Storytellersunplugged

By Richard Steinberg This month's essay is dedicated with love and gratitude to Sgt. Bryan J. Tutten, 33, of St. Augustine, Fla., who died Dec. 25 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his position.  He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, and also, to: Pfc. Brian L. Gorham, 21, of Woodburn, Ky., who died Dec. 31  of wounds suffered in Afghanistan when his vehicle encountered an improvised ... Read More

By Richard Steinberg “It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself,” Ralph Waldo Emerson Our Bear In Mind is deep within the world right now, creating light and words.  And as the world is deeply in need of both light and words, it’s a pleasure to fill in for her today.  I’ll see you again on the 22nd. Abraham Pascal was a writer. True, he was never published.  He lived his ... Read More

Frank Wydra December 13, 2007 The imagined thump of Santa’s hobnailed boot on the oak planks of the Gonquin, reminds us that the season of giving is here. Al, dispensing mugs of nog, says to no one in particular, “Y’know, finding the right present is always a problem.” Edgar, cream tinging his mustache, says, “That, my man, is because you have it backwards. ’Tis better to receive than to give.” Mary, hand flying to her mouth, says, “Edgar!” He shrugs. “It’s true. I like getting things more ... Read More

By Richard Steinberg This month’s column is dedicated to the sacrifices of Capt. Benjamin D. Tiffner, 31, of West Virginia; 5th Special Forces Group and Staff Sgt. Patrick F. Kutschbach, 25, of Pennsylvania; 10th Special Forces Group. Thank you guys, stand easy. “I've been struggling with this toast for several weeks. Should I strike a melancholy, time passes sort of tone? A humorous, light hearted thing? Maybe stentorian wisdom seasoned with a soupcon of slightly controlled emotion? But instead of such frippery, I decided on ... Read More

By Richard Steinberg “Coleridge wasa drug addict. Poe was an alcoholic. Marlowe was killed by a man whom he was treacherously trying to stab. Pope took money to keep a woman's name out of a satire then wrote a piece so that she could still be recognized anyhow. Chatterton killed himself. Byron was accused of incest. Do you still want to be a writer - and if so, why?” Bennett Cerf It’s a question I ask myself frequently.  It’s not to be “happy,” whatever that means.  Referring ... Read More

By Richard Steinberg No cute, pithy, or intriguing quote to kick off this month’s entry. Just some names and numbers. Nelson Alberto Aguiar Ramírez, 58 Sentence: 13 years Osvaldo Alfonso Valdés, 38 Sentence: 18 years Pedro Pablo Alvarez Ramos, 55 Sentence: 25 years. Pedro Argüelles Morán, 56 Sentence: 20 years Antonio Augusto Villareal Acosta, age not known Sentence: 15 years It’s good we discuss our craft here. It’s even better that through original entries and well thought out comments we engage in a spirited dialogue about what it means to be a writer, about ... Read More

By Richard Steinberg for Steve Savile “En kedja är inte starkare än sin svagaste länk.” Steve Saville is off showing us all – by example – how to be a human being; so I’m gladly filling in for him today, as Brian Knight will this time next month. As many at Storytellers Unplugged have volunteered to do in the coming time, for as long as it takes Steve to get back to us. Why? Why will we (who all are overburdened ... Read More

By Richard Steinberg "Spend all your time waiting For that second chance For a break that would make it okay. There’s always one reason To feel not good enough And it’s hard at the end of the day. I need some distraction Oh beautiful release Memory seeps from my veins. Let me be empty And weightless and maybe I’ll find some peace tonight," ---Sarah McLachlan Some peace tonight. I’d like that. Some . . . On any night . . . But unless I pay Mephistopheles or Archangel Michael (I’m never exactly sure which) their required tithes, I’ll have ... Read More

by Richard Steinberg “I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have," Leonardo da Vinci38 pages 266 paragraphs 639 lines 5,862 words 33,208 characters The first chapter of my recently begun 19th novel. Crap. Technically well done crap. Compelling in places, stirring in others, the story advances, characters begin development, shape and form begin to present themselves. Still crap. Crap . . . because it’s not what it could be, not what it should be, not what it would be. It lingers rather than ... Read More

Richard Steinberg “Writing is so difficult that I feel that writers, having had their hell on earth, will escape all punishment hereafter,” Jessamyn West Consider what it takes to sit down: the ether of the brain must consider sitting, synapses then fire to consider whether or not it is safe to sit, other synaptic responses are required to decide where to sit, messages must be sent along the neural network and Central Nervous System to activate muscle and bone compliance, nerves on the ... Read More