Topic · 67 posts
Lessons from the classroom at Amarillo College and the writing life.
I posed the question in my last blog. I’m closer to 80 than to 70 now so what makes me think I can go on writing something people will actually read? Don’t those creative juices dry up when you get older? Maybe not. In 1932 Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote Little House in the Big Woods,…
I said there were two problems selling the first version of my book. The first I wrote about in the last blog. The title and cover did not appeal to the right audience. The second was similar. The paperback price was not acceptable to potential readers. It was way too high priced (almost $30). And…
We composition teachers talk a lot about audience. If one doesn’t know who his audience is—even if he writes a persuasive argument—he will fail. Why? Because the audience may not understand or, even worse, may not care. Which is what happened on my first attempt to publish this book. It was titled Walking through Retirement:…
I originally wrote this as a retirement book. Now, I’ve decided it’s more of a work on aging and fitness. Last month I turned 77, and I’m still walking five miles most days in the week. When I have to be indoors, I’m on a spinner bike that helps build cardio endurance for longer walks.…
Four days till Book Launching—In today’s blog I look at the benefits of walking and the research question that created this book. The advantages of walking (especially for those over 60) are well documented and include everything from heart and longevity benefits to increased mobility, better brain and emotional health and prevention of chronic diseases.…
Here’s the new cover. In addition to showing it to you, in this blog I want to tell you why I wrote the book. If you’ve followed my writing, you know walking has been a passion for some time. What you may not know is about three years ago I decided to research the subject.…
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Graham says the walker/artist is teachable, and the teacher is nature. “Nature becomes your teacher, and from her you will learn what is beautiful and who you are and what your special quest is in life.” I get the “beautiful” part, but I’m wondering how nature is going to show me who I am and…
“Even though I was at the end of two careers spanning 30 years, I saw retirement as more of a transition into something new, not stopping and sitting around. I wanted to get into something creative.” And what Rich Bullock got into was writing novels. “First rate thrillers,” according to one critic. “Edge-of-your-seat suspense,” wrote…
First, I want to thank you for taking a chance on my book. I know there are hundreds of options, and you chose this one. I am humbled and grateful. And excited. Because making new friends is one of the perks of writing a book like this. I wish we could hang out together—maybe on…
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His mother called him Shug (as in “sugar”). So we all did. And we still do—although his size and somewhat rugged appearance don’t fit the name. Picture the Marlboro man with a few more years and a few more pounds. Shug is one of my oldest, best friends. So when he moved back to his…
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Yes, you can write your way to a happy retirement. I know, not because I read it somewhere, but because I lived it. More correctly, I am living it. You see The Best Is Yet To Be began with journals or blogs, like this one. Those of you who have read my book know how…
Had my first reading last week. It took place in a small room in a small bookstore with a small crowd (can you call 10 a crowd?). I loved it. I used to tell students that you never know what you have written until a reader tells you. So authors live for reviews and comments.…
OK, so I’ve been neglecting this blog. Why? Well, would you believe writing teachers get writers’ block the same as our students do? Oh, I have excuses, but—truth be told—they’re the same “dog-ate-my-homework” variety I used to get in my classes. Truth is I haven’t come up with any cool ideas—so in lieu of a…
Tomorrow, I will teach a class about blogging, and I need your help. I want to know why you read blogs. Do you read about topics you like? Do you follow friends? Do you read for information, entertainment, inspiration, all of these? What makes a good blog? New info or insight? Humor? Honesty? What about…
Now that the book signing is over, I’ll let you in on a secret. Half a week ago it looked like there would be no books to sign. Evidently, Hurricane Dorian interrupted service at the Amazon distribution center in Charleston, SC where my books were printed. When I ordered two weeks ago, my delivery date…
Serendipity. Mirriam-Webster says we experience it when we “find valuable or agreeable things not sought for.” Other definitions add the words “unexpected” and “unplanned.” Which happened yesterday. I woke early, planning to begin my bike ride at sunup. But it was raining—not that slick pavement keeps me home. But in this part of Texas, in…
Professional writers call them “elevator pitches.” If you had only a short elevator ride to pitch your book to a (pick one) agent, publisher or reader, what would you say? Well, here’s mine: Retirement can be scary. It was for me. The temptation is to see it as an ending—to physical abilities, mental agility, important…
A friend wanted to know if I was writing a Christian book on retirement. “No,” was my first answer; then, “well, sort of.” I did not set out to write a theology of retirement. That is, I didn’t scour the Bible to see what the Scriptures said about the concept (the word isn’t used at…
In today’s blog, I want to talk about John Wayne. But first, this: Is it possible for a reader to understand your writing better than you do? Apparently so. Read Margie Netherton’s Facebook response to my last blog (Feeling Thankful). She nailed it—better than I could. It’s what I enjoy most about reader feedback. Every…
For all my first readers and editors who made the book what it is. For the designers (both cover and inside pages) who created a wrapping that complemented my words. For those who bought the book during these first days and then shared it with friends on social media. Can’t say it enough—thank you, thank…
So excited to share this with you. If you find my book helpful, I hope you’ll do two things: Post a review on Amazon. Share with a friend. That’s it. Enjoy! P.S. If you don’t like my book, I’m OK with you not posting a review. 😉
Here’s a place to tell me what you think or maybe ask a question. Just post a comment in the box at the end of this message. Following are a couple of comments from first readers: “I loved the honesty…Questions asked. Fear and uncertainty uncensored..but most of all…Hope. Look forward to talking more—Debbie “The word…
I’ve got good news and bad news about the book. But, first, let me tell you about my marketing plan. I have a very sophisticated marketing plan for this book, and I thought you might want to see it. Write a book about what eluded me in the first days of retirement. Write about…
You’re looking at the cover of my new book, which, hopefully, will be released soon. For today’s blog, I propose a contest. Assuming this gal is at or near retirement, who is she, and where is she going? You can be serious or a little crazy–most of my FB friends are 🙂 There will be…
The blank page—it’s a writer’s greatest curse and blessing. So let’s get the bad news out first. Make no mistake; a blank page is terrifying. “What if I have no ideas?” “This blog isn’t going to write itself.” But we still do it, write, that is. Someone said writers can’t “not write.” Why? Maybe, it’s…
“If I could save time in a bottle,” sang singer-song-writer Jim Croce in his 1972 hit single. The opening line was both insightful and a bit haunting. Insightful because it posed a dilemma we all face. We can hoard money but not time (not in a bottle or a bank). Use it now or it’s…
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You can copyright books but not book titles. So, theoretically, I could title my book To Kill a Mockingbird, or Gone with the Wind. And I would get exactly 0 readers. But titles do make a difference. Research shows that good ones get a second look. A reader might peer at the promotional copy on…
I will miss you today. I know, no one misses teachers’ meetings. I can hear you teasing about it. “Oh, I just love teachers’ meetings,” said no teacher EVER. I’ll miss your jokes. And I’ll miss the contagious enthusiasm in your voices. A new semester brings it out. Despite the complaints and denials, you have…
I’ve always tried to be honest with readers. Nonfiction guru Lee Gutkind calls it “keeping it real.” So here goes: when I wrote of identities yesterday, I told only half the truth. What I said is that, when we retire, we don’t suddenly lose the gifts that made us good at what we did. What…
Realized last night I’m still a camp director. Long story, but was brainstorming about ways to bring a group close and suggested a retreat. Had a similar experience writing a blog when I realized I was still a teacher. And, while comforting a grieving student this summer, the pastor in me showed up. Funny, the…
The sunrise this morning reminded me that—with all this change—there are still constants in my life. For instance, today, I’ll teach the Searchers Class at the Methodist church in Canyon, something I began 18 years ago—before teaching at AC. Afterwards, Charlotte and I will eat out—a Sunday tradition and another constant. Then, we’ll make a…
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It’s funny. I thought that leaving the classroom would mean leaving teaching and students. But nearly two months later, it seems I’ve done neither. Last night I got an email from a young lady wanting me to take a look at her poems. Earlier this week I visited with Chrystelle who is about to return…
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Career-change expert Richard Bolles (What Color is Your Parachute has sold 10 million copies) doesn’t like the term retirement because it implies “being put out to pasture.” I don’t like it either, but for a different reason. It defines me by who I was, not who I am. When I started teaching in the 90s,…
I will see ghosts tomorrow night. Commencement is my favorite event of the school year. I love the pageantry—the college band playing Pomp and Circumstance, the choir, the regalia (royal blue stripes on my gown’s sleeves and a flaming red hood courtesy of Texas Tech). My favorite part is the processional, where faculty line the…
A reporter asked me what advice I wanted to leave my students, and I thought about a speech I gave to the 2010 graduates of Canyon High School. Based on the biblical story of Joseph, I titled it “What Graduation Speakers Don’t Tell You.” You can read the whole thing here, or I’ll give you…
I wrote on the subject before. It was nearly 30 years ago, shortly after our eldest child left home. I said that while letting go was not easy, it was necessary. Children won’t stay young forever and treating them as such helps neither them nor us. And I said that letting go leads to gain…
She (a student last week) asked if I was starting to feel sad. “Not really,” I said, then wondered if I sounded too calloused. But I’m not calloused, just experienced. I’ve been saying goodbye to students for over 20 years. Besides, I plan to see many of them again. There are no rules against hanging…
When I asked the waiter for my ticket, he pointed to an empty table and said they had paid my tab. That’s a first. A student bought me dinner. Anonymously. Wasn’t sure how to respond. Should I send her a thank you note? Write a comment at the bottom of her essay—next to the grade?…
It’s what has made me anxious and panicked the last couple of weeks and what has prevented many routine pleasures, including writing this blog. But no more. Today, I realized that simply because time soon will run out for me at AC, and because my in-basket is overflowing with things that still need doing—I will,…
Teaching teachers—it’s what I thought about doing 20 years ago while finishing Ph.D. studies. If I teach 100 students to write, I reasoned, I will influence 100, but, if I teach 100 graduate students who will one day teach writing—you do the math—teachers of teachers influence thousands. But I ended up sticking with first-semester students…
Not because of the things I’m doing now—but because of the things I’m not doing— It’s why I’ve decided to retire. Yesterday, Charlotte and I called old friends we haven’t seen in 20 years. There were stories, familiar laughs and a few tears. 20 years! Which is about as long as I’ve been teaching college…
How do you get students to want to write? Because I was a writer before I became a teacher, the question wasn’t hard. I knew what inspired me, and it certainly wasn’t money or fame. Not that I’m opposed to them—would take either if you offered—it’s just that, so far, my writing hasn’t been good…
I help students with the want-to part of writing. It’s not something I learned in school. Schools focus on the have-to’s. You have to take this class to graduate. You have to fill X number of pages to make an A on your paper. Of course, motivating with “have-to’s” is not bad. We all do…
This morning I watched students edit one another’s essays. Their expressions said it all. The occasional smile and/or nod told me the pedagogy was working. I have students read and comment on each other’s writing because . . . Positive reinforcement works. Praising a student’s strengths makes those strengths even stronger. Modeling works. Observing successful…
“Messy first drafts,” I tell my students, “are not only common for professional writers, but necessary.” Because, as Professor Furnish used to tell us grad students, “90% of all good writing is revised writing.” And, of course, one can’t revise what isn’t there. Sounds easy—to produce a collection of disjointed thoughts that touch on what…
Since Jill and Becky think Robert Frost is too pessimistic, here’s something more uplifting: my bucket list for the first five years of retirement (in no particular order): • Learn to fly fish (and I know whom I want as a teacher, Mark Williams). • Visit New England in the fall (we’ll swing by North…
“Nothing gold can stay.” It’s my favorite line from my favorite poem by my favorite poet. “Nature’s first green is gold,” wrote Robert Frost, yet it’s “her hardest hue to hold.” And while “her early leaf’s a flower,” it’s “only so an hour.” The poet was describing what philosophers call the law of mutability, what…
Christy was nine years old when she was sexually assaulted for the first time. While her tormentor had his way with her younger siblings, she was locked in a closet where she banged her head against the door until she passed out. Christy spent the next 20 years hopelessly hitting her head against doors, including…
Overwhelmed. Before this week is over, I will grade 75 narrative essays, 50 annotated bibliographies, and I’ll read and comment on 300 student journal entries. No, it’s not normal. It’s the most abnormal week of the semester, and somehow I survive it twice a year. I coax myself through with promises of future reward: spring…
Eschatology—it’s a theologian’s word meaning “last things.” Eschatologists study the events surrounding the end of the world. Preretirement has its eschatology, its list of last things. Just this week I took a class to the Writers Corner for the last time, I taught peer review of essays for the last time, and I filled in…
I wish life had first drafts. My students will bring theirs tomorrow. They’ll work in groups to make their compositions better before the teacher sees them. Wish I could do the same in life—have several practice runs at something (like raising children or starting a new business) before it counted—before failure was permanent. But then,…
Takes faith to write. Also, to teach. Facing a blank legal pad or computer screen, writers must see what isn’t there: the could be, might be, will be. This morning I’m throwing words at the page hoping something will stick. Sometimes nothing does. For a long time. When I do get a sentence that works,…
Today would have been her 65th birthday. Would have been. My little sister left this world 12 years ago. Next to Charlotte, D’Lynne was my best friend. It wasn’t always that way. As teens we fought constantly (my fault, not hers). But in adulthood things changed. That’s why I wrote a newspaper piece honoring her.…
So I’m still at the beginning of my last semester, but already have some perceptions of retirement. The first is relief (OK, and maybe some pride) in getting the job done. Like a climber who has the peak in view and realizes that his energy level is high and the weather is holding, it looks…
“Thou shall not bore thy teacher. It’s Dr. Bellah’s first law of essay writing.” These words, spoken to my Thursday morning class, were met with a collective groan, one which said “But you don’t understand, Dr. B.; I’m a boring person, and I live in a boring town with other boring people.” I told them…
It’s what I intend to do on my way to retirement this May. Because I want to remember what it was like to be an Amarillo College English teacher. Because I want my grandkids’ grandkids to know that sometimes life’s best gifts arrive unexpected and unsought. That was I—23 years ago—a lost job, a lost…
Yes, I get as anxious now as I did 20-something years ago when I faced my first composition students. Nervous because I know that the first minutes of a class are like the first sentences of an essay. If you don’t gain your audience’s attention then, chances are you never will. Of course my students…
Will miss them—my students with whom I’ll begin a new semester tomorrow. Would like to tell them so, but that would sound corny. It’s too soon. We haven’t hung out together yet, which, in my class, means we haven’t read one another’s stuff yet. Yes, they read my things too. It’s how I teach. It…
Rising from the high desert plateau just north of Santa Fe, Atalaya Mountain culminates in a 9,121-foot peak that looks down on both New Mexico’s capitol and the rugged Rio Grande River Valley. The Atalaya Trail, which starts on the north perimeter of the city near St. John’s College, climbs over 1500 feet in under three…
Why is Finishers successful? I will do a workshop in a couple of weeks when I’ll be expected to answer that question. My first response is to be cautious. We don’t know yet how well it’s working. The fast growth is promising, but we’ll know we’re successful when the data say we are—when students involved…
They call themselves Finishers: A group of Amarillo College students who are changing their worlds, and mine. It started a year and a half ago. For some time I had been visiting with colleagues about a dream I had to form a student support group—students helping students reach those elusive academic goals. We talked, analyzed,…
What if the train is not merely a vehicle to get us to our destination? What if the train is the destination? Then unplanned conversations with strangers would not be ancillary to those much anticipated visits with family and friends we’ll have along the way. In fact, maybe these train talks are planned, only by…
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The consequences for almost missing our train? Two words—More expenses: For the change fee at AmTrak For an extra night’s lodging (and hotels aren’t cheap in LA) For two extra meals And two cab fares Yep. Seems you don’t want to even almost miss your train. On the other hand . . . Back in…
Maybe I shouldn’t have identified myself as an English teacher. I’m referring to our guides on the Pecos trip. First, they tell me my horse is the one they put six-year-olds on. Then, I’m told I can’t adjust the stirrups or tighten the cinch myself. Finally, I’m asked to stand on a stump to mount.…
Thirty minutes late, but my last student arrived yesterday. He’s a recent immigrant to the U. S., and I’m pretty sure he has trouble finding a ride each morning. Another student, a young lady, came 15 minutes late. “Forgot to set my alarm,” she told me. But she got up. She came. And that encourages…
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Hazel Sunderman died today. In the ’60s, she was my 7th grade English teacher, and, in the ’90s, one of my best fans. I’ve been a published writer for over 20 years now, and I have a Ph.D. in Technical Writing. But I don’t think I’ve learned anything new about grammar or sentence structure since…
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Visited my 86-year-old dad in the hospital yesterday. He’s better; thank you. Have never written about Dad – not anything published, anyway. I think it’s because I know how uncomfortable it would make him feel. But Dad doesn’t read my blog; doesn’t own a computer. So I’m safe. Sergeant Robert A. (Bob) Bellah came ashore…