Sir Walter Scott once said, “I care not who knows it–I write for the general amusement.” Which must be how many of the Olympians feel this week, knowing they are not on pace for a World Record but they will have fun–in the pool, on the track, on the beach, on the course. Even Katie...Read More
January 15, 2106–We’ve been at this writing thing together for more than three years now, a total of 43 columns so far, and I hope you are near the end of your first novel — or at least the end of your first draft of your first novel. This is the point when...Read More
Writer’s Digest’s February issue is dedicated to “Master the Business of Writing” and excerpts (with permission and attribution) several pages from LCA’s BOOK LAW FOR AUTHORS. Quite a thrill for LCA, my co-author David Creasey and our editor Jason Koransky. As I just gave up my license to practice (retired), this is legal information only! As...Read More
Colum McCann’s Letter to a Young Writer resonates with this old writer as well. Wish I’d written it. It’s pretty short, each sentence a meditation. I guarantee you’ll be inspired if you follow the link!Read More
From Amicus Scriptor, August 28, 2015: Although I fully retired from the practice of law a few months ago, as we approach September I again feel — as I do every year — the “back-to-school” excitement of my youth. New teacher! New clothes! (Well, at least a new uniform!) New school supplies!Read More
It’s officially summer. Although it’s been almost 40 years since it mattered, every May and June feels like the end of the school year. Tired of studying. Tired of the “required” reading. Tired of talking about school subjects, about mock arguments, practice trials, law notes, senior papers. Looking forward to a summer job...Read More
“How beautiful it is to do nothing and then rest afterwards.” So says the Spanish proverb, loaded as it is with spiritual instruction on humility, the passing of time, the transience of footprints on the beach. Beautiful, perhaps, but difficult.Read More
“Someday is now.” That’s attorney Ruth Kaufman’s motto, but ironically, her “now” is 1453, Henry VI is king, and what we now call the Wars of the Roses will soon begin. The king sends Sir Nicholas Gray to protect the recently widowed lady Amice Winfield from undesirable suitors. Though Nicholas is intrigued by her (and...Read More
You think by now we’d be over it. How many times have we been told, it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game? That we play for the love of the game, that even reputedly “very talented” teams can hit a losing streak?Read More
Delay. Delay. Delay. Some say it’s the essence of dramatic writing. Unlike expository writing, where the first sentence of each paragraph pretty much sums up the point to be made, each sentence in dramatic writing leads the reader to the next sentence so that the reader is forced to read on —...Read More
