Archive for February 2013
Why writers write what they know, even if they don’t know they know it
Here's why I know anything about jazz, or Gaelic culture, or the criminal justice system: I wanted to write a book. Yes, NYU's continuing education program may have come in handy, a bit, on that latter one. But why would anyone bother to educate themselves on arcane knowledge just for the sake of a book?…
Read MoreType it, and the words will come. Trust me on this.
As I told M Sunday night around 12:15 am (so okay, it was early Sunday morning), it's easier than breaking rocks to get paid to cover the Oscars from the comfort of your own home office … but six hours in front of the TV and computer screen ain't for wusses, either. We got home…
Read MoreWhy writers need to keep their eyes on the road
Me, writer's group last night: "The hardest part of writing a book is figuring out how to do it." Much raucous laughter. The thing is, that's true, even if completely obvious. People always ask "where do you get your ideas"? Ideas, frankly, are like flowers at a botanical garden. Everybody's got ideas. That's one of…
Read MoreLife lessons in song, courtesy “American Idol” and Peter Cetera
"American Idol" is back on again, and it really is oh, so easy to look at those people and say: "Shit, I could do that." And though there's less meanness and crappy singers on than in the Simon Cowell years, it's even easier to say, "Those people are morons. Can't they hear themselves?" Answers: No,…
Read MoreA big fat Stephen King novel? Thanks, I’ll have another
Right now, there's nothing I'd really rather be doing than reading my current book. (Okay, maybe something involving a hot fudge sundae and a white sandy beach while getting a backrub might come out on top.) But when you've gotten your hooks into a book that just makes you keep turning the pages until you…
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