New column, new publication

I blogged a few hours ago that things were picking up, writing-wise. I wasn't expecting them to actually do so until tomorrow, but the first of my columns for Milton Patch was published tonight, so here I am again.

Patch is an AOL-owned company that focuses on local news and events in towns and smaller cities. I'll be writing bi-weekly for Milton Patch, under the title, "Milton Musings." It's a hyperlocal slice-of-life column; something different from "Just a Minute," my family humor column for the Patriot Ledger that I've been privileged to write since 2008.

I'm thrilled to pick up this new opportunity for a few reasons:

1. I'm really excited to double my frequency. Just a Minute is bi-weekly, as well, and the editor of Patch and I worked it out so that Milton Musings will run on the Just a Minute off-weeks. So I'll have a column every week. Hooray!
2. It's a different type of writing, part one: It's slice-of-life, not family humor. I am sure my family will make an appearance now and again, since every slice of my life has them in it, but they're not the main focus.
3. It's a different type of writing, part two: it's my first foray into hyperlocal writing. Just a Minute is picked up by other GateHouse papers across the country, and I write it with that in mind, generalizing settings so they will work from California to the Carolinas. Milton Musings, on the other hand, is for readers who live in or have another connection with this very specific town in Massachusetts. The settings and events in the column are inexorably tied to Milton.
4. It's hyperlocal but available worldwide through the magic of the Internet. So even if a reader -- and I'm really thinking potential editor, here -- doesn't know Milton per se, it's an opportunity to read my work in a different style.

I'm pleased with the opportunity and hope readers enjoy both columns.

Read my first Milton Musings column, Lessons Learned While Biking Around Town, and watch for my next Just a Minute column next weekend.