Random thoughts

I had a good Sisters in Crime meeting today. Our speaker was an arson investigator. Arson, apparently, is one of the hardest crimes to solve, although arson itself is relatively easy to detect. Most arsonists use methods to start fires which leave clues for investigators. Finding the arsonists, however, is a totally different issue.

I have been out of college for too long. I mentioned today about not having heard of the Chicago Manuel on Style and someone mentioned it is often the style used in graduate school work. While I was at Purdue, I took at least one graduate level course and it was in history, which was my major. But I don't remember that style. But I must have known at the time. The history class was on doing historical research.

Since it has been such a large part of my professional life for so long, wire service style, and in this case, AP style, is what is foremost in my mind. And when I stray from it, I generally know it and do so consciously.

I bought business cards today that read MB Dabney, freelance writer. On all my cards until now, I have used my full name. I debated whether to put Michael in quotes but decided against it.

I don't have a lot to say today, except that I am my more conscious of what I write here and how I write it. Since hardly anyone reads this, I thought it mattered little. For months, the last person to post a coment was my dear friend Seth.

But then I got two comments within a week, both from writers. Both offered great advice. But I didn't know we were even reading me and both referred to my posting two weeks ago on being discouraged.

This morning, I typed my blog address into my search engine and the only hit was for my discouragement posting. Now anyone of six billion people on the planet can know of how I felt that day and that I must be a hack writer. (I wrote a disclaimer to have posting but left it as it was.)

So it reminded me of something I always said as an editor to reporters working under me. Never write something on the computer you don't want to be published. I will keep that in mind. If I post something, I have to assume the world will see it, not just me.

I didn't have much to say today but thanks for reading. And keep writing.