I worked on StoryJoules for six years. Hard to believe.

In the process of building it, multiple versions of electronic files were created—docxs, pptxs pdfs, jpegs, pngs. Beaucoup stuff. I wasn’t always (often?) orderly about how I stored it.

The inconvenience of getting the StoryJoules slide deck ready for the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop brings the opportunity to make sense of the stuff, so I’ll have a convenient reference in the future.

The work could have been drudgery but wasn’t. Instead, I thought about the joy of creating it and the writers who have already benefited.

It’s also been fun stumbling across things I haven’t seen in years, like this docx, last updated on September 22, 2022:

My Service as an Author

What is my service as an author?

…to write about things others think about but don’t talk about.

…to ask questions that prompt others to ask questions.

…to love.

…to tell the truth.

…to explore, to encourage others to explore.

…to stumble, to let others know they’re not alone.

…to provide ideas, as a springboard.

…to provide hope, so others may hope.

…to persevere, so others may be encouraged to persevere.

…to learn, so others may learn through my learning.

Or, in three parts:

1. To have adventures.
2. To figure out what the adventure meant.
3. To share what I learned with the collective.

As I read the page, then read it again, it’s still true.

Chewing the Cud of Good

Thankful for my reacquaintance—in Cincinnati—with a good Minnesota snowfall.