Category Archives: Editor-in-Chief

Founder and Editor-in-Chief Deborah Levine is an award-winning author of 20 books who created this resource almost 20 years ago.

Authors I-Q, Editor-in-Chief, Of Women, Uncategorized

 Sadie Hawkins Day: An Example of Cultural Delusion – by Eileen Meagher

Sadie Hawkins Day!  I didn’t know anything about it. The vibrations though with which the name permeates our culture and whatever the holiday celebrates have always seemed a wee bit strange and but also lighthearted.  It is celebrated on November 13th and since today is November 13th I feel oddly compelled to inform myself of the wisdom or lack of wisdom passed on by this “Holiday.” It would appear to be a very American holiday, but the Scots and my Irish ancestors might argue with that since they celebrate something comparable on February 29th called of course “Leap Year.” But that is another story!

The Sadie Hawkins Story

The American story is that Al Capp, a famous and brilliant cartoon artist of the last century,3 depicted in his daily cartoon, Lil Abner, the trials and tribulations of a hillbilly town called Dogpatch.  The most powerful and the richest man in Dogpatch was named Hezekiah Hawkins who had a daughter named Sadie and at the advanced age of 35 she had not married.  Sadie was also “the homeliest gal in all them hills” and her father was scared that she would spend her life at home as a spinster, a terrible and humiliating fate for any woman in Dogpatch.

Continue reading  Sadie Hawkins Day: An Example of Cultural Delusion – by Eileen Meagher →

Editor-in-Chief, Uncategorized

Bigger is Better is Over – by Deborah Levine

1 Comment

(originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press)

DEBORAH LEVINEThe day of Bigger is Better came to an epic crash when Amazon pulled out of a deal to build its new headquarters in Queens, a borough outside of New York City. The huge investment was going to result in 25,000 new jobs and millions, if not billions, in new tax revenue to support schools, housing, and infrastructure. But the $3 billion dollars in tax breaks was controversial and local objections meant that Amazon activated its ‘Run Away’ mode.

Like anyone who’s spent years working in Manhattan, I know that New Yorkers’ protests can be loud, insistent, and downright aggressive. That’s why Frank Sinatra sang about New York, “If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.” Was Amazon unprepared or just annoyed by the New York normal? Its abrupt exit shocked New Yorkers and prompted NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio to say, “Amazon couldn’t handle the heat” and the debacle was an “abuse of corporate power.” The incident prompted political diatribes, tweets, and cartoons galore, but little understanding of the key issues at stake.

Continue reading Bigger is Better is Over – by Deborah Levine →

Articles about Writing, Authors A-H

26 tiny paint brushes- on writing! – by Terry Howard

Okay, I love to write.

Am I good at my craft? Well, only my readers can answer that question. But I’m here today to share a bit about my history as a writer utilizing the Q & A format. Here goes:

Q: Terry, when did you decide to become a writer?

A: Although I love sports, it didn’t take me long to realize that a NBA career was not in my future. And science and math were not my strong points. Singing? Dancing? Since I’m the worst singer and dancer in the history of the world I ruled out those two options. So I figured that since putting pen to paper was something I enjoyed, plus I had great English teachers, I decided to major in English in college.

Continue reading 26 tiny paint brushes- on writing! – by Terry Howard →

Articles about Writing, Levine articles

How I became an Award-winning Writer – Conclusion
: by Deborah Levine

We’re about to land in Tashkent and I stuff bags of peanuts, napkins, and cupholders labeled “Air Uzbekistan” into my purse. I’m on a mission for the Jewish Federation in Chattanooga where I’m the Executive Director. No other Federation mission has ever gone to Uzbekistan on its way to Jerusalem and I want as many momentos as my bag will hold.

I relished this adventure of a lifetime. I usually worked 24/7 running the nonprofit and spending my days in the office. My restlessness as a bureaucrat was offset by having a salary, health insurance, and vacation. I’d published two books, but my writing now was solely for the Federation’s newsletter. No more Starving Writer for me!

Continue reading How I became an Award-winning Writer – Conclusion
: by Deborah Levine →

Articles about Writing, Levine articles

How I Became an Award-winning Writer: PART 3 – 
by Deborah Levine

I sat in my Chicago office wrapping up my latest project, the National Workshop on Christian-Jewish Relations, with an evaluation report. It was not so much “writing” as a how-to guide for the next poor slob who spent three years as coordinator. The phone rang and I interrupted my hair-pulling session for a friend who’d helped promote the Workshop. Mike was an editor with Liturgy Training Publications, the publishing arm of Chicago’s Catholic Archdiocese. “Please write a chapter for a book we’re doing on religious rites of passage for teens.” Continue reading How I Became an Award-winning Writer: PART 3 – 
by Deborah Levine →

Articles about Writing, Levine articles

How & Why I Became a Writer: PART 2 – by Deborah Levine

My pride, and a touch of arrogance, in having aced Advanced Placement AP English lasted about five minutes on campus. Harvard frowned on freshmen who hadn’t achieved at least 4 out 5 on the AP English exam, and I’d received only 3. Humility sank in as I sat in an ancient lecture hall with hundreds of freshman and took a required writing exam. I flunked.

Continue reading How & Why I Became a Writer: PART 2 – by Deborah Levine →

Articles about Writing, Levine articles

How & Why I Became a Writer: Part 1 – by Deborah Levine

I’m often asked how I became an award-winning writer and I finally decided to share that story. My passion for writing began as a passion for reading. Growing up in Bermuda in the 1950s there was no television and little radio. My ivy-league educated parents read to me and my brother every night. Journeys through Bookland was my favorite collection of folk tales from around the world and mythology from Thor to Zeus. I imagined mermaids in the ocean that surrounded us, goblins underneath the mini-drawbridge, faeries in the lightning-bug swarms, and trolls under my bed. We learned the alphabet early in colonial British schools, and I learned my letters faster than most. (Please forgive me Jeffrey for drawing letters in charcoal all over your parents’ house and thanks for not telling the police I was hiding under the bed with the trolls.)

Continue reading How & Why I Became a Writer: Part 1 – by Deborah Levine →

Writing Tips

Technical Writing for Reports: 10-Step Plan

There are two essential themes in technical writing  for reports. The first is having a step-by-step timeline that maps out the process. The second is choosing a topic that interests you enough to do the research and writing required. The ADR 10-Step plan combines both elements using a famous writer’s philosophy …

“The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is you really want to say.” ~ Mark Twain Continue reading Technical Writing for Reports: 10-Step Plan →

Writing Tips

Writing tips: Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Initials

writing tipsWriting Tips for Readability

Few writing errors are as annoying to readers as abbreviations, acronyms, and initials that are either not defined or send them hunting for an explanation. This common mistake is compounded when using your report as the basis for an oral presentation. What are obvious short cuts to you may make your readers and/or audience resentful rather than admiring.

Avoid the jargon trap!

Continue reading Writing tips: Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Initials →

Articles about Writing, Levine articles

The Power of Words and a Nudge – by Deborah Levine

Where better to hear a speech on The Power of Words than at a library? That was Tom Griscom’s topic at the annual meeting of Chattanooga’s public library board of directors. I couldn’t resist joining them atop four floors of books, DVDs, and periodicals. Griscom had revitalized my passion for writing almost a decade ago. As editor and publisher of The Chattanooga Times Free Press, he created a cadre of community correspondents who reported weekly on events in their neck of the woods. I hemmed and hawed when first contacted, but the young reporter got me when she said, “C’mon. You know you want to.” Yes, I did, for years, and never regretted it.

Continue reading The Power of Words and a Nudge – by Deborah Levine →