I have met many of my childhood heroes, and only realized how human they were, and how precious life is, as they transitioned into their advanced years.
Introduction
As a writer-producer in the entertainment industry, I regularly meet fellow professionals I had once considered heroes. This privilege, though, comes with its share of heartbreak. I know the real people behind the images. I frequently learn of the passings of peers before they hit the press, via harried text messages and phone calls.
I am sometimes a first-call when an industry friend is in a bad way, having become a trusted confidante with certain big name creatives who have consistently proven to be just as insecure about their legacy and mortality as many not in the business.
I also…
The 1921 Hungarian feature, “Dracula’s Death,” has been presumed lost for decades. It was filmed one year prior to “Nosferatu.”
Introduction
In February of 2021, Drakula halála opened in Vienna, Austria, and became the first film featuring the eponymous vampire.
Or, did it?
Drakula halála, later known by its English translations as alternately Dracula’s Death and The Death of Dracula, was a Hungarian silent movie that in fact was an original conception not based on Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, Dracula.
The film’s plot was bold for its time: A young woman experiences horrifying visions upon being admitted to an insane asylum. A fellow inmate claiming to be Count Drakula (Hungarian spelling) appears to the woman while she sleeps, but she cannot…
My Medium Income Increased When I Put Down My Pen and Built a Popular Writing Community on Clubhouse
I left Medium for five months. I’ve since returned, and have handed off admin duties on the audio-only app. I bring a gift …
The gift of information, that is, an accidental discovery that I’m happy to share with you.
You should know from the beginning that your success will hinge on a months-long process, but once you pass a certain point you’ll be off to the races.
Here’s the simple formula: Link your library of Medium articles to your Clubhouse profile.
That’s it.
My suggestion to get there is to keep writing until you have enough of a backlog of articles to sustain, of course, while organically building your Clubhouse following by cultivating a specialized community. Nothing here will happen overnight — there…
Why did I just read a piece by a writer with less than 600 followers on the Medium platform about how to “easily” attain followers in the tens of thousands?
Lying — bullshit, to turn a phrase — can be seductive to both the giver and the receiver.
Bullshit on Medium, apparently, is a microcosm of bullshit in the rest of the world.
When I clicked on the article referenced I had no idea how many followers the writer had. Really, it didn’t matter to me much … until I casually noticed it.
Where is the credibility?
Why does it matter?
That question, my friends, addresses an issue many of us have encountered as we’ve plied our trade in the writing haze. …
Every deal I have made as both an author and a screenwriter has been due to influencers who believed in my efforts.
In December of 2019, I posted the following article on Medium:
As ever, I stand by every word. I’ve been repped by perhaps the very top agency in the business, CAA, for two years. I was repped by Gersh for two years prior … by a lead agent who used to run CAA’s literary division, who during my tenure as a client did not get me a single meeting. But I was brought in by a friend who was at one time one of the biggest directors in Hollywood.
I believe the agent threw me a bone.
Regardless, in the…
As an agnostic, I too was in on the charade for the sake of my friend’s comfort.
This story hit in January of 2015: Boy Says He Didn’t Go To Heaven; Publisher Says It Will Pull Book.
My friend died in April of that year, for perspective’s sake.
When I read January’s news, my first thought was the millions of dollars earned by the family for the child’s story was likely incentive, compounded by the big dollars earned from the subsequent television movie.
I read the book, so to be clear I am not opining from any sort of moral…
Meltzer will appear on the platform’s “Writing For Your Life” club with moderator Joel Eisenberg, discussing how to sell books and television shows.
Clubhouse, the audio-only social media platform that has become all the rage in the pandemic era, will host a notable first-time guest on March 4 from 3–4 Pacific: Perennial New York Times bestselling author Brad Meltzer. Writer-producer Joel Eisenberg will moderate the forum, which will be part interview and part interactive Q&A with the program’s listeners. Meltzer’s session will focus on fellow writers successfully garnering the attention of influencers and buyers.
While it is a common and socially accepted practice to help your pet cross “the rainbow bridge,” a human in extreme pain wishing for the equivalent confronts opposition fraught with political and moral argument.
I had expected this piece, originally published on News Break, to receive its fair share of controversy. I was right.
Some understood the point I was attempting to make and loved the article; others were offended I was comparing pets to humans. Regardless, to my mind there is considerably more complexity to the issue — and the article — than that simple takeaway.
You decide …
If you do not own a pet, or have never owned a pet, the meaning and the heart of this article may elude you. “A pet is not the same as a human,” you…
Follow the steps below to stay safe, sane, and aware.
Introduction
On first glance, some may argue with me about the title of this piece. “Of course they matter,” some may say. “My life has been ruined by my abuser. I’m a prisoner to anything they want from me.”
I will tell you in a moment what I mean by giving someone power. I will also give you a bit of personal perspective.
An ex-girlfriend was abused by her parents. Both of them. …
Though still in beta mode, it is no accident the app has been such a smash with early adapters.
In late-December of 2020, I received an invitation from a friend to join what she called the “hottest new social media app that may one day overtake Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.”
I thought to myself, ‘Do I really need another social media app in my life?’ I’m a writer. As it is, I spend entirely too much time on my existing platforms to get motivated and try another.
I joined. I’ve been addicted ever since.
