I’ve received a couple of advertisements recently for screenwriting classes. The classes must be popular because I occasionally run into an acquaintance who’s taken one and tells me his classmates gave him rave reviews for his script. I always offer a pat on the back to these budd

In 1961, I was in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) when the country gained its independence from Britain. During one of the celebrations, I was seated at a table in Dar es Salaam among a number of dignitaries, one of them an elected official from Nigeria. He was a pleasant man and we talked

I joined a social media group for writers a while ago and was welcomed by a member who introduced himself as Dave. He invited me to take advantage of his media outreach service, emphasizing it was free. Knowing that many such services charge from hundreds to thousands of dollars, I wa

During a recent radio show on which I appeared, the interviewer asked if I thought a person could be a writer if he or she wasn’t a reader. I didn’t have to think. I immediately said “no.” Afterwards, I wondered why I’d been so definite. Theoretically, it is possible for som

A friend sent me a list of English words the are spelled the same but have different meanings. They are examples of usage that often trip up foreigners. Here are three examples:  I did not object to the object. The insurance was invalid for the invalid They were too close to the door

Margaret Atwood, 73, is writing a novel, Positron, online, making the story up before everyone’s eyes and asking for feedback. When she gets it, she tilts the story according to the responses. She says it’s a little like improvisation in print. People will write and say, ‘We lov

Browsing though the March edition of Vanity Fair, I came across an interview with Stanley Donen, a man in his late 80s who began a brilliant film career young in his life and by the time he was 25, he was directing film luminaries like Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn. Aske

A recent article by Lauren LaCompra, writing for Reuters, noted that some of Wall Street and banking’s most talented players are leaving the world of finance and fleeing to Silicon Valley or hedge and private equity funds. The reason given is not solely because of the scandals and b

“Figures lie and liars figure.” That was a favorite aphorism of the man who preceded me as a county commissioner. He used the saying to mock any statistic that displeased him and used it so often that eventually he discredited himself. Still, I agree that statistics are as pliable

I was recently interviewed at a local radio station for my new book, Trompe l’Oeil. Our conversation went well past the plot and into larger, philosophical questions. One of the questions was about my age. At 76 did death play a large part in my thoughts, the interviewer wondered. T