Welcome!

I can't think of a more fitting way to start this blog off than by explaining how it all came about and what I plan to write about in the future. For anyone who is interested in Rhetoric and Speech, I think this will be an interesting journey!

Speechwriting has always been one of my passions. In fact, nothing motivates me like a good speech, and since good orators are few and far between in this multi-media society that we live in, I want to spend time really looking at oratory, speechwriting, and why it's becoming a lost art. And it is a shame that it's becoming a lost art because the importance of public speaking still exists especially within the political spectrum. But we'll get to those points later...

I have a MA in Rhetoric, and for the past twelve years, I have taught writing, directed writing centers at the collegiate level, and have published hundreds of articles and a couple of books. I am a Sophist at heart, not in the negative sense, but within the context that a good speech should be poetic and entrancing. A great orator should capture the hearts and minds of his/her audience, and said orator should persuade the audience towards a definitive opinion. Aside from our new President-Elect, this person just hasn't existed in the United States for a long time. That's why I'm so excited!

In addition, I have decided to break away from the struggles of full-time employment and seek my own way in this world as a full-time writer. My website is http://www.markhoneycutt.com/, and if I am lucky, I will be able to host this blog there. Although my focus is going to be on speechwriting, I also want to write in many other genres. I have posted many pre-final-edit samples of my work there as well.

Again, I look forward to this blog, and I hope that we can have fun exploring, not only speechwriting, but my life as a speechwriter!