It’s been nearly a year since I put together my website and added a monthly newsletter/blog. I have to admit I’ve enjoyed writing the short pieces. It’s fun seeing what topics pique different reader’s interest.
In hopes of improving the information I deliver, I’m reaching out to those of you that have signed up to my monthly newsletter, and others that happen on to my website. I’m interested in learning what topics are most appealing to you? What’s likely to whet your appetite and continue reading a post? Are photos and appropriate links helpful?
For fellow writers who write a regular newsletter/blog that struggle (like me) with the issue of trying to develop regular, meaningful posts, here’s a great piece on the subject from Dan Blank at We Grow Media: http://wegrowmedia.com/10-simple-steps-to-steady-blogging/
Feel free to email me any thoughts you care to share at: davewatsonauthor@gmail.com
While staying at the Kings Arm, a five hundred year old former coaching lodge in Stow on the Wold, England, I discovered that people in the English countryside take their dogs everywhere. They take them into most public places like restaurants and pubs (the well trained ones sit between their owner’s feet), local stores, even the pharmacy. There was the man with his son-in-law I met in a tiny laundromat in Murren, Switzerland. Though they spoke French, it wasn’t long before our conversation resulted in raucous laughter. There was the frustrations and joy of trying to communicate in German. While I was inept for the most part, I did try and was rewarded with the thrill of asking a question and getting a reply in German. “Wo ist der Bahnohf?” “Danke schon,”
You’ve made your travel plans, your itinerary is set, but before heading to the airport take the time to prepare yourself both physically and mentally. Getting in the right frame of mind and being physically fit play a big role in determining the kind of trip you will experience.
Over the years, I have had opportunities to share my interest in fish keeping with both adults and children. One of the more gratifying things I‘ve done is to put on workshops building tiny aquatic ecosystems for kids. It’s a treat to watch as the children (with eager help from their parents) construct a simple aquarium out of a jar, aquatic plants, a few snails and a shrimp. By workshops end, the families go home with a tiny habitat in their hands. 
Writing is a life long journey of learning. Maybe it’s finding a different way of developing plot, characterization or writing realistic dialogue. For me, discovering a new technique that improves my storytelling is an uplifting part of the creative process.
The most frustrating thing about expressing one’s creativity is finding the time to do it. If you’re like me, between working a full-time job, maintaining a house, raising a family and just plain living, there aren’t many free moments for creative projects. In this post I’d like to share a tip I’ve used over the years, in my case for writing, that has allowed me to not only finish an idea, but also to get some of them published. 
As a kid I was fascinated with water. I remember tracing the raindrops that raced down the windows of our car, putting on boots to explore the temporary ponds and rivulets in our yard after a storm, staring at the aquatic plants growing in spring fed creeks, and watching with fascination the goldfish my grandfather put into one of his cattle water troughs. From exploring trickling brooks and ponds to gushing mountain streams, water has always fired my imagination and curiosity.
Hobbes, a Golden Retriever, came into our family’s life when my two boys, Nate and Tristan, were growing up and at an age they could help care for a puppy. Tristan held Hobbes on his lap on the way home from the breeder. Like all puppies, Hobbes chewed up many objects in our home he wasn’t supposed to, ate things that made him sick and demanded a lot of our attention. But he soon grew out of most of his bad habits and settle into being a typical family dog. 
