I have been pursuing the craft of writing now for 25 years and still approach
every sentence as a sculpture to wrought and finesse. A single word has the emotional
charge of a lightening strike50,000 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, inspiredand 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 25 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 monk/priest with a Bachelors Degree in English and Masters in Philosophy
and Divinity, 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.
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