Matthew Arnold Stern's Blog, page 44
February 7, 2017
How to tell the truth
Lying is easy. We’ve been lying since childhood when we were first caught doing something we know we shouldn’t do. In time, we got so good at it that we believe the lies we tell ourselves. Telling the truth is hard. It requires that you make yourself vulnerable, own up to your flaws and mistakes, and …
February 2, 2017
Back to our regularly scheduled programming?
Are you sick of politics? I’m sure tired of writing about it. So, when do I go back to writing about public speaking? Writing? My books? Reseda? When do things go back to normal? Like it or not, this is the new normal. And we have to live with it from this point forward. I …
January 28, 2017
What self-censorship feels like
I started writing a post about how our love for dystopian and apocalyptic fiction may have contributed to the election of President Trump. I deleted the draft. Then, I began a well-researched post critiquing President Trump’s management style. I deleted that draft as well. Yes, I was censoring myself — and Trump had only been president for a …
January 22, 2017
If you change your mind
Before you write this off as more liberal whining, I’ll tell you a secret. In 1980, I voted for Ronald Reagan. This was my first presidential election. I had registered as a Republican like my mom did. I leaned left, but liberal Republicans were a thing back then, just like conservative Democrats. I voted for Reagan …
January 15, 2017
My life in presidencies
On Friday, the 11th presidency of my lifetime will start. I don’t like to think I’m that old, but I have lived through 55 of the most interesting years in American history. Here’s a rundown. Of those 11 presidents, 5 have been Democrat and 6 Republican. Two presidents got elected without a popular majority. In my lifetime, California went …
January 9, 2017
My answers to questions agents ask writers
Chuck Sambuchino of Writer’s Digest posted a helpful column by Lisa Katzenberger listing four questions agents ask writers at pitch sessions. I’m working to get my new novels published, so here are my answers to those questions. If you’re a writer, my responses may help you formulate your own answers. If you’re an agent or publisher, please read …
January 7, 2017
Fun a Day Reseda – The Amiga beta is here!
Well, that didn’t take long. I now have a draft of the second novel I wrote in 2016 ready for feedback from beta readers. (To answer your first bit of feedback: Yes, the cover will be improved. This is just a temporary for the ePub version.) So, what’s Amiga and the Amiga all about? Amiga tells …
January 1, 2017
Fun a Day Reseda – My 2017 Projects
Yes, this year, I have more than one project for Fun a Day Reseda. As you can tell from the icon, one of them is to finish my new novel, Amiga. The other is to publish my Fun a Day project from last year, The Remainders. During January, I’ll keep you posted on my progress as well as …
December 28, 2016
My hopes for 2017
I can dwell on what a crap year 2016 was. But it will end, and 2017 will start. It doesn’t mean that things will instantly be better the moment the ball drops at Times Square. The problems and losses we faced in 2016 will still be there. But a new year gives us the opportunity to hope. …
December 21, 2016
The real way to battle fake news
I’ve been getting a lot of visits to my speech “Don’t Believe Everything You Read,” possibly because of all the talk about fake news. (You may also want to see my post “Anatomy of a hoax” for more information.) The real problem with fake news is that it makes us distrustful of any news source. …
