Matthew Arnold Stern's Blog, page 8

Wonka vs Wonka and the problem with overly likable characters

I watched Timothée Chalamet’s recent turn with Willy Wonka. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. It wasn’t as good as Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka in the 1971 film or the one in Roald Dahl’s original book we read in my sixth-grade class. The reason is a mistake writers make—creating a protagonist who is […]Related posts:Star Wars MemoriesCan anyone be president?How AI can help writers

How to deal with being overwhelmed

Let me tell you what my next four weeks will look like. I’m getting ready for my book signing event on Saturday. And I’m doing taxes for everyone in my family because I was a bookkeeper and volunteer tax preparer in a past life. And I’m judging a book contest. And I have a busy […]Related posts:Give yourself permission to…The dangers of being a good helper“Ask your doctor if reading is right for you.”

The last time

When was the last time you did a certain thing? For example, when was the last time you used a camera that wasn’t a part of a phone? For me, it was Christmas 2013. I got my first iPhone, a 5s, a few months earlier. I was still switching between the Canon PowerShot that I […]Related posts:The birth of a crucial technologyBack to the office as a different personWhen it’s all over

Apocalypse reconsidered

If you read my latest newsletter, you know that I’m working on a post-apocalyptic novel. (To receive future issues, use the signup form on this page.) I’m racing to finish it before we have an actual apocalypse, which can come from several sources (including the one I write about in my book). As I write, […]Related posts:Apocalypse: Death by appointmentSpeaking about the unspeakableMy Eat Like a Writer Interview

How AI can help writers

AI. Does it have any use for a writer besides being the antagonist for a dystopian sci-fi novel? Many of us have concerns about AI stealing jobs and copyrighted material. We’ve had plenty of controversies about AI’s use in cover art, audiobook narration, and the generation of entire books and videos. But does AI have […]Related posts:Tips on writing in first-person“How has your writing changed in the past 15 years?”Cars and fiction

Learning from other authors

As writers, we are not each other’s competition. We can learn from each other as we see how other authors take on the same creative challenges. I recently read an advance copy of Gail Dwyer’s new novel, The Roof Above, which is coming out February 15, 2024 from our mutual publisher, Black Rose Writing. I enjoyed […]Related posts:Tips on writing in first-personAn Amiga of my ownMy Eat Like a Writer Interview

Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, and high school

By now, everyone has given their two cents about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Instead, I want to talk about high school. I write a lot about high school because that’s where I think most Americans are still emotionally stuck. We have been told that high school is The Best Years of Our Lives, which […]Related posts:No NFL in LASixty things I learned at Reseda High SchoolStar Wars Memories

The best cars I’ve ever owned

My brother is turning 60 next month. Cars have always been an important part of his life. When we were kids, we spent every September visiting the car dealers on Reseda Boulevard collecting brochures for all the new year’s models. He turned his passion into a career. His website and YouTube channel is named Victory […]Related posts:The worst cars I’ve ever ownedWhat the oil crisis taught me about driving an electric vehicleCars and fiction

Your identity, your self

Every employer I’ve worked at since college has changed its identity at least once. Companies do this for a lot of reasons. Usually, it’s because of mergers and acquisitions. Or the old identity has gotten dated and no longer fits. At a couple of places where I worked, it was because of a lawsuit from […]Related posts:Matthew Arnold and Matthew Arnold SternWho are you really?What I miss about the Valley

You have the right to be sad

It wasn’t a happy holiday for us. One of our cats died on Christmas Day. We had our orange tabby Oscar for over 15 years. Around ten in the morning, he wandered into the bathroom, a place he doesn’t normally go into, and rested on his side gasping for air. I tried helping him up, […]Related posts:Body language, vocal variety, and The Great DictatorDressing like a “loser”How to Be Happy (When There Is No Reason to Be)