Monthly Archives: April 2022

The Fans in the Bleachers

Posted on April 27, 2022 by midiguru

Lurking on my hard drive (and making occasional belching noises) are two or three very decent ideas for novels. By “ideas” I don’t mean a sentence or two; I mean files with 10,000 or 20,000 words of detailed notes. What … Continue reading →

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Spin

Posted on April 19, 2022 by midiguru

I have no background in science, but I try to keep up on a few subjects because they interest me. Physics and cosmology, for instance. (Just don’t ask me to do the math.) I’m aware that there are problems in … Continue reading →

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Strike Up the “Band”

Posted on April 17, 2022 by midiguru

Lately I’ve been doing bits of recorded music for the Sunday services at my local Unitarian-Universalist church. Before the pandemic (and before the lovely woman who was our pianist died) I used to play cello in services from time. I … Continue reading →

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Rack-It Science

Posted on April 14, 2022 by midiguru

As a retired guy with no family obligations and a pronounced disinclination to do yard work, I have time on my hands. I need a big project to work on. Writing novels is painfully complex, and also very under-appreciated. Instead, … Continue reading →

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Unholy Rollers

Posted on April 10, 2022 by midiguru

People who are religious typically take their religion quite seriously. Some of them simply bask in the glow of their beliefs, whatever those happen to be. I have no problem with that. People who are secure in their beliefs can … Continue reading →

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Cast Out into the Wilderness

Posted on April 9, 2022 by midiguru

This is about community. Five years ago I joined the local Unitarian-Universalist church. I’ve never been even remotely religious, but I felt I needed to be part of a community. Several friends of mine had died over the preceding few … Continue reading →

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Flash in the Pan

Posted on April 8, 2022 by midiguru

Scanning the shelves for something to read while I ate supper, I pulled out Psychology and the Human Dilemma by Rollo May. Insights are to be gleaned — May’s brief critique of both Skinner and Rogers is viable — but … Continue reading →

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Clauses Coming to Town

Posted on April 6, 2022 by midiguru

As a humble service to authors who are considering hiring a you-pay (vanity) publisher, I’d like to offer my comments on a draft contract that was sent to me this afternoon. I have removed all identifying information from the contract … Continue reading →

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Writers Write

Posted on April 6, 2022 by midiguru

Thinking out loud here. I’ve self-published several novels. I know how the process works. It’s not fun, but I can manage it. You have to find and hire a cover designer. You either do your own interior page layout (which … Continue reading →

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Narrative Distance

Posted on April 3, 2022 by midiguru

One of the many things a writer of fiction needs to control is the width of the space between the reader and the narrative. Rather than “control,” we might say this is one of the tools on the writer’s workbench. … Continue reading →

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