Matthew Arnold Stern's Blog, page 56
July 20, 2014
Unit 58
During beta 2 of The Ghosts of Reseda High, I will post spoiler-free commentary about issues and themes I cover in the book. This is the third of the series. Please download the beta and respond to the survey by Sunday, August 17. Thirty-five years ago today, I started work at the Carl’s Jr. on …
July 13, 2014
Two songs from the 1980s
Last year, I shared some poems that I wrote in the 1980s. As I was cleaning up some old paperwork, I found another folder of my old writing. These were song lyrics I wrote in 1986, but they were never put to music. One of these songs is dated, but the other is still relevant. …
Do students need access to technology to succeed?
During beta 2 of The Ghosts of Reseda High, I will post spoiler-free commentary about issues and themes I cover in the book. This is the second of the series. Please download the beta and respond to the survey by Sunday, August 17. We had a catastrophe at our house: Our Internet access went down. …
July 7, 2014
Rape: Why are women still blamed?
During beta 2 of The Ghosts of Reseda High, I will post spoiler-free commentary about issues and themes I cover in the book. This is the first of the series. Please download the beta and respond to the survey by Sunday, August 17. You would think that a murder that happened nearly 40 years ago …
June 27, 2014
“What about the children?”
Our local Little League district has been in the news a lot lately, but not for happy reasons. At the start of the season, a league was suspended for a rule violation. Recently, another league had its All-Star team disqualified from a tournament, also because of a rule violation. To most people, this is just …
June 21, 2014
Write who you are
Should writers really “write what you know”? This Mark Twain quote is often misinterpreted. I think better advice is to “write who you are.” An example of this is Sweet Dreams by Steena Holmes. I don’t usually read romances, but I liked this charming novella. It had characters I could care about, and it was …
June 13, 2014
I Got Germanized, all right…
I went on another business trip to Freiburg, Germany. This second time around, I was able to explore more of the city, experience more of the culture, and learn more about the history. I tried this time, to borrow the name of a popular YouTube channel, to Get Germanized. Doing this was more challenging than …
June 5, 2014
I’m not John Green, and I’m OK with that
John Green is living the life all writers dream of. This week, he attended the red carpet (or in his case, blue carpet) premier of the major motion picture based on his award-winning, best-selling novel. He has been profiled on TV, hailed as a voice of a generation, and has millions of adoring fans around …
May 29, 2014
Let’s talk about the World Cup
I’m going on a business trip to a part of the world that cares a great deal about what is happening in Brazil. I’m not talking about the destruction of the Amazon rain forest or the civil unrest. I’m talking about the World Cup (although it is a source of that civil unrest). Why don’t …
May 25, 2014
Help me retitle my book
As I revise The Ghosts of Reseda High, I’m questioning whether I should keep that as the title of my novel. My book is intended to be a YA novel for ages 13 and up, but books and movies with “high school” in the title tend to appeal to younger teens who are looking forward …
