Not all characters are likable. Not all of them are supposed to be or need to be… at least, not for a reader. But writers do have to like all the characters in a story — not necessarily because those characters are right or because they’re great people or even…
There are as many different types of Jews as there are Jewish individuals, so my Yom Kippur is both shared and unique.
It’s difficult to explain to those who have never lived in a place where they are cultural or religious minorities the dilemma of choosing to work on an important holiday. Where I live, for many people, holidays are something you get off work as a matter of course: everybody gets…
In the framing device of Bertolt Brecht’s play The Caucasian Chalk Circle (1948), two farming communes argue over the ownership of a piece of land. One wants it to grow fruit trees; before the political disruption previous to the start of the play, the other commune raised goats there, and…
Or, rather, on not revising for a deadline. See, it’s easy to decide on an arbitrary deadline, the date by which my story or chapter should be done. I’m really good at that. The hard — nay, impossible — part is actually meeting it. I don’t think this is because I’m bad at revising.…
I’ve learned a lot about creative work from video games: puzzle-making, entertainment design principles, and plot construction. But video games have also taught me about other important things in my life. Namely, about myself. And what have I learned? Well…
(tl;dr — because I am contrary!) CBS’s Elementary and the BBC’s Sherlock are the most well known current television updates of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Both follow the adventures of the Great Detective and his bff, Watson, transposed into the 21st century, with a healthy helping of original plot and characters. Judging by…
One of the reasons my first novel manuscript took me years to complete, despite being relatively short and simple, was passion. I loved my story — you have to, to pull off writing of that length — but sometimes I didn’t feel like working on it.
Dear Swiss Army Knife (Victorinox Recruit model in red, to be specific), I’m sorry. I failed you. If I’d remembered you were in the inner pocket of my backpack, of course I would have taken you out and left you at home before going through airport security. That I opted…
When I was seventeen, I decided I was going to be normal about hugs.