Writer / Editor I have been pursuing the craft of writing now for 30 years and still approach every sentence as a sculpture to shape and finesse. A single word has the emotional charge of a lightening strike—50,000 volts of sheer emotional energy. Two words joined become a molecule of poetry or a core condition of philosophy and insight. Ten words distill an idea or statement from cloudy and amorphous to pithy and concrete. Extrapolate (one of my favorite words) a thousand words (or 100,000) into a brochure, press release, article, an essay, a short story or book and readers will be moved, motivated, changed, urged, inspired—and definitely informed. Similarly, with editing I bring the tools of subtle shaping and contemporary voice. What makes a piece readable and memorable, and fit the mindset of the client, yet reach and influence the readers’ minds? Over the passage of 30 years I have written journalism articles, essays, white papers, poetry, short stories, courses, book chapters, headlines, marketing brochures, tracts, poster copy, encyclopedia entries, advertising copy, press releases, sales letters, manuals, publishing tip sheets, reviews, scholastic inquiries, historical perspectives, affirmations and motivational emails. Oh, and business letters. Each project is a mountain to be climbed: the equipment of language, the route of approach, the weather of mood and atmosphere, and the stamina of making the climb. Finishing the project on time. On deadline. As a former minister with Bachelor’s degrees in History and Creative Writing and Masters in Philosophy and Spiritual Psychology, I have covered miles of philosophical and contemplative countries in my writing. These writing treks explore territory from secular humanist thinkers to Hagel to the transcendent contemplatives of Greece (Plotinus) to the nondual recluses of Asia and back to the mathematical philosophers like Bertrand Russel. Yet, I have also covered war and calamitous disasters on several continents, galvanizing social and ethical issues, political and religious events, science breakthroughs, environmental and ecological concerns and happenstances, eastern and western history, technology and the future. I have probed for revealing profiles, researched the hidden backcountries of in-depth writing, and read several thousand books in an attempt to encompass great ideas and great writing. The following are a small collection of my professional writings. All have been published. |
