Scott Lax

 

I've been writing in between being with Finn and his mommy, as well as his loving brother and sister.

Finn is my first child, as you might guess from the title of my column, "First-Time Father at Fifty-Eight." As I've mentioned, it would be easy for me to say this experience is far beyond words; yet that, as I've told my students, is not acceptable for a writer to say. So I'll keep trying to put this experience into words, and they'll be posted again soon.

Meanwhile, here's a photo of Finn on his fifth day in the world, dressed up and awaiting a visit from his cousins. (To see an interview with Finn's cousin Tyler, click Tyler's image on my home page.) Read More 

The Father Life (click to the left) will be posting my new column about Finn's birth in the next few days.

Lydia and I are beyond thrilled to announce the birth of our son, Finn Scott Lax, born 1/11/11 (in room 11 of the hospital, no less). Mother and son are doing very well; father is over the moon.

For more about Finn in the world, and me being a first-time father at fifty-eight, you can read my monthly column in THE FATHER LIFE magazine. Click to your left. I'll have a new column up soon.

May Finn live in a world that moves toward peace. Read More 

Lydia took this photo with my camera phone tonight. I'm holding my son, Finn Scott. All of us - Finn's brother and sister and I - drove happily through the snow to see them. Tomorrow Lydia and Finn will be home.

I have a lot of stories to tell about all of this, and will, in a book I'm writing and a column I write for THE FATHER LIFE magazine. For now, I'll just say that Finn's birth was the most profound moment of my life.

I tell students never to write, "words can't express my emotions," so I won't say that. Yet, it's going to take a while to express them.

Welcome to the world, Finn. I love you.  Read More 

Remember the movie, "Alfie"? The first version was in the 1960s, starring Michael Caine, the second more recently, starring Jude Law. The was first a great film, the second a pretty good film.

Then there was the theme song, "Alfie." The song is a question: "What's it all about, Alfie?", and the singer poses a bunch of questions to the protagonist, making the song both original and poignant and a little bit sad.

Maybe youtube the song and give it a listen. That's my way of helping you remember the single most important question to ask yourself about anything you're writing. Any genre. Any form:

"What's it all about, [insert your name here]?"

I wrote this post because I read an essay today that zeroed itself out because it didn't know what it was about. The writer is skillful, but was all over the place, which diluted it and made it self-indulgent. As essay, a story, a poem, anything, has to be about something. Read More 

I'm not sure if this one is in Strunk & White's THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE as an overused phrase, but here's a phrase that I read again today in Cleveland's daily newspaper: "Truth to tell...."

It's a phrase that screams out many things, such as: "I love cliches," or "I'm afraid if I just write a declarative sentence you won't believe me unless I tell you I'm telling the truth," or "I am a lazy writer."

Don't ever use, "Truth to tell." It's amateurish, even if some columnists and other writers use it. If you're writing nonfiction, just tell the truth. No need to convince the reader beyond your own credibility. Read More 

Under the sub-title, "Omit Needless Words," Strunk and White's advice begins with one sentence. Burn this in your brain:

"Vigorous writing is concise."

Happy New Year, everyone, and for those of you who check this blog for news of our son's birth, please check back soon. As for what reading and writing advice I have, it's this: reading and writing is still unparalleled while waiting for that which is your heart's desire.

See you in this space again, and soon...and thanks for checking.  Read More