My son Robin was about five years old when he asked me at bedtime one night, “Is a computer screen a window or a tile?” He was fascinated by our Mac Classic with its little black-and-white screen, which did look like a tile. But his question is relevant to all expressive artists, especially writers. Do …
Young people have more vivid imaginations—there’s neuroscience on that—sharper memories, and quicker access to information. Old people know more—not more facts, but more about the nature of the world. They have lived the stories they tell. Young people care passionately about things that turn out, long after, not to have mattered. Old people have learned …
George Fischer wrote 19 autobiographies without ever planning to publish them. And he could have. Not only was he a talented writer and an accomplished scholar, but he had witnessed some of the most historic moments of the twentieth century. Eleanor Roosevelt talked about him in her memoirs, which she did publish. But Fischer made …
Beginning authors often receive the advice that to publish a book they need to develop a large social media following. Or, I would add, you could become a rock star or a professional athlete. That helps get publishers’ attention and sells books, too. Social media stardom is stardom. Authors always need to self-promote, but writing …
Publishing a book is easy, but selling books is hard. For the most part, only books from mainstream, traditional publishers reach wide readerships, and those big publishing houses have many gatekeepers. I frequently explain this difficult news to potential clients at our initial, no-cost meeting. Most of what I say is discouraging. But there are …
My rule is extreme and increasingly unpopular. I say everything in non-fiction should be true. You don’t get to make anything up. Authors talk about “different kinds of truth,” or say their memoirs, “explore the slipperiness of memory.” That’s self-serving nonsense. They know what truth is. They change things to make the story better or …
In this dark time for our country, we could use the progressive, unifying influence of the mainline Protestant churches, which have largely lost their membership and influence over the last 50 years. Bill McKibben charts this decline as part of the collapse of the change movements of the 1960s in his recent, perfectly titled book, …
I’m OK with anything you do with the English language that makes it more expressive and doesn’t sacrifice its logic (such as it is). But often, new ways of using English make sentences weaker, less communicative, and wimpy. I’m experiencing that with people using ‘experience’ as a verb. “The patient is experiencing pain.” That should …
The death two weeks ago of my father-in-law, Mark Rowland, got me thinking about where writing talent comes from. He was a respected judge, a pilot, and a legendary outdoorsman, and he crafted exquisite letters, written with a fountain pen on fine stationary, using elegant prose that despite its perfection also conveyed powerful emotions, connection, …
It was a weird feeling to have my former boss and old friend portrayed on television in an eerily perfect copy of his real look and mannerisms. Even the conference room where we used to meet was faithfully reproduced on the ABC series, “Alaska Daily.” Anchorage Daily News editor David Hulen is far from famous. …
