I’d love to say something appropriately poignant and witty on the death of Elmore Leonard, who wrote dialogue that made me laugh out loud. (One of his 10 rules of writing? “Try to leave out the parts that readers tend…
“Nobody’s perfect … but you can stay healthy anyway!”
It takes time to get into a healthy-habit groove — but you can balance out your slip-ups with these easy saves in my Aug. 26 piece in Woman’s World, on newsstands now.
Print is intimate and gets your hands dirty
Folks like me who remember journalism before the digital age still love print. We like the Internet too — like a mentor of mine once said, “It’s like Toyland — look at what we can do.” But there’s nothing quite…
Great take on the antihero of “Breaking Bad” and his powerful wife
This is a well-written and well-argued breakdown of “Breaking Bad” — how to view not only Walt but his wife, Skyler, who gets a lot of online backlash. http://openseasonreviews.tumblr.com/post/56255159700/so-you-think-skyler-white-is-a-bitch
The best profession in the world
Remembering Helen Thomas today, who died Saturday at age 92. I have her book “Front Row at the White House,” which she was kind enough to autograph for me. It arrived signed in the mail (my friend James, who had…
Get started. Be great.
I love this, from Screenwriting U’s Facebook page: “You don’t have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great. — Les Brown.” Yes.
Honoring Joan
Joan Didion is among those receiving a National Medal of the Arts and the National Humanities Medal tomorrow. I’ve admired her and treasured her writing for years. “Slouching Toward Bethlehem” is one of my favorites.
Richard Matheson, you are legend
Few writers intertwined word and film better than Richard Matheson. The prolific author, who died Sunday at age eighty-seven after a long illness, was a multimedia writer before anyone coined the term. Perhaps most famous for the apocalyptic vampire tale…
Surviving IKEA
I first discovered IKEA in Elizabeth, N.J., when I had my first apartment alone in Jersey City, a basement view with a ceiling I could touch when I stretched. When I lived in Brooklyn, I thought IKEA’s courtesy weekend bus…
Movies Adapted from Books: What Works, What Doesn’t
I’m writing a feature-length screenplay. In the high-wire act of adapting a book into a movie, you have to know what to ditch and what to keep. “The English Patient” gets it right. “Jack Reacher” could’ve reached farther. (As a…