My Adventures in Blogging

I started a blog as a platform to share ideas and updates on my writing, thoughts, and ongoing adventures. I look forward to keeping my readers informed and engaged. I’m kicking off content with my own adventures in learning how to blog in my 80s!

Blogs: Like Mini Memoirs

Life happens in moments. Memoirs are collections of moments and reflections, blogs are flashes of thoughts.

Blogging is a way for me to share any ongoing insights — should I have any — on the topic of writing memoir or biography, and to advocate for writing memoir and biography. I occasionally have some flashes of insight or phrases or ideas which come to me at bedtime but are often gone by the time that the alarm clock goes off in the morning, O  Dom drot the dum guzzle luck as my father used to say.

mem·oir /ˈmemˌwär/

noun: a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources.

blog /blôɡ,bläɡ/

noun: A regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style.

Blogging can sometimes be like talking off the top of your head. Of course, speaking off the top of my head is not something I’m very good at. I always had notes, whether talking to a room of lawyers or calling up a girl for a date. When it came to girls, once I started talking, I didn’t need the notes.

Blogging is a walk in the park compared to revising a manuscript over and over, like I did in connection with all my books.

Post-It Notes of Wit & Wisdom

Books are destinations. You need to plan and commit. How many books do you have on your ‘I’m going to read this in the future’ list?

Blogs are the post-it notes you leave on your wall, reminding you that you want to read them. My Post-its will read like sermonettes with a twist or an occasional comic touch.

My blog will include updates on my progress, opportunities to participate in Zoom sessions with classes interested in memoir or biography, virtual workshops, and a discussion on the importance of maintaining correspondence, including copies of correspondence, photos, and various documents.

Additionally, we occasionally conduct small surveys on reader preferences, such as whether abbreviations like LOL annoy them or not. I use that one a lot, probably too much actually.

Preserving the ‘Lost’ Art of Correspondence

We don’t write letters and correspondence like we used to. No boxes of letters as keepsakes or years of journals to skim through. Even emails aren’t what they used to be.

My blog will encourage readers to write down their thoughts and conversations. Like tips on keeping a diary or writing a memoir. And, good ideas on what to put in your diary and what not to put in your diary. The idea is to be honest and open, but not about absolutely everything unless you are writing for your therapist.

Cartoons or other drawings are good because a few yuks along the way may help the memoirist get a laugh when dealing with a serious subject. Very few memoirs include cartoons or drawings. Sometimes the chapters are not even given titles and are just numbered. I also don’t know why some memoirs often have no index—that is just ridiculous!

My blog will also highlight the award that Nancy and I are supporting: The Charles Guittard First Book Publishing Award for faculty in the humanities at Baylor University. The idea originated from trying to figure out how to help Baylor faculty working toward tenure with the costs of getting their first books into publication, perhaps as self-published books if commercial publishers are unwilling to step up. 

On the Hardest Part of Blogging

I'm not sure why being an English major didn't automatically translate to being a blogger on Squarespace, but it didn't, and I got caught up in all the links to click on. Okay, I’m 83, but those links were on the right, the left, above, and below. Just too damn many.

So I hired Brie Entel, leaving me more time to watch Dateline and Storage Wars from the privacy of home.

I’m learning to solve crimes and evaluate the contents of abandoned storage lockers. BTW, there are 23 motives for crimes on my list, and neat lockers tend to be the most valuable.

PS: Squarespace, if you are reading this, your platform needs to be more user-friendly. You are missing the lucrative 65+ demographic.

Zooming into a Classroom Near You

I’d really like my platform to be a way to interact with the next generation, such as talking to classes, book clubs, and generally encouraging younger generations to keep records of their journey.

At heart, I'm a teacher, but for me, being a teacher means less lecturing and more interacting with students, hearing and answering their questions, and asking them questions in return. It's not about getting them to listen to me talk. People go to sleep or start looking at their screens when they are not engaged in the conversation.

If you have a class or group of High School, College, or Graduate Students that you wouldn’t mind having a guest lecturer join via Zoom, send me a note!

Placing Bets on Mascots

I wear my Baylor University and Southern Methodist University gear with pride.

If the Baylor bear was in a cage match with Peruna, SMU’s darling little pony, who would win?

If the bear weren’t hungry, he’d probably go to sleep unless he was juiced up on Dr. Pepper. Nearly all the bears and students were juiced up on Dr. Pepper at game time when I was a student. 

CFG cracking knuckles in Latin Class.