Hell Hath No Fuhrer
"What was your wife like?" I asked the jovial old man telling me his story. He hadn't mentioned his home life. "Well, she was born in April. Hitler was born in April too, wasn't he?" [...]
Narrative Practice for Re-establishing Family Ties
My family is Turkish and I was born in Istanbul in 1979. Since then we’ve moved to Izmir, where my brother was born in 1981, then to the suburbs of Washington, DC in the summer [...]
This Is My True Gift
What does a writer have to offer? When she starts to do her inner work, connects with her soul and begins to express herself as a habit, a book starts to take shape. Without resistance [...]
Character, Character, Character
In real estate, it may be location, location, location but in writing and indeed all creative pursuits it all boils down to character, character, character. The noblest creative pursuit I know often doesn't include writing, [...]
What To Look For In A Good Story?
You may have been writing for many years and wondering whether what you’ve got on paper is any good. It’s possible that you may have taken some courses and learned about story structure. You might [...]
What To Give Your True Love?
“You have no idea how hard I've looked for a gift to bring You. Nothing seemed right. What's the point of bringing gold to the gold mine, or water to the ocean. Everything I came [...]
Grow And Dazzle The World
"Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes Turn and face the strange Ch-ch-changes..." "Changes" by David Bowie (1971) Therapist Oliver James talks about the benefit of listening to the voice inside of us. Don't worry, it doesn't mean you're crazy if [...]
What’s Christmas Magic?
"The magi, as you know, were wise men - wonderfully wise men - who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were [...]