December 30, 2007 is the last recorded-day for Donald Murray. His “Now and Then” columns are read by all ages. Bryan Marquard (Boston Globe, December 31, 2006) writes, “For Mr. Murray, each column, each sentence presented an opportunity to teach….” Donald Murray wrote well, but never considered it an esoteric task, or specialized work. He believed that “Good writing may be magical, but it’s not magic. It’s a process, a rational series of steps and decisions that all writers take.”

Disciplined steps are not achieved by using short-cuts (software, formula, ghost writer); they are learned. Murray writes, “The flow of writing is always a surpirse and a challenge. Click the computer on and I am 17 again, wanting to write and not knowing if I can.” He did because he did it.

The Internet truism, “It’s all about content” deserves mention. Content matters, but truth matters more. Donald Murry writes about the truths of his life as he perceives them. His daughter Anne says, “He basically lived through his writing….Everything had to be sifted through his writing-the good and the bad. His whole life was writing.”

If we lack the drive and focus of Donald Murray, we cannot avoid the commitment to finding the truth within any topic, idea, concept, or sales pitch. When seeking truth, something passionately magical takes place with pen in hand and fingers on the keyboard.

Talent does not matter either. Trying does. Murray said, “My parents and teachers got together and decided I was stupid. My response was to develop a private mantra: ‘I’m stupid but I can come in early and stay late.’ Surprise. It worked. Good work habits will beat talent every time.”

Read more about him at Fosters On Line

You will find his books listed on Amazon.com such as: Write To Learn