Writing Samples
— by Bob Olson, ghostwriter
Writing Sample #1:
Biography
CHOICES & CONSEQUENCES
“We pulled into the
parking lot of the Admiral Lounge go-go bar and I parked
by the front doors. With my dad as the manager, I knew I could
get away with it. I wasn’t trying to show off my car. I simply
didn’t want the scumbags that frequented this dive to mess
with my beautiful car. I figured it was safer under the lights
where the bouncers could see it.
“I walked in the front
door with Greg following behind me. We first entered a little
foyer that housed the cigarette machine and payphone, then we
opened another set of doors to the bar area. There were two
bars, one directly in front of me as I walked in the door and
one to my right. Behind the first bar was my dad who saw us walk
in. I looked at him and said, ‘What’s up Daddy-O?’ He
placed his hand to his forehead in a motion to express, Oh
no, look what the cat just dragged in.
“It was around half past
midnight. I got myself a drink and, before I knew it, I saw Greg
at the other bar to the right. He’d been wearing his Traditional
Martial Arts Institute jacket that night and somehow one of
the go-go dancers was now wearing it up on stage. I’m thinking
to myself, Wonderful. One of the dancers is wearing my
school’s jacket. I don’t know if this is good advertising
because this girl has it on or the worst frigging advertising
ever. I’m standing there thinking about this with a smile
on my face when I suddenly heard my dad whistle and call my
name. He called me over to the front door, then motioned to the
two bouncers to come, too. The next thing I knew we were all
following Dad out the front door.
“I didn’t work there,
but Dad was proud of his 2nd-degree black belt son. I
guess it made him feel self-important, and I guess it made me
feel good, too. What son—regardless of his age—doesn’t
want his father to be proud of him? So I got caught up in
Dad’s little attempts to show me off and usually just followed
along. He’d occasionally call me over as a backup bouncer, and
I just stood there, not ever expecting anything to happen. So
this night, when my father called me over, I couldn’t foresee
any harm in it.
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Writing Sample #2: Autobiography
SOUL SEARCHING
December 21st: After pouring myself
a glass of Chateau St. Michele chardonnay, I walked into the
living room and put Fleetwood Mac on the stereo. It was
Christmas, but I needed something more than The Chipmunks to set
the mood. And I didn’t know, or care, where my husband was
this evening, because this was going to be Sophia time—my
personal moment of soul searching.
I turned off all the lights, plugged in the
Christmas tree and sat on the floor in front of it. I had two
pine-scented candles burning, which increased the atmosphere
since the tree’s aroma had faded more than a week prior. And
the shadows that flickered on the ceiling and walls set the mood
for some thoughtful reflection.
My girlfriends had invited me to join them for
“girls night out,” an opportunity I rarely get as the mother
of two, but something deep within me urged me to decline. It was
a gut feeling that warned me not to confuse movement with
action. Sometimes taking action to change your life means
stopping to think about how to improve it. So tonight I was
following my intuition to pause and contemplate my life.
Still in my black skirt and white blouse from
work, I stared at the Christmas lights and ornaments while
rolling locks of my hair between my thumb and forefinger. I took
a sip of my wine and thought about what I could do this holiday
season that would help me forget my marital problems and stop
feeling sorry for myself. After a few minutes, what seemed
obvious to me was that this was the season of giving. I thought
I should find a way to give to others. By helping those less
fortunate, it would help to put my own, lesser problems into
perspective.
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Writing Sample #3: Autobiography
FINAL MOMENTS
It
was just a few years ago, 2001 to be exact, and for the first
time in years it was snowing on Christmas Eve. I was sitting
alone at the bar at my favorite Kennebunkport restaurant, Federal
Jack's Brew Pub, looking out the window at the boats and the
sparkling salt water in the port. I finished my pint of stout
and left a fifty on the bar. I'm sure Sean, the bartender,
assumed my generosity was due to Christmas or drunkenness, but
the truth was that I didn't need money anymore. Tonight was
going to be the last night of my life.
I grabbed a few after-dinner mints on my way out the door and
smiled at Lindsey, the hostess. I don't think she knew how to
respond since she hadn't seen me smile in about four months.
Tonight, however, I was in an unusually cheerful mood. From what
I've read, a new sense of peace is fairly common among people
who make the decision to end their life.
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Writing Sample #4: Self-Help Book
YOU
ARE COURAGEOUS
Congratulations. The first thing I do with my
coaching clients, and therefore want to do with you, is
acknowledge your courage for taking the first step toward a new
empowering future. By simply buying this book, you have already
indicated strength of character that is common among successful
people.
Buying this book indicates that
you are willing to make changes in your life. That is courageous
because most people resist change. Most people like life to
remain predictable. Change spawns fear. So anyone who picks up a
book like this, or calls a life coach for assistance, has
immense courage—the courage to take a hard look at their life
with the intention of making changes that will generate a
lifestyle of increased success.
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Writing Sample #5: Novelty Book / Graduation
Now that you are graduating, an entire new
world is opening up for you. In some ways you may feel that you
are leaving something behind, but in reality you are beginning a
whole new journey.
There is an old saying that goes, “Give a
man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he
eats for a lifetime.” So while thinking about your graduation,
I realized that the best gift I could offer is to teach you
something that will benefit you for the rest of your life.
I’m not so naïve to think that you will
absorb everything in this little book. Experience is the best
teacher. But my lifetime of victories and defeats has taught me
some secrets about life that I’d be negligent not to share
with you. So here are twelve of the most important lessons life
has taught me so far for living a joyful, successful and
fulfilling life.
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Other Writing Samples:
Bob Olson has written over 40 articles on spiritual,
metaphysical and new age subjects for OfSpirit.com Magazine.
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person I'd ever trust to write any part of my books."
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