The Writer's Lens

The Writer's Lens - Interview 05: Brent McLaughlin, On the Importance of Journaling, Part 2

"Our memories aren't perfect."

Part 2 of my interview with fellow scribe, Brent McLaughlin, takes us down the rabbit hole of what can be truly beneficial in keeping a personal journal. As I stated in Part 1, Brent is the zen master when it comes to reflection and seeing growth in his life.

And in this section, Brent and I talk about the life-giving aspect of journaling. How our frustrations can help us gain insight into who we are. And how common themes tend to shape us. Kudos to my brother-in-arms for sharing some personal things with the Internet world in hope to encourage others.

Enjoy!

The Writer's Lens - Interview 05: Brent McLaughlin, On the Importance of Journaling, Part 1

My next guest comes as a two-parter. Brent McLaughlin, a fellow scribe, friend and co-founder of a local writer's group in Northeast Ohio, shares his insights on journaling and why sometimes journaling can be overlooked in a person's life. Not just for the creative in us, but anybody.

One of the things I've always admired about Brent is his purpose-driven lifestyle. Everything he does is with purpose. With direction. And with passion. Doing so with one eye on the future and the other on the past; careful and mindful of what he's learned and what's he's currently learning.

Having overcome several personal obstacles, Brent shares some insights he's had while keeping a personal journal for the past five years. Side note: I can't even keep one for a month!

Anyway, I'm excited to share part one of my interview with him. 

Part 2 to follow.

The Writer's Lens - E11: Interview Decompression, aka Cool Things I've Learned

Fantasy, entrepreneurialism, and returning from war with a desire to touch the next generation. 

I've been doing interviews for the past month (all of which have been astounding) and instead of just letting them linger out in social media land, I felt compelled to do a bit of decompression on what I've been learning. So, in this episode, I tackle some of my favorite takeaways from my last three interviews: 

Darrick Dean, author of Among the Shadows

Daniel Luketic, entrepreneur

Dr. Robert Snyder, author of What is a Veteran, Anyway? 

Oh, and I even say "by golly" at least once. A phrase I hope to cut out of my vocabulary as soon as humanly possible. 

The Writer's Lens - Interview 04: Dr. Robert Snyder, "What is a Veteran, Anyway?"

"What is a Veteran, Anyway?"

Dr. Robert Snyder is a professor, army veteran of 15 years, and author of the children's book, "What is a Veteran, Anyway?" Dr. Snyder served in the Iraq War in 2003 and during his time there, he came up with the idea for a children's book on what it meant to be a veteran; in hopes of addressing the many questions children might have when one of their parents have to leave and serve overseas. I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Snyder at a "Meet the Authors" event in Pennsylvania, and after some conversation and learning about one another, I asked Dr. Snyder if he'd be willing to share some of his personal story on how and why he wanted to write a children's book.

In addition to that, Dr. Snyder is a traditionally published author - unlike many of the self-published authors I run into - so I was curious also to get his take on the process and how things have been going thus far (and by all accounts, very well!). Here you can catch the video portion of the interview where we discuss these items among other things related to his time serving in Iraq.

For more on Dr. Snyder and his books, you can visit his webpage at www.robertsnyderbooks.com or like his page on Facebook and Instagram.

The Writer's Lens - Interview 03: Daniel Luketic, entrepreneur

My latest guest, Daniel Luketic, was a roommate of mine at Mount Union College in Alliance, OH. We were both aspiring business majors with creative pursuits. Whereas my story veered into the world of insurance (and the selling thereof), Daniel took a slightly different path. He started up a company that would develop software for insurance agencies, taking a big risk as someone who had just come out of college. 

In a time where we are always encouraged to "follow our passion no matter what", Daniel and I discuss what this ought to look like, and what pitfalls one can avoid in the pursuit of the things we want to achieve. 

And a little bit of strolling down memory lane for good measure. 

The Writer's Lens - E10: How Story Affects Us - Part 1

Stories offer us an escape from our daily lives. And stories are a good way to educate others too. When we tell a story, we are hoping to communicate information to our listener. But, how - or what - our listener derives from that story can be varied. In this episode, I start looking at how we are affected by the stories we hear. What do we take from them? What are the ways in which we are most affected? And is there a narrative behind everything we hear? 

Oh, and a little bit of talk about why guys are constantly quoting movies. You know, because we do that a lot. 

 

The Writer's Lens - Interview 02: Darrick Dean, fantasy author

When fantasy meets science fiction. 

In this episode, I interview Darrick Dean, author of Among the Shadows: Watchers of the Light, and a fellow writing enthusiast. Darrick's mantra of "Find your purpose. Find your story" reflects his desire to engage readers and fellow writers by fostering their imaginations and taking them to new and exciting places. 

Darrick and I will also discuss the differences between fantasy and sci-fi, the challenges of standing out in a sea of voices, and how imperative it is for authors to find communities they can share their stories with. 

For more on Darrick and what he shares with other creatives, you can visit his website here. And for the full video interview, be sure to check out my YouTube page for this (and other interviews too!). 

 

The Writer's Lens - E9: Storytelling

As human beings, we love telling stories. And we love hearing stories too. As a writer, I'm in the business of telling engaging and exciting tales. But, I've also often wondered: why do we tell stories at all? Is there some value in it? How long have humans been telling stories? n this episode, I take a look at this question and how we stack up against the rest of the animal kingdom as it pertains to storytelling and passing information. 

In this episode, I take a look at this question and how we stack up against the rest of the animal kingdom. I'll look at what a story arc is and why it's important to follow this basic structure when writing stories of our own.  

Obviously, there's a lot to unpack here. But, I'll be taking an even closer look at storytelling in subsequent episodes. Until then, enjoy! 

The Writer's Lens - E8: Amazon, Big Brother, and Fake Reviews

As a bonus this week, I decided to talk briefly about the recent issue with Amazon and its dealings with fake book reviewers. Is it wrong to suddenly erase hundreds of reviews for a product? Or is it like Big Brother telling us what to think and how to act?

Certainly, there are arguments for and against this kind of thing. But, I will attempt to look at all sides of the issue. Because hey, I'm a writer. Reviews are important to me. As are the policies of one of the mega-giants of online shopping.  

The Writer's Lens - E7: Trials and Takeaways

After my interview with Willie and Rachel Scott, co-authors of Better Than Blended, I had some time to digest and decompress many of the takeaways from our discussion. 

In this episode, I talk about the top 3 things I learned from my conversation with Willie and Rachel: how we pace ourselves as creatives, having a journey worth speaking to others about, and the trials and tribulations of finding someone who's walked where you have yet to.

And of course, none of which are all that easy to come by.