The End of Beverly Hills Before Christmas I was walking my dog about 7 a.m. by the tennis courts at Roxbury Park in Beverly Hills. I noticed this nice BMW stripped of its rims and tires. Never saw that before. But I never saw an armed attempted robbery at the…

Afghanistan falls. Again. Whatever modest women’s rights were slowly acquired or at least envisioned in the past twenty years will now disappear into the wind. Education, rape, forced marriage — any progress with respect to these issues is going to disappear. Why are American feminists so silent? You had no…

Yes, we all begin in a rush of adrenaline and dreams, or maybe face down in a puddle of whiskey, but either way, there is a little bit of housekeeping that could save you a great deal of heartache and even expense — and I don’t just mean “back up…

This is the number one thing you need to stop worrying about if you want to write a novel. The opening scene you are angsting over doesn’t mean squat. Now when you have finished your first draft, it starts to become important. When you…

Quora has some truly smart people on it. Depths of knowledge on ancient Rome, science, weird math, WW2, lots of esoteric stuff you to enjoy while queuing up to pay for your groceries or while getting your car washed. I mostly answered posts on novel writing. I am beginning to…

We know you started one… It’s one thing to start a novel. All that takes is a bottle of Macallan and a little sheltering-in-place. It’s another thing to finish it. …

At midnight last night our leaders shut down California. I don’t blame Eric Garcetti or Gavin Newsom for wanting to be heroes. I can live with erring on the side of caution. (I wouldn’t vote either of them for dog-catcher, but I’m trying to leave that aside.) …

The other thing you need to know. Aside from coffee and a story burning in your gut like wasabi, there are many things you need to know to write a good novel. I’m not going to post about any of them today. Today is about some arithmetic. Today’s number is…

A few weeks ago I went out to buy hand sanitizer and there wasn’t any. But I’m a genius, so I figure I’ll make our own, make a big batch and we can sell it. Hysteria = Opportunity, right? I have a bunch of empty jars left over from my…