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Patty and I have a wonderful little Maltipoo. She is a great friend and companion for both of us. Every once in a while, she has an accident and it is my job to pick it up. I decided she needed her own toilet paper holder so that became today's pattern. If you know a dog lover they may appreciate the unique bathroom accessory. It should at least make them smile. It is an easy cut and comes apart easily to add another roll of paper. I painted mine to match Holly but any color will work fine. The back is held on by a pin in a slot. Remove the pin and the back comes off. The Scrollsaw Workshop Blog is 15 Years old this month! It is difficult for me to believe that it has been 15 years since I started the Scrollsaw Workshop blog. I remember that I had no expectations that anyone would ever visit the web page.
I was just interested in learning about blogging. Originally I did not even have a subject for the blog. It came together as a spur-of-the-moment thing with little pre-planning. I do remember being excited when the first scroll saw pattern was downloaded. That gave me the motivation to keep going. If nothing else I have stayed motivated. I have published a new pattern on average every 1.2 days for those 15 years. I eventually retired from my first career and started blogging full-time. I have been lucky to travel around the country and meet hundreds of craftsmen and craftswomen at events. I have made online friends with people from places all over the world who I stay in contact with. I have published and distributed enough patterns that they should be out there long after I am gone. Somewhere over 50 million patterns have been downloaded. I have met and worked with some of the finest people in the industry who I respect and appreciate very much. That has started to grow and diversify as the laser engraver companies have now started to reach out to me. I have three more lasers sitting in the shop waiting for my review. That has been fun and interesting. To all of you who take time out of your day to visit my blog or receive my newsletter, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
He pushes the technique, of how to define a character by how they see the world, to extremes, not only letting you hear the raw and deepest thoughts of a character, but also going a bit over the top. Few King characters are boring or typical, they all have extreme personalities. Consider Arthur Conan Doyle for contrast. His Holmes series are all written in the head of Watson, but the presentation is very proper and hands-off. Watson may very well get angry, but the thoughts he thinks on paper are held in check. He doesn’t swear, or think “Man what an officious little prick Holmes is being,” the way a King character might. Ayn Rand has a grandeur to her tone. Everything, no matter how insignificant is raised up to lofty heights. Hemmingway is the opposite of both King and Rand. I don’t think he ever even uses character reflection as a tool. His voice has the monotone, fact-based baritone of a news anchor or Joe Friday.
Dashiell Hammett, who had completely different styles. The fact that I can describe these author’s voices is a testament to their strength. By contrast many writers sound alike. They often hide their voice, too timid to let it come through. They write the story with no flourish, no style. J. D. Salinger, didn’t have that problem. Still, a voice isn’t something you can learn from anyone. It has to come from inside you-the accumulation of your own personality, your own view of life, your own attitude toward storytelling, and the distilled sum of all that you have managed to glean from other authors. Oftentimes, it is invisible to you until someone else points it out. I copied the styles of dozens of authors looking for my voice. I failed to find it. It wasn’t until I was saturated with the experience of understanding the various methods and tones of other writers, but then cast them all aside and gave up looking in order to just write for myself, that I found it.
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