The Law Of Unintended Consequences

I’ve discovered a serious flaw in myself.

By blogging, or rather by the lack of it, I realized how difficult it is for me to write every day. Or even regularly. I can’t seem to simply sit down and bang something out, no matter how short.

Don’t get me wrong. I like to write and I’m good at it. Really, I’m good at long compositions that require lots of thought and research. Pieces where I have time to think and plan.

What I find I’m having trouble with is the “blurt.” The what-am-I-thinking-right-now sort of post. The you-and-me-having-a-conversation kind of post. Not overly rationalized. Perhaps not even well thought out.

Being pretty rational, I put a lot of thought and mental energy into what I write. That’s served me well for school reports and professional projects. More often than not, the first draft is also my final draft. More often than not I write it the day before its due. Not because I’m such a wizard with words, but because I’ve been mentally manipulating it for days before I sit down to write.

That process doesn’t work with regular, short entries. My modus operendi actually hinders me from writing prolifically. And its these short “blurts” that will develop the writing skills I need to take me to the next level.

Like I’m doing now, I need to learn to just blurt it out and blurt it well…

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill

Inspire your inner author with this feature item from MyLocalBookstore.com.

Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul

Nil Sine Labore

You might call it a family curse.

I’ve tried various get-rich-quick schemes in my life and none of them ever panned out. Even a coaching program that carried a money-back guarantee of earning $50K within twelve months. After of year of coaching, was I earning fifty-thousand?

They gave me a choice: my money back or another twelve months free. I choose the additional time. I’m still not making $50,000.

The whole Daren Palmer affair got me thinking about the many times I’ve tried to grab boat loads of cash the easy way. I’ve never found it to be very easy. But it reminded me of a discovery.

A few years back I found my family crest. It dates back to about fifteenth century England and carries this Latin inscription – Nil Sine Labore. Nothing without work.

Back in the mists of ancient England, some ancestor of mine decided the entire family line would opt out of the whole easy money scene. Well, whoever you were, thanks.

Really. I mean it.

Now more than ever, so it seems, we’re in the midst of a generation that wants wealth without work, privilege without responsibility, respect without honor, accolades without any accomplishments.

And there, but for the grace of God, go I.

Nil Sine Labore.

I’m calling it a family blessing.

BTW, here’s a book that just might be the antidote to get-rich-quick-itis.

Wealth goten by vanity shall be diminished: But he who gathers by labor shall increase. – Proverbs 13:11

Light From Darkness

In the midst of dimness and plain cardboard boxes, we bent our backs in our labor. Sorting this, tossing that, rearranging others to be concealed once more until another time.

“Should we keep this?”

Blindly I answered that I didn’t care. I was going through the dull covers of forgotten books, their pages kept in the dark for far too long. My wife again attempted to penetrate my indifferent fog.

“How ‘bout this hat?”

The word “hat” reflected itself throughout my mind. I better look at it.

The crumpled form still had its sheen. The tawny suede glowed in the feeble light. “My Aussie hat!” Several times I’d searched for it in the house. Now, its brilliance burst upon me from the shed.

For a moment, the bright memories shared by that hat returned. Horse-back riding on a sun-drenched beach, summertime hikes beneath silver-lined clouds, Shimmering mountains mirrored in sparkling waters. Carefully reshaping crown and brim, I ceremoniously put it on. The familiar weight made my work seem lighter.

My Reading List

I tend to jump around. But I don’t juggle well. That’s my problem with multi-tasking. I get a bunch of things started but rarely finish them.

Checking my bookshelf in my office, I scanned the tops of the volumes looking for various markers that might be silent sentinals at work saving my place.

At least I’m consistant. Of the eight books srouting bookmarks, seven stand at the 1/3 mark. The eighth is apparently about 2/3 read.

So what am I reading? Or supposed to be reading? Here’s the order in which I pulled them off the shelf:

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Launching a Leadership Revolution by Chris Brady & Orrin Woodward

Tested By Time by James Garlow

Accelerated Program For Six Figure Copywriting from AWAI

People Stories compiled by Wizard Academy Press

DaVinci and the 40 Answers by Mark Fox

Multiple Streams of Income by Robert Allen (I’m 2/3 through this one)

Destinae by Roy Williams

I like starting books but need to work on finishing. Now that you’ve seen my list, you can help me be accountable.

Ask me how I’m doing and which one am I FOCUSING on at the present.

I’ll do the same for you. So, what are you reading?

Thanks, IFPD!

A few days ago, when we had our last good snow, I witnessed a rare sight.

Its nine in the morning. I went out, shovel in hand, to get my winter exercise. I actually enjoy snow and anything having to do with it, including shoveling. Seeing white flakes dancing downward lifts my spirit. Snow makes my day.

And you may be right, I may be crazy. But that’s me. I like snow!

Anyway, the traffic around my corner gets fairly heavy during commute times. but on this particular day, shortly after I walked out the door, an IFPD officer flashed down a motorist for failing to stop at the stop sign. He did this again. And again. And again.

In less than an hour, he wrote four tickets in an effort to enforce stopping at my corner.

After the fourth driver cautiously pulled away, I approached the officer to thank him.

“This is a lucrative corner for you, isn’t it,” I said.

“It wouldn’t bother me if you came down here more often,” I said.

“yeah, we know this corner is a problem, so we try to get down here when we can,” he smiled.

“Well, I really appreciate your help,” I added. With that we goodbyed and he drove off.

Only four out of hundreds, but that’s four more that’ll think twice before rolling through the stop sign at my corner.

Thanks again, IFPD! You’re welcome anytime to hang out on my corner!

So, how’s traffic on the street where you live?

Strange things happen when you start to blog…

“Blogging is damn hard work.”

Said a comment on a blog I regularly read. He used it to excuse himself from having a blog. Instead he gets his fame via prolific comments. Fair enough.

I knew it would be this way, though, which is why I put off blogging. Serving up interesting fare on a regular basis can be grueling (pun intended!). I know. I authored a marketing newsletter for a year, so I’ve done this sort of thing before.

When I worked at a  station in Eastern Washington – KRLF in Pullman – our Program Director could sit down and bang out creative, clever copy with remarkable ease. I asked how he did it. He never was able to explain his talent. It was precisely that, talent.

For me, writing is a profession, not just a hobby. But it still doesn’t come easy… just like tiger mending.

Did anybody read the Tiger Mending story? I’ve always like the quote but hadn’t read the story!

If you haven’t read it yet, here’s the link again. Go read it and then come back here for some discussion.

I mean it! Go!

Just read the story. It’s a quick read and nothing else will make sense until you’ve read it. Thank you.

Fascinating, no?

So, some things that made me think: Nearly a quarter of the way in we finally learn the gender of the narrator and their relationship to the subject of the story. Were you surprised?

Why weren’t any of the characters named? And why did the narrator feel compelled to make-up a name for one of the characters?

Why did the sisters always whisper to each other?

Do you think the narrator is younger or older than her sister?

What was meant by putting a “gesture in the thread?”

What accounts for the abrupt ending?

I have my own thoughts. I’ll share them in the comments as it gets going…

Hello, Idaho Falls!

Wow! I have a blog!

Just like the millions of others out there in cyberland.  Millions and millions…

wow. i have a blog.

Actually, this blog will mostly be about life, and life in Idaho Falls and Eastern Idaho. Oh, and books. I love books.  And there’ll be some stuff about local authors, artists, artisans, musicians – anything local!

Guest posting provided by my children and friends.

Do you have a blog about life in Eastern Idaho? Or about books? I’d like to get to know you.

Can we be friends?

Your new friend,

Aaron Atkinson

That’s the thing with handmade items. They still have the person’s mark on them, and when you hold them, you feel less alone. This is why everyone who eats a Whopper leaves a little more depressed than they were when they came in. Nobody cooked that burger.

Aimee Bender, from her short story Tiger Mending (Here’s the picture that inspired the story)

Click here to see some of my wife’s handmade items