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Academics or a Real Job?

When I played the game of Life, as a child, my father would say, “This game is a lot like real life.” Now I play Life with my children; and I agree. First decision? Whether to start a career...

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A Thesis is not a Statement!

A thesis and a thesis statement are different. Two examples. First, a thesis is to a thesis statement as your life goals are to your new year’s resolutions. Second, in a traditional five-paragraph...

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The Importance of Being Creative

The film above was first published on March 25, 2013. At the time of this writing, the video has been on YouTube for 18 days. It had 119,886 views last night around 9 or 10PM. I got up early to write,...

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Why I Started My Personal Blog–”therhetor.com” (Part 1 of 2)

“I spent some time last night contemplating what this new blog of mine is really about. I jotted some ideas. I came to the conclusion that everything I’ve written about here has touched in one way or...

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Why I Started My Personal Blog (Part 2 of 2)

In my last post, I explained five reasons I started my personal blog: potential extra income, clearer thinking about life, clearer thinking about my interests, to connect with others, and to keep in...

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Raymond Sebond: Renaissance Man, Theologian, Writer

As promised, this post introduces a Renaissance scholar whose writing on faith was controversial in the 1500′s. The scholar is Raymond Sebond. His controversial book was called Natural Theology, or...

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5 Tips for Pursuing a (Graduate) Degree

Thinking about taking “the next step” after your bachelor’s degree? Or just after high school? This week, I offered advice to a college student on the pros and cons of grad school. I hold a Master’s...

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Let’s Not Eat Grandma: Why Little Things Matter in Writing

This picture is a reminder to “know what each sentence says, what it doesn’t say, and what it implies”–advice from an expert writer and teacher, Verlyn Klinkenborg. The following is a book review of...

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Relationships = Life

Recently, one night after our children were in bed, my wife and I found two notes on our bed: one addressed to each of us. Both were written by our seven-year-old daughter, Gracie. Nicole’s note said,...

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Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling

I found this interesting list of 22 rules of storytelling tweeted by a former Pixar story artist, Emma Coates. If you’re stuck in your writing, these may prove helpful!

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Falling Back into Blogging: On Creativity and Writing

I blogged three times a week for about two months (a while ago), and then got busy and stopped cold turkey. I didn’t write all summer here. But the Fall is a great time to get things up and running...

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Where Were You on 9/11/2001?

Everyone who remembers “9/11″ has a story: here’s mine. I was an undergraduate college student in my twenties, studying at BYU-Idaho in Rexburg, Idaho. When I came out of my first class that morning, a...

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If You Like Harry Potter, You’ll Love Michael Vey

Last year, my wife, Nicole, started reading a novel called Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans. She raved about the novel, which was the first of a series. The third book of that...

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THE BUILDER

I heard this poem last Sunday in church. I had actually heard it before, but I really like it. It presents us with two roles for living life: I saw them tearing a building down A team of men in my...

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Why You Need Enthusiasm in Everyday Life

Lately I have been thinking a good deal about enthusiasm and about smiling. I have made a conscious effort over the last few weeks to smile more at others throughout the day–even at total strangers. I...

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Boldness

This is one of my all-time favorite quotes. It is by the German poet Goethe: “Whatever you can do, or believe you can, begin it; Boldness has wisdom, power, and magic in it.” A new year will be upon us...

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Raymond Sebond: Renaissance Man, Theologian, Writer

As promised, this post introduces a Renaissance scholar whose writing on faith was controversial in the 1500′s. The scholar is Raymond Sebond. His controversial book is Natural Theology, or Book of...

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Three Killer Writing Tips I Learned While Shooting a TV Commercial

On February 6, 2013, I went to work expecting a normal day. I didn’t expect to spend much time outside of my own office, let alone in a makeshift recording studio in a classroom on campus. An...

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To Blog or Not to Blog

That is the question, right? It’s been a while since I last posted to this blog. Today I am beginning again. Perhaps this is the story of life itself. We try, we fail, and we begin again. Never stop....

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Knowing their Names the First Day of Class: A Personal Experience

I was a graduate student at Florida State, teaching freshman composition. This is a course all students are required to take, which is another way of saying that not all students are as engaged in this...

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