Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer, by Fred Kaplan is on my must-read list. Michiko Kakutani's 11/6 review for the New York Times successfully hooked me. I've got to learn how writing helped the young Lincoln "articulate an identity of his own". In fact, as Mr. Kaplan sees it, language “was the tool by which” Lincoln “explored and defined himself.”
I write to figure out what I think. I don't form opinions quickly or articulate them well in my self-perception. If my middle name wasn't Louise it would be Unsure.
Now I've got to become persuasive. The Dallas Morning News writing workshop told me so. To be persuasive, one has to have an opinion, explore a problem, and offer a solution. I'd feel a lot better if Abe were coming along with me on this journey of four squirrels and seven years.
© 2008 Nancy L. Ruder
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