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Every One of My Books Has Killed Me a Little More
*** You see the title there, and maybe that’s why you clicked over to see what’s going on here. If you did, please know I didn’t say that quote. It was said by the famous late writer, Norman Mailer. “Every one of my books has killed me a little more, ” he said. I didn’t know the man. I’m not on par with him as a writer. I am not as prolific a writer as he was. And I certainly don’t earn my primary income as a writer as he did. And yet, I can totally understand what he said. As some of you who follow my blog…
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The Case for Teaching: Inspiring Students AND Inspired by Students
It’s Sunday morning, and I’m sitting on my porch writing this post and looking at this glorious day sipping my cup of coffee from my Yeti (which keeps it INCREDIBLY hot, let me just say). In a little while, my daughter and I will head to my parents’ house and sit by their pool and spend time with my brother and his family who are visiting. My son and husband will go play golf–a ritual they’ve tried to do on one day of the weekend. I love that they do this, as my son has one year left of high school before he enters college. I love my summers; they…
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Do You Write to Sell or Do You Write to Tell Good Stories?
Yesterday, when I was texting with a dear friend of mine who has been quite influential in my life and career, I shared with him that I was taking a break from writing for a bit. Which, as you know, if you’ve followed along thus far in my tales of woe, really means that I became burned out doing book promotion as opposed to book writing. Anyway, he asked me this question at end of our text thread: Do you write to sell or do you write to tell good stories? I looked at what he had written for a long time, pensively, unsure as to how I would answer…
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What I Didn’t Have in College
It’s time for the first Cup of Candor, so grab your coffee or tea, and let’s chat. When I decided to embark on this new format for Steph’s Scribe and change the theme of the blog to A Cup of Candor, it came with an open invitation to my readers to offer suggestions of things they would like to see. One of my former students, a blogger herself at The Faithful Elephant, suggested I do a piece on “notes to my younger self.” I could open a can of worms with that one, believe me, as I’ve experienced some very hard and emotionally draining and heartbreaking life lessons along the…
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Yes, You Are Creative
I can’t tell you how many times in my advertising and writing classes I teach at the university that I hear students tell me that they are not creative, or that they just don’t have a lot of creativity in their bones. As someone who has been teaching for over 25 years, I think I can safely say at this point that people underestimate their power to be creative, and that more often than not, they are quite capable of creating something that is better than they expected. All they need is a push and someone to convincingly tell them that they’ve got creativity brewing inside them. I’m currently reading…
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7 Meaningful Takeaways from 2016
Hello Friends, Readers, and Fellow Bloggers, It’s hard to believe it’s that time of the year again—a time to reflect on the past year and see if there were any takeaways and lessons learned from the last 365 days. In my college classes, I always have students write a final reflection that permits them the opportunity to critically analyze what they have learned over the course of the semester. I figured I’d do the same about what I’ve learned in 2016. #1: Your Health Is Everything This past summer, I made a commitment to becoming healthier all around. This included diet, exercise, and my own personal health. Setting these goals…
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Sharing Something Sweet: A Reward That Comes From Teaching
Yesterday, I popped onto my Instagram feed to take a peek at what was going on when I came across this: The Instagram post was written by a former student who was also one of the co-presidents of our public relations club that I advise and someone I mentored during her college years. During that time and afterwards, we became friends. I am always so touched when someone takes the time to write something heartwarming like this. It’s the best reward one can get from being a teacher. I am full of gratitude, and it brought a tear to my eye. It means the world to me. Thank you so…
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Back at Camden Yards, Pangs of Nostalgia and Thankfulness
* This morning I took a ride to Camden Yards. It was surreal—like going back in time to the commute I did for many years from 1992 through 1998 when I was a full-time employee of the ballclub. (Prior to that, beginning in 1985, I commuted to old Memorial Stadium). I had to pick up something from our friend Mark at the Orioles offices for my son’s birthday. On my drive in, as I am often capable of doing, I became nostalgic remembering old times. I also got to thinking about how that job of working for the Orioles completely transformed my life. And I don’t write that lightly. It…
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The Biggest Mistake Some College Students Make
One the eve of the beginning of the spring semester, I thought I’d share something that I’ve seen as the downfall of a lot of college students with regard to their academics. It’s not something earth-shattering, but it is something that is real. The good news is it’s something that can be rectified if taken seriously, and it can make their lives infinitely more manageable. The biggest mistake some college students make is that they do not budget their time properly. There are various reasons for the lack of time management. They are living on their own for the first time and are tasting a sense of freedom they’ve never…
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White Hot and Passionate
I’m one of the lucky ones. Today, as it often happens when the semester begins, and as I was lecturing about feature writing and discussing the introductory chapter of our textbook, the reality of what I do for a living hit me. It often hits me over the head as a big, huge reminder of how lucky I am to have found my niche, my passion, and a sense of happiness that one doesn’t always feel from a job: I have a career I love. Helping students become better writers, more appreciative readers, and better analyzers of the written word makes me happy. As I presented the list of award-winning…
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Inside the Actor’s Studio
On the show “Inside the Actor’s Studio,” the host, James Lipton, asks his guests the same 10 questions as he ends the show. Today’s daily prompt asks us bloggers to answer Lipton’s questions. This was one blog prompt I couldn’t resist. This will be fun, she thought. I am not an actor by trade, however, my friend, colleague, and fellow blogger, Chris Reed, roped me into playing his wife, Lucy, on Stevenson University’s student-created sitcom entitled “The University.” How could I say no? I got to have a television husband named Hank Howard (neurotic and self-indulged as he was), but it was fun nonetheless. Additionally, it was enlightening to give…
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20 Years and Counting The Pleasures
I distinctly remember Beth, my neighbor at the time, and the assistant in the Humanities department, asking me the question: “Could you teach a public speaking class?” “Yes,” I said. “I was a mass communication major with a minor in speech communication.” It was the Thursday before Labor Day, and the course at the community college was scheduled to begin on Tuesday. In a matter of days, I read the textbook, outlined the goals of the course, and wrote my first syllabus on the beach in Ocean City, Maryland, my friends encouraging me as I scribbled in my spiral notebook and they helped me brainstorm ideas. On Tuesday night of…
