Nothing, you say. I’d like to convince you otherwise. Consider the target or should I say treasured celebrity of the fly-fisher(wo)man, the elusive trout, a delicacy that thrives in cold streams. In order to catch trout, we use a “fly,†an artificial bug offered in more colors than a rainbow (I’m thinking fish again). The […]
What Do Fly-fishing and Writing Have in Common? Read More »
I’ve known for a while that having a story published or even more difficult, landing a literary agent, is a matter of luck AND hopefully — perseverance. Over the years I’ve done pretty poorly in the luck department as door prizes, lotteries and give-aways stubbornly elude me. No matter how good the odds, I don’t win.
Why Perseverance Leads to Luck Read More »
Today on FB, one of my writing acquaintances commented that writers are often weird and don’t act like “normal†people. This eccentricity is caused by the artistic brain, researchers have found. Nowhere else is this more obvious than when communicating with non-writers. How do you explain that you just spent four hours revising a few
Writers are weird! Read More »
Hey, wait a minute. I am home. Isn’t it where I live? Yes and no. Many of us who live somewhere other than where we grew up, consider home in two places, a split personality of sorts. My original home is in Solingen, Germany, where my father still lives in the same house he moved
Writing is like a rollercoaster, some days you’re up and some days you’re down. No other activity gets me this involved and emotional. Writing Routine Thousands of web pages give advice on writing routines, when to write, how long to write, how many pages, not too much, not too little. Some say you should
War Never Ends Last week I had the pleasure of listening to a lecture by Tim O’Brien, most famous for his short story collection The Things They Carried. In front of a packed audience at Indiana University, Tim spoke about Vietnam, about his young sons and the effects war has. He said war never ends.
About War – Listening to Tim O’Brien Read More »
Stereotypes drive me crazy. It’s so easy to say that Americans eat burgers and steaks and Germans eat sauerkraut and brats. So when my friends elected me to be their travel guide for a two-week trip to Germany, I was glad to finally put this myth to rest at least with them. Don’t get me
Where is the Sauerkraut? Read More »
When I began interviewing my parents nearly 10 years ago, I had no idea that their tales would lead to writing a novel, the story of two children during and after WWII in a country torn apart, first by Hitler’s regime and then by every other country, Germany had tried to annihilate. Since completing the
Doing What is Right: For my Father Read More »
Why is it that some people travel all the time and others never? Why do some people cross the world and others stay within the confines of their county? Is it a matter of money and time? Is it age? I do believe that one goes through a transition brought on by age. In our
Traveling as we Age Read More »
It’s hard to pack for a trip and know what to take. As a rule I take too much with the idea that I never know what color I’m in the mood for, what the weather is like or what event may happen that may require elegant attire. After returning I unpack thirty to fifty
The Art of Preparation Read More »