By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD I needed to order some ink cartridges for my printer, the kind I can only buy from the vendor. I called and told the agent I wanted to order two black ink cartridges. Not surprisingly she suggested I buy a package that included two color cartridges. “No thank you, just […]
I’ve heard that having a published book is more highly respected than having a Ph.D. I’m not sure if this came from research, the author’s opinion, or merely emerged as a clever quip. But, it does give me pause. In completing a PhD there is (usually) a dissertation to produce. A dissertation is the length […]
All too often I see people who seem to think “creative writing” is embellishing their words using bold, underline, and italics—for various combinations thereof. They also like to further emphasize words by TYPING IN UPPER CASE. Then there is abusive punctuation, such as using ellipses…needlessly…avoiding the chore of completing sentences or thoughts. Or how about […]
Categories
Do You “Like” Social Media?
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Whenever the phrase social media is uttered, people have one of three responses: “I love it,” “I’m sick of it,” or “I don’t have time for it.” Much has been said about social media, and that’s bound to continue, most likely with increasing frequency. Social media is not going away […]
Last weekend I attended the Festival of Faith and Writing conference. It was in Grand Rapids at Calvin College. With 2,000 in attendance, it is by far the largest writing conference I’ve attended. At three days in length, it is also the longest. There were sixty presenters and since I am currently working on two […]
Peter DeHaan attended the recent Festival of Faith and Writing conference held at Calvin College in Grand Rapids Michigan on April 19 through 21. The three-day event was attended by 2,000 from across the United States and around the world; it featured 64 presenters. At the Festival, attendees were treated to an array of presentations […]
The Reader’s Digest recently asked readers to submit their life story—in 150 words or less. With over 6,000 submissions, Facebook followers voted and RD picked the best from the top 100. The winners are all excellent. If I had to pick my favorite, I’d go with “A Meaningless Diagnosis” or perhaps “I’ve Got Dirt: Memoirs […]
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD I needed to order some ink cartridges for my printer — the kind I can only buy directly from the vendor. There was a problem with the website, so I picked up the phone to place my order. I told the agent I wanted to order two black ink cartridges. […]
Categories
My First Writers’ Retreat
A few years ago, I attended my first writers’ retreat, not a writers’ conference or a writers’ seminar, but a writers’ retreat. For twenty-four hours we immersed ourselves in writing. There were times of instruction and teaching, as well as food and fun, along with a bit of sleep, but the focus was on writing. […]
A friend asked what to look for in finding someone to critique her work. If you are looking for feedback on bits and pieces of your work in progress (WIP) or various writings, most established critique groups should be a fine fit. However, critique groups are not well suited to provide a critical review of […]