Previews of Coming Attractions

Oh, what a month it's been. One kid just graduated from college; another is finishing high school today. One daughter and her husband are all moved into their new house; another and her husband just barely made it into their new apartment in time. Three weeks ago my new grandson made his big debut on the stage of life: I'm a grandfather. I'm still having trouble...

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The Slush Pile Survival Guide

"The Talk" (Part Three) by Bruce Bethke Previously, in "The Slush Pile Survival Guide:" Part One | Part Two.  And now the horrible, terrible, no good, very bad conclusion... ¤    ¤    ¤    ¤    ¤ This is the part of The Talk where English teachers and Creative Writing professors wince, aspiring writers plug their ears and sing, "La la la, I can't hear you," and even successful authors with...

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The Slush Pile Survival Guide

"The Talk" (Part Two) by Bruce Bethke ...continued from Part One... "Mr. Bethke? How do I become a writer?" The Snark is strong with me. You have no idea how hard it is not to answer, "Well, what exactly is a writer? It's someone who writes, isn't it? Have you ever written anything? You have? Congratulations! You're a writer! "Next question?" But it's cruel to leave...

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The Slush Pile Survival Guide

"The Talk" (Part One) by Bruce Bethke And once again, Spring returns to the North Country. In the space of two short weeks we've gone from watching the glaciers calve... To watching the trees bud, the grass turn green, and the crocuses, tulips, and daffodils erupt from the ground in a glorious riot of color, only to get nommed to bits every night by hordes of ravenous...

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