Write with Author NJ Miller

  Writing a Book is a Long Climb Writing a story with its different scenes, adventures, fears, and conflicts can feel exciting, emotional, and sometimes exhausting. It can feel like a rollercoaster ride to write. Organizing, editing, editing, and creating a cohesive manuscript can feel like a long climb.    On the long climb toward publishing my novel, I gather my tools. I have my journal and phone notes that I have randomly jotted down my thoughts and ideas. I have my computer document that I write scenes and put them together. I have a loose outline, characters I am developing, and names I am changing. I have been working on the long climb of creating a novel for years. All of my documents and notes are starting to feel overwhelming. Will I ever be able to put it all  together into an interesting story that makes sense? How long will it take?   When I get to the top of the mountain, what will I have? Will I have a book? If I get to the top of the mountain...

 A Smile That Lasts Is a Human Smile A smile that lasts is a human smile. The innocent smile of a child, the smile of a person at the check-out counter (yes, I still like to see people), the smile of a caring human is a smile that lasts. Whether you remember the actual smile, or the imprint of the smile stays with you, a smile that lasts makes all the difference. I walked my 10-year-old granddaughter to school this morning. We smiled on our faces and in our hearts as we talked about her birthday party later today and the things we will do together when my new house is finished early next year.    Our lives are full of chatty AI, embedded technology, chatbots, and chat help desks. Some of the AI makes our lives faster and easier. Some we don’t even realize we are using. But the smiles are fading. On the telephone, I can even feel a smile when it is lifted on the other end of the line, but humans with their smiling voices are becoming less common.   I must admit I occa...

  I’m a Walker   If you see me walking with hat on my head and sunglasses across my face, give me a smile and a wave. I won’t recognize you in your car across the road, but I will appreciate the sentiment. I am usually watching my step rather than looking for people who might pass by, but you can always tell me you saw me walking, as my friends sometimes do.    Occasionally I ride in the car with a friend, but more often I walk. I don’t ride a bike. Once I got on a 2-wheeled contraption, and with no balance, I quickly fell off. No more bikes for me. I used to drive a car until I realized I was hearing cars pass by me without seeing them. You can thank me for being a walker, a mode of transportation more dangerous for me than for you.    With your big steel vehicle, you can move with unbelievable speed. When I occasionally see one of these bulky beasts wait for me rather than almost running me over in their attempt to race to their next destination, I give a...