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I am off to Mt. Hood this

9/10/10 -- I am off to Mt. Hood this weekend with Debbie, Kelsey, Amy and Alex. Our goal is to shoot footage for a book trailer for STORM MOUNTAIN. This is a first for me, so who knows how the finished product will turn out. One thing for sure, th...

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Although here in Corvallis,

9/7/10 -- Although here in Corvallis, Oregon school doesn't start until tomorrow, most districts across the country have kids back at their desks by now. Whenever you started, here's wishing you a great year, and especially a stellar writing year!

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The end of August already?

8/31/10 -- The end of August already? Time does, as they say, fly. Next thing you know snow will be falling in the Cascades. For now, however, we're still clinging to the notion of summer, with backpacking and climbing adventures coming soon! Lots...

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One of the challenges of

8/24/10 -- One of the challenges of writing a story is trying to work in plot twists that catch the reader by surprise, and yet, upon reflection, seem perfectly logical, even inevitable. You know, like life . . .This past Sunday, for example, I wa...

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As a birthday present for my

8/19/10 -- As a birthday present for my wife, Debbie, we squeezed in a short backpacking trip into the Goat Rocks Wilderness in Western Washington. In three days we saw over 50 mountain goats, at least that many elk, strolled through alpine meadow...

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In the documentary"180 Degrees

8/11/10 -- In the documentary"180 Degrees South," filmmaker Jeff Johnson quotes a friend: "The best journeys answer questions that in the beginning you didn't even think to ask." For me the same thing often proves to be true when reading a good no...

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Back from a week in the

8/9/10 -- Back from a week in the Central Highlands of Mexico. What a wonderful country. We met so many friendly, kind people. Fantastic trip for the Birdseye family. A few pics of the adventure:Amy's loving host mother, Carolina. Amy's Spanish bl...

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Today's itinerary: 1. Wake up

7/29/10 -- Today's itinerary: 1. Wake up at 4:00 AM and unsuccessfully try to stop brain gears from engaging. 2. Give up and go for a 9-mile dawn run. 3. Two fried eggs on toast, then Latino music to pack by. 4. Print out draft #11 of REVENGE OF T...

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"The charm of fishing is

7/26/10 -- "The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope." -- John Buchan Somewhere I read that this quote can easily be modified to apply to my line of work -- just sub...

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Research has shown that

7/21/10 -- Research has shown that listening to Baroque classical music -- think J.S. Bach, Pachelbel, Vivaldi -- helps you concentrate and be more creative. It could just be the power of suggestion, but I had a very fun and productive writing day...

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"We do not write what we

7/19/10 -- "We do not write what we know; we write what we want to find out." -- Wallace Stegner, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Angle of Repose. Writing, then, as exploration. I agree, at least in theory. Still, some days the exploring feels mo...

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First rule of writing: Apply

7/16/10 -- First rule of writing: Apply sitter to seat of chair. Second rule: Don't get up until actual progress has been made. (Note: this does not include answering email, or checking FaceBook, or surfing the Web, or falling back asleep.) Ergo: ...

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Remember carpe

7/14/10 -- Remember carpe diem, Latin for seize the day? Saw a fun riff on that in Portland at Powell's, the famous independent bookstore -- carpe librum, seize the book. Don't know if Powell's coined the twist, but whoever did, I love it.

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Family reunion time in SC and

7/12/10 -- Family reunion time in SC and KY is over, and Debbie and I are back in Oregon. An ascent of Mt. Jefferson with my climbing buddies was on the calendar, but rapidly warming temperatures in the Cascades destabilized the heavy snowpack. So...

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I've been away from internet

6/25/10 -- I've been away from internet connections for a while, which in this day and age is unusual. (A good thing or a bad thing? Depends on your mood, I guess.) Spent Father's Day weekend at Smith Rock State Park climbing with my strong daught...

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The writer as

6/15/10 -- The writer as eavesdropper. At a restaurant I overheard a group of diners talking about their health: "Diverticulitis, too. I'm falling apart." And eating habits: "My daughter-in-law uses no salt on her mashed potatoes!" The neighborhoo...

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I woke up around 3:00 AM this

6/10/10 -- I woke up around 3:00 AM this morning and starting thinking. Not a good thing, thinking in the middle of the night. Unless you are a writer and by thinking at 3:00 AM you solve the mystery of what's been puzzling you about your novel. M...

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Opened the mailbox yesterday

6/7/10 -- Opened the mailbox yesterday to find an Advance Reader's Copy (aka ARC) of STORM MOUNTAIN. It will go out to reviewers. (Keeping my fingers crossed on that.) Official publication date of the hardcover version is October 15. What was once...

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Finished the work week with a

6/4/10 -- Finished the work week with a good writing day. Will start the weekend with a good writing day. And top off the weekend with a good writing day. Yep, lots of wordsmithing to do. But in the meantime, the sun is shining and it's time for a...

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