Empathy is an essential part of the human experience, but there are people with little or no ability to imagine —let alone consider— the feelings of others. My cousins were in town and a family cocktail hour turned into a “sociopaths I’ve known” comparison of stories. It was enlightening. We didn’t focus on the obvious antisocial criminals, but on the subtle, high-functioning sociopaths we’ve all encountered either at work or in our social lives. These are pathological liars, charming con artists and accomplished individuals focused solely on their own needs and desires. One story was about a man who always
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Why I Still Read Newspapers
Yes, I still read real PAPER newspapers. I read a great deal of news online, too, but I still read the old-fashioned way. Why? There is something about turning the pages of a newspaper that gives me more —and more to the point— different news. Most weekdays I read the New York Times. It’s the local edition with lots of pages containing metropolitan area stories and even more articles about national and international news. With all the aggregators, news curators and all the easy ways to tailor news consumption so that the articles I’m likely to enjoy pop to the
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Dramatic Personae
Let’s just start with the fact that I’m a theater geek. I was active in the drama club in both junior high and high school (no I never had the leading role in a play) and I go to the theater often. I see Broadway and Off-Broadway, musicals, comedies, dramas —everything. Early in 2014 I finally got a theater-related freelance project. I did social media for an Off-Broadway musical. I wish I could say it was a huge hit, but… That’s showbiz. Since the show closed I’ve exchanged periodic emails with the show’s creators so when I received an email
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Tall Tails and Happy Hares
English can be very confusing. I’ve been volunteering at the Union of English Speakers, English in Action program where I am a tutor/conversation partner to an immigrant. It’s been a fascinating experience and it’s reminded me just how fortunate I am to have learned English the first time around. I’m not sure I’d survive the challenges that my Russian student faces daily. Sometimes we simply read an article together and discuss both the content and vocabulary as we go along. We also play games with the words we’ve accumulated from previous sessions, simply chat or try a few rounds of
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Proceed with Caution
There are all sorts of sub-genres in mystery fiction. One of the most popular is the Police Procedural. I’ve read a lot of them and have even written some, but I proceed with caution because the credibility of the procedural is dependent on the author’s accuracy in the arcane arena of actual police procedures. All sorts of mistakes can undermine the story. Here are a few minor/major errors that shout out at readers that the storyteller has not done his or her homework: Name the Ranks In San Francisco a city police detective is called an ‘Inspector.’ It’s the same
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Justice and Shu Mai —You thought Jury Duty was boring…
“Just lie and say you don’t trust cops or that everyone who gets arrested must be guilty.” “Really Tom? Really?” Amanda rolled her eyes. “It’s a terrible time for you to be on jury duty,” he continued in an exasperated tone. Amanda didn’t say it out loud, but she was a little bit happy to hear the anxious edge in Tom’s voice. This was her first big assignment as a project manager for the hospital and knowing she had the confidence of the construction foreman was a victory. “Get a postponement!” Lee hollered from the far corner of the old
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Backstage Ghosts?
Something has been haunting the Candy’s Monsters website for about a week. This blog-based ghost has interfered with the email notifications of new Monster Meditations. Perhaps our exorcism has worked and you’ll receive this email? I hope so… Nothing like a haunting on the Internet.
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Layers of an Onion
Lately my reading has been all over the map— mysteries, thrillers, historical romances, paranormal, history and more. Setting aside the characters (historical figures) in non-fiction, I’ve found that too may authors introduce characters as a whole. These fictional personae are either entirely external —think one of those inexpensive, hollow, milk chocolate Easter bunnies— or they are hard-packed snowmen (or snowwomen) the same inside and outside. Neither description suits real people OR their counterparts in fiction. A person has layers —like an onion— that can be peeled gradually over the course of a story, just the way we get to know
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Listen!
I live in a quiet apartment in a noisy city. Lately I’ve become increasingly aware of the importance of LISTENING to sounds around me. The soundtrack of New York is not just the blare of horns, screams of sirens, and the thundering of jackhammers. It’s the cooing of pigeons, the clack of heels on the pavement and the whisper of fabric as someone races by. I think too many people are losing out by cocooning themselves in personal sound tunnels. By being constantly plugged into music or phone calls (or both) their ears are “absent” from the soundscape of the
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Characteristic Words…
Everyone has a style of speaking. Some individuals have expansive vocabularies and others are more “plain spoken.” Neither is particularly good or bad when you are creating a fictional character —it’s more a question of matching a vocabulary to the speaker. This came to mind when I was introducing the mother and grandmother of the protagonist in my novel-in-progress. I’ve noticed that endearments and other vocabulary habits can run in families, so both the mother and grandmother use “honey” when addressing the young woman. Her father always calls her by her name —especially when he’s chastising her for taking unwarranted
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