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A cursory glance through literary history will turn up a host of great writers who started out as something else. Charles Dickens—newspaper reporter; Franz Kafka—insurance executive; Zane Grey—dentist; Harper Lee—airline reservation attendant; Stephen King—janitor… and the list goes on. It seems that the “writing sickness” can and does claim people … read more

I’m acquainted with a guy who used to be a trumpet player. He says that nothing drives him crazier than watching a TV show or movie where someone is supposed to be playing the trumpet, but they’re either holding it in the wrong hand or their fingers have nothing to … read more

Discussions and arguments centered on settling the “greatest of all time” are a favorite activity of fans in every sport, second only to playing or watching the sport itself. Golf is no exception. Such debates can never be finally settled, because players from different eras can never compete directly while … read more

In the legal profession, there are many ways to make a living other than litigation. That’s a good thing, too, because there are many different types of lawyers, each with differing abilities and preferences. For example, the histrionics of the courtroom, where lawyers often resort to dramatic speech and flamboyant … read more

One of the first lessons you must learn as a novelist is the difference between the way people actually talk to each other in day-to-day situations and written dialogue that sounds real. Some might think this notion is self-contradictory; after all, if a character is speaking the way people speak, … read more

There’s a saying, “Every busboy in Los Angeles has a screenplay in his back pocket.” While that is less true for book publishing, one of the things you learn early one as a published author is that many people have a book idea they’d like to see published. For those … read more

First of all, a hard fact: right now, there’s still a glut of lawyers. Most of us have heard the line from Shakespeare: “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” I’m certainly not recommending such a drastic measure, but some judicious pruning probably needs to take place … read more

Winston Churchill once described America and England as “two nations divided by a common language.” It’s true; while the words are the same, some of the vocabulary is very different. Just ask anybody from Texas or Massachusetts what they thought when an English friend said, “I’m afraid I’ve rather got … read more

Most people have some kind of image that comes to mind when they hear the word, “lawyer.” They may think of Atticus Finch, the earnest, hardworking country lawyer in To Kill a Mockingbird. They may think of Perry Mason, the hard-charging defense attorney on TV who seemed uniquely gifted with … read more

“Drive for show, putt for dough.” It’s one of the most famous maxims in golf. And, while it is beyond question that the ability to turn a two-putt green into a one-putt is what gets players below par—where they must be to place high on tournament leaderboards—it is not quite … read more