MY WRITERS SITE

powerful your thoughts

If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought. PeacePilgrim

“Authority has every reason to fear the skeptic, for authority can rarely survive in the face of doubt.” Robert Lindner

Charles Dickens: On this day in history in 1859, Charles Dickens pu...

Charles Dickens: On this day in history in 1859, Charles Dickens pu...: On this day in history in 1859, Charles Dickens published the final installment of A Tale of Two Cities. “It is a far, far better thing t...

enormity

enormity \ih-NOR-muh-tee\

noun.

1: great wickedness

2: an outrageous or immoral act or offense

3 : very large size

4 : the quality of great impact or importance

Although "enormity" has been used since the late 1700s to denote large size, this usage continues to be disparaged by various language commentators who argue that "enormity" should be reserved for senses related to "great wickedness." It is "enormousness," they insist (a hefty and considerably less common word), that should be used in reference to great size, despite the fact that, like "enormity," it too originally was used to denote wickedness or divergence from accepted moral standards. For better or worse, this proscription has been widely ignored by many English speakers, including professional writers. However one chooses to use them, "enormity" and "enormous" can both be traced back to the Latin "enormis," from the prefix "e-" ("out of") and "norma" ("rule," "pattern," or "carpenter's square").

We are what our thoughts have made us

We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think. Words are secondary. Thoughts live; they travel far. Swami Vivekananda

Distraction

Great hunters

editing, rather than of authorship

We are the products of editing, rather than of authorship. George Wald.

I have been sitting at this desk for hours

I have been sitting at this desk for hours, staring into the darkened shelves of books. I love their presence, the way they honor the wood they rest upon. Richard Brautigan.

Karma Repair Kit

1.Get enough food to eat,

and eat it.

2.Find a place to sleep where it is quiet,

and sleep there.

3.Reduce intellectual and emotional noise

until you arrive at the silence of yourself,

and listen to it.

― Richard Brautigan

My idea of the modern stoic sage

"My idea of the modern stoic sage is someone who transforms fear into prudence, pain into information, mistakes into initiation, and desire into undertaking" Nassim Taleb

Pandas

God, how I hate clowns

or.................

Building trust

Silly

Word stuff: Factotum

fak-TOH-tuhm

A servant or a low-level employee tasked with many things.

From Latin factotum, from facere (to do) + totus (all). Earliest documented use: 1573.

Advise for writers: simplify

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. -Hans Hofmann, painter (1880-1966)

Word stuff: kamikaze

kah-mi-KAH-zee

Someone who behaves in a reckless, self-destructive manner.

From Japanese kamikaze (divine wind), from kami (god, divinity) + kaze (wind). Earliest documented use: 1896.

In Japanese folklore, kamikaze was the divine wind that destroyed a Mongol invasion fleet under Kublai Khan. In World War II, the kamikaze were suicidal attacks by Japanese pilots who crashed their planes on an enemy target such as a ship.

Word stuff: Tycoon

ty-KOON

A wealthy and powerful person, especially in business or politics.

From Japanese taikun (great lord or prince), from Chinese ta (great) + kiun (prince). Earliest documented use: 1857.

It is as easy to dream a book

It is as easy to dream a book as it is hard to write one. -Honore de Balzac, novelist (1799-1850)

To my friends....

A referral point for my friends (personnel friends, meaning people I know in my personnel life) who want me to “Take a look at my stuff.” For years I’ve said sure, I’ll look at it, meaning edit it. But I have always forewarned them that I take the processes seriously and I won’t pull any punches and not to get angry with me. They always, always, always assure me that they want to a professional edit and that I shouldn’t pull any punches just because we’re friends. Then I edit their work and they get angry at me. So here’s what we’re going to do. If you want me to give my opinion on your writing or edit your work, the charge is $50.00 an hour with a four hour minimum. That should stop most of you from asking me to look at your work and while preserving our friendship.

Why this blog is here.

I am largely self-educated, and this blog is continuation of that education. I have an MFA, but that doesn’t have much to do with an education, not the kind I’m talking about. An advanced degree means I am able to follow instruction.

Never ending self-education means I adore knowledge and enlightenment of both the ordinary and the odd and that’s what this blog is about. It is by me, written for my benefit. You are more than welcomed to drop by as often and for as long as your heart desires.

John William Tuohy

I was born and raised in Connecticut and now live in rural West Virginia with my wife, Mary, and my dog Eli.

I hold an AA and MA in literature and an MFA in writing from Lindenwood University. I spent most of my career as a political consultant and hated every living second of it.

I am produced and award-winning playwright. (Cyberdate, The Hannigans of Beverly, etc.)

I am the author of 12 books on traditional organized crime, an autobiography (No Time to Say Goodbye) two books of short stories (Short Stories from a Small Town, Washington Behind the Monuments) a novella (Imago Summer, 1971) and several books on Connecticut history. I proud to be the historian of Ansonia Connecticut. I sit on the board of Mt. St. John's School.

I occasionally and reluctantly work as an editor but only when I need money to travel.

I am an accomplished amateur photographer, a frustrated painter and not a half-bad gardener and I cook. I collect coins, stamps and political memorabilia. I love film so much that I built a large theater in my home. (I also wrote "On the Waterfront: the Making of a Great Amercian film")

Welcome