Eustis to demonstrate his survival skills. As a number of publications note, Knowles was “the reality star of his day.”

Joe Knowles in his "wilderness suit." (Boston magazine)

Joe Knowles in his “wilderness suit.” (Boston magazine)

His story has been detailed in a number of places, including Boston magazine. Bill Green did a feature on Knowles on Bill Green’s Maine in 2013, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Knowles’ adventure in the Maine woods. Continue reading

Looking Back and Moving Ahead

All week, I’ve felt pressure from being behind the eight ball of work and deadlines. How was I going to juggle each of the balls I had in the air and not drop at least one of them?

Thursday happened to be my day for visiting two communities in rural Franklin County. They are where I’m engaged in a part-time grant project focused on Maine’s aging population.

Every other week, I leave my house just prior to 8:00 AM and usually don’t return until 6:30 or 7:00. I have two community teams I’m working with. I also end up logging more than 200 miles of windshield time.  I am enjoying getting back to grassroots organizing and connecting dots. Continue reading

Stop Giving it Away

What do various professionals make per hour? Would you expect your lawyer or doctor to offer their skills for free, or next to nothing? Of course not. Yet many clients think writers should give their work away.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly wage for lawyers in 2012 was $62.93. The lowest-paid 10 percent earned $26.11 per hour. At the 75th percentile level, the hourly rate was $80.77. The top-paid 10 percent earned at least $90 per hour. The BLS noted that self-employed lawyers typically earned less than law firm partners. Continue reading

A Writer Who Works

Will write for food.

Will write for food.

The writing life is seen as a romantic one, at least by some—usually people who don’t write, or merely dabble at the craft.

Since 2003, I’ve been a writer who works a job. By that I mean that I’m not fully supporting my lifestyle from writing. I have an outside job (or jobs); those purer than the driven snow might look askance at that. Continue reading

Tweeting Backwards

Paris Review No. 181 Cover-Norman Mailer

Paris Review No. 181 Cover-Norman Mailer

Some criticize Twitter for being too brief and even superficial. However, those critics lack an understanding of what Twitter is often best at–aggregating news and other information.

Five minutes on Twitter Sunday morning allowed me to read a tweet linking to a terrific interview with the late literary icon, Norman Mailer. The interview with Mailer, from 2007, was one of The Art of Fiction series, No. 193, from The Paris Review, conducted by Andrew O’Hagan. Continue reading

Getting Closer

I admire people who complete projects. Completion is much harder than it appears from the outside. This is coming from someone who had to learn how to finish, one tentative step at a time. Later, I learned how to combine these steps and began hitting some major deadlines. Reaching and crossing the finish line, while never easy, is now something that happens regularly for me.

Books are tools that I think more people should commit to writing. If you are someone who is a thought leader, or who has some ideas that others have demonstrated an interest in, then you are a prime candidate for authoring a book. I’ve indicated that books are much better than business cards—everyone has a business card—not many people have a book. Commit to getting yourself into the latter category.  It’s empowering for one thing. It’s also another way to differentiate what you do from everyone else doing similar things. Continue reading