writing
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As we begin our study of poetry in my English classes, we are preparing for our participation in Poetry Out Loud, a program sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts. Instead of reviewing the list of approved poems for the competition, I first take my students through a Daybook writing activity where they answer…
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I need your help. In 2025, my primary goal was to immerse myself into my creative endeavors: writing, drawing, crafting, and photography. On all measures, I exceeded my goals. Much of what I accomplished was private and not done with the intention of sharing with a larger audience. The focus was to dedicate more time…
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We are exactly one week away from students showing up in our classrooms and beginning that next year-long journey of their high school experience, and we spent the day at countywide Professional Learning sessions. Ours in the English Language Arts weren’t bad at all. We were fortunate to spend the morning with this year’s HoCoPoLitSo…
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My brother, Warren, raised me on the stories that founded the fantasy genre. From Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings to Adams’ Watership Down to Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, we read it all. Not only was he an avid reader of the genre, but he was a pretty damn good artist, too, bringing dragons to life…
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I just finished reading The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin, and here’s the review that I posted on Goodreads: “This is not a book to read quickly to complete some reading goal. Rick Rubin’s words need to be absorbed, considered, as if you were reading Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching. To…
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I haven’t blogged in so long. And certainly not like I used to. Years ago, my posts were filled with images and quotes, and I was so focused on followers and SEO and stats and – well, you get the picture. Keeping that up became so stifling. Every post was a production. Have I just…
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Last month, I announced that I will be writing the history of Loch Raven Reservoir, with the assistance of the Historical Society of Baltimore County. The book will be written as a story of the watershed area, its own memoir that began in the mid 1850’s and continues today. In making sure that I capture…
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In late July of 1973, my dad woke me gently from my sleep just after 4 a.m., and immediately I sprung from my bed, slipping on my kid-sized khakis and a pair of fish-head sneakers before heading downstairs to the kitchen. There, he had just finished stirring some instant coffee in my Snoopy mug. The…
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I’m spending my day in another county with my Speech and Debate team, as they take on a number of other schools in our local league. There are a few things that demand my full attention as their coach during the day, especially in the morning and between rounds, but for the most part, I…
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In 2011, I finished writing, and published, my first novel. Actually, it was my second novel-length manuscript; the first one, Night Terrors, has still yet to see any public light. That was way back in 1992 when I finished that one. 30 years ago! As you can imagine, my writing style has evolved quite a…
The Baltimore Writer 