Matthew Arnold Stern's Blog, page 68
November 28, 2012
My next big thing (and Gwen Perkins’)
Novelist Gwen Perkins got tagged for the Next Big Thing. (Her next big thing is her new novel The Jealousy Glass coming December 1. Order your copy on Amazon.) She asked others to share about their work in progress. Mine is my screenplay. So, here are her questions about my next big thing (which I …
November 17, 2012
Why gratitude is magic
It’s Thanksgiving in the United States, or as some would like to call it, Black Friday Eve. (Although an increasing number of stores don’t even wait until Thanksgiving is over.) I’ve written about the importance of Thanksgiving and gratitude before, but what if I’m wrong? What if gratitude is some wimpy rainbows-and-unicorns sentiment that is …
November 10, 2012
How to be smarter
I was named “brainiest” in high school. I don’t know whether it was because I had great grades or awesome 1970s mutton chops. Today, I find that intelligence isn’t as easy to define. There are people who are very smart about the technical details of their jobs but very stupid about personal matters. (The former …
November 3, 2012
What if you couldn’t vote?
A recent Gallup poll estimates that voter turnout will be down for Tuesday’s US elections. But voter turnout hasn’t topped 60% for a presidential election since Nixon and Humphrey went at it in 1968. We Americans do take voting for granted. We consider it as pleasant a duty as serving on a jury or getting …
October 27, 2012
Horror movies: Fantasy lessons for the real world
I avoid horror movies for the same reason I avoid roller coasters. There are enough things to be frightened of in the real world that I have no desire to scare myself more than is necessary. But this is Halloween, the time when we Americans recognize our mortality, or at least our desire for “fun-size” …
October 20, 2012
How a chronology can help your writing
To prepare for revising my new screenplay, I’ve been reading The Screenwriter’s Problem Solver by writing maven Syd Field. One of the takeaways I’ve gotten so far is the need to write backstory. Although very little, if any, of this information appears in the script, the backstory helps writers understand and develop their characters and …
October 12, 2012
What “Keep Calm and Carry On” really means
It is a 73-year-old meme. My son has a copy of it on his wall. There have been countless parodies of it. (My favorite is the blue Cookie Monster one that says “Keep Calm and Eat Cookies.”) But what does “Keep Calm and Carry On” really mean? When you look at the history of the …
October 9, 2012
How would you like to give feedback on a screenplay?
I’ve been busy writing again. This time, it’s a feature-length screenplay. I need a couple things: 1. Feedback on my screenplay. 2. Leads on finding an agent. If you can help with either, please send me a direct message on Twitter or Facebook. Thank you in advance for your help.
October 7, 2012
How to read a religious text
One of the nice things I got at the Big Orange Book Festival was my own copy of the Qur’an. I’ve always been interested in reading it, so I’m glad that I now have the opportunity. Before I dive in, I understand that there is a right way and a wrong way to read any …
September 29, 2012
What is bad technology?
As Americans, our favorite hobby (next to eating and blathering on about complex issues we don’t understand) is knocking down the successful. We love it when celebrities get caught improperly using automobiles, or showing parts of their bodies that they probably shouldn’t show, or otherwise acting nuts. It’s part of the bizarre tabloid morality play …
