David Klein's Blog, page 28
November 15, 2022
Buzzwords are Buzzkill
I recently read an article in Fortune titled “Let’s not circle back on that: These 10 corporate buzzwords are the most hated in America.” Then I came across a report in the Harvard Business Review that said writing in the financial industry is so full of jargon and complexity that poorly written financial statements can […]
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November 14, 2022
The Magic of Air Travel
What is it about air travel that makes it so ripe for speculative storytelling? Maybe it’s the improbability of flying 30,000 feet above the earth in skinny metal tubes. Or as a passenger, the complete surrendering of any sense of control over your fate. A recent French novel and an American television series both […]
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November 11, 2022
A Veteran I Knew and Loved
My father, Robert Klein, was a veteran of World War II. At the too-young age of 17 he enlisted in the Navy and served in the Pacific. When I asked him why the Navy and not the Army, he said he’d rather sail on a ship than march through the mud. He came back from […]
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November 8, 2022
Go Team in Blue!
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November 7, 2022
Driving Lesson: The Zipper Merge
Driving on the highway back from North Carolina, we see a sign that the right lane is closed in one mile. Immediately drivers start switching to the left lane, leaving the right lane open. I do the opposite, switching from the left lane to the right lane, while the left lane backs up almost to […]
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November 3, 2022
“I Didn’t Want It to End”
“. . . an engrossing read.” “. . . a compelling story, beautifully written.” “I didn’t want it to end.” These are a few statements that reviewers wrote about my latest novel, The Culling. If you haven’t gotten your copy yet, or if you haven’t browbeaten all of your family, friends, neighbors, and strangers you […]
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November 2, 2022
The Goddam Lousy Life of a Teenager
The life of a teenager can be isolating, confusing, and painful. It was at times for me and maybe for you too. It certainly was for Holden Caulfield, the 16-year-old narrator of J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye.” Holden has just been kicked out of his third private boarding school and embarks on a dark […]
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October 31, 2022
I’ve Got a New Volunteer Gig
I’m beginning a new volunteer position as a reader of short story submissions to the prestigious literary journal Ploughshares. Every serious writer would love to be published in Ploughshares. For the record, I have not been published there, but I did land a story once in the equally respected Storyquarterly. To become a submissions screener, […]
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October 28, 2022
Fake Friends Are Good For You
Did you know that fictional characters can be an important part of your social network? Most people know that social interactions are important to your well being. And according to Dr. Laurie Santos, the Yale professor whose course “The Science of Well-being” I took, “. . . when we can’t get the real thing, we’re […]
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October 26, 2022
A Story You Would Wait in Line in the Rain to See
Back then, my literary agent, who I had just signed a contract with to represent my novel, “Stash,” asked me if I’d ever heard of Robert McKee and his book, “Story.” I hadn’t. She suggested I get the book, read the book, and then work on my novel some more. I had mistakenly believed the […]
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