Mark Rubinstein Blog

Just another WordPress site

  • Home
  • Books
    • Mad Dog House
    • Love Gone Mad
    • The Foot Soldier
    • Mad Dog Justice
    • Return to Sandara
    • The Lovers’ Tango
  • Meet Mark
  • FAQS
  • News & Reviews
  • Media Room
  • Blog
  • Book Clubs
    • Mad Dog House Reading Group Guide
    • Love Gone Mad Reading Group Guide
    • The Foot Soldier Reading Group Guide
    • Mad Dog Justice Reading Group Guide
    • The Lovers’ Tango Reading Group Guide
  • Contact

A Good Story is Disturbing

February 4, 2014 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

2014-02-03-disturbing2-thumbAs David Mamet told me, “If Hamlet comes home from school, and his dad’s not dead, and asks him how school was, it’s boring.”

As a psychiatrist and novelist, I’m aware that all good stories are disturbing. No matter how beautifully written or “literary,” a novel resonates deeply because the storyline tugs powerfully at us. It upsets, confounds and presents chaos, conflict, imbalance and upheaval — either within its character’s mind or circumstances.

As readers, we crave instability, disturbance, and uncertainty. They make us care about the characters and the outcome. We live vicariously through the anguish, turmoil and trouble the characters endure in a quest to reorder chaos — the disequilibrium — propelling the story.

Read more on the Huffington Post >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: About Books, Huffington Post Column Tagged With: books, Books news, Cinderella, Conflict, David Mamet, David Morrell, Disturbance, fear, Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl, Hamlet, Harlan Coben, Ian McEwan, Jane Hamilton, Janet Evonovic, John Irving, John Updike, Lisa Gardner, Philip Roth, Snow White, Stephen King, The Illiad, The Odyssey

The Secret to Writing a Best-selling Novel

January 22, 2014 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

2014-01-20-Algorithm-thumbI was intrigued by an article in the British publication the Telegraph which seemed quite extraordinary. The piece was entitled, “Scientists Find Secret to Writing a Best-selling Novel.”

For a writer, what could be more arresting than such a headline?

Among other things, the article said: “Computer scientists have developed an algorithm which can predict with 84 percent accuracy whether a book will be a commercial success — and the secret is to avoid clichés and excessive use of verbs.”

Read more on the Huffington Post >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: About Books, Huffington Post Column, On Writing Tagged With: Adjectives, Adverbs, Best Sellers, Books news, Human Soul, imagination, Nouns, Pacing, Popular Novels, Secret Recipe, The Hobbit, The Lord Of The Rings, Verbs, Watership Down, Writing Style

Character Is Destiny

January 14, 2014 by Mark Rubinstein Leave a Comment

2014-01-13-character-thumb

People often talk about a novel being plot-driven or character-driven. For me, that can be an artificial distinction. For my taste, the best novels — those that capture me and make me feel sorry the read is coming to an end — are those driven by both plot and by the protagonist’s character or personality.

I’ve always felt the most engaging novels are those whose narrative drives involve conflict and uncertainty. They’re novels whose plot — along with other attributes — makes me wonder what’s going to happen next. In essence, I’ve always believed a good story is quite disturbing or plumbs a deep truth — one that’s either obvious (think of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl) or draws me on some level of which I may be unaware (think of Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent or Jane Hamilton’s A Map of the World). In my view, a novel’s plot is vital for it to be compelling.

Read more on the Huffington Post >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: About Books, Huffington Post Column, On Writing Tagged With: Book Protagonist, Books news, characters, Good Books, plot, Protagonist, Reading, Screenwriting, storytelling, writing, writing a novel, Writing Advice

Your Brain on Books

January 7, 2014 by Mark Rubinstein

2014-01-05-manreadingbook.jpg

I was fascinated by an article dated January 4, 2014 in the Science section of The Independent, a British newspaper. The article noted research done at Emory University. It revealed that reading a gripping novel can trigger measurable changes in brain function, lingering for as long as five days. The research found reading a compelling book may cause heightened connectivity and neurological changes in the brain which registered in the left temporal cortex, an area associated with language reception and other important brain functions such as sensory and motor activity.

Professor Gregory Berns, a neuroscientist and author of the study, said, “The neural changes we found associated with physical sensation and movement systems suggest that reading a novel can transport you into the body of the protagonist. We already knew that good stories can put you in someone else’s shoes in a figurative sense. Now we’re seeing that something may also be happening biologically.”

Read more on the Huffington Post >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: About Books, Huffington Post Column, thriller Tagged With: Biological, Biology Of Reading, books, Books news, Brain Science, Emory University, emotional wellness, Heart Pounding, Improve Memory, language, Learning, Mental Wellness, Mind.Body.Soul, Muscle-Memory, Neurological Changes, Neuroscientists, Protagonist, Reading, Science Of Reading, Study, thrillers

A Book-World Wish List for 2014

December 24, 2013 by Mark Rubinstein

 2013-12-30-abookworldHP-thumbAs 2014 approaches, I think about what I would like to see happen in the world of books. I know they often say, “Be careful what you wish for,” but here are my wishes for the coming year.

Read more on the Huffington Post >>

 

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: About Books, bookstores, Huffington Post Column, library, novel Tagged With: books, Books news, bookstores, eBooks, fiction, libraries, New Year, Wish List, Wishes

Writer to Writer: Madiba A to Z: The Many Faces of Nelson Mandela — A Talk With Danny Schechter

December 19, 2013 by Mark Rubinstein

Danny Schechter is an Emmy Award-winning producer for ABC News, and the author of 16 books. He’s produced and directed six documentary films about Nelson Mandela.

Danny wrote a fascinating book about Nelson Mandela, entitled Madiba: A to Z. He talked with people ranging from Thabo Mbeki to Nadine Gordimer; from Mandela’s prison cellmates to his guards; from former presidents and cabinet ministers to his closest friends and family members. Madiba: A to Z paints an intimate portrait of Nelson Mandela, and wrestles with the questions Mandela himself raised: What is forgiveness? What are justice and equality? How long must the long walk to freedom go on before we are free?

Read more on the Huffington Post >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: About Books, Huffington Post Column, Interviews Tagged With: Books news, Danny Schechter, Madiba, Nadine Gordimer, Nelson Mandela, South Africa, Thabo Mbeki

Staying Alive in a Digital World: A Talk with an Indie Bookstore Owner

December 9, 2013 by Mark Rubinstein

 

2013-12-09-stayingalive_HPimage-thumbAll book-lovers know the digital revolution is having an impact on independent bookstores. Except for Barnes & Noble, the chains are gone. Fewer and fewer independent bookstores have survived the onslaught of online retailing. I thought it would be illuminating to talk with Annie Philbrick, co-owner of the Bank Square Bookstore, an independent business located in Mystic Connecticut.

Despite enormous competition from online retailers, and though the store was closed for weeks in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the Bank Square Book Store has remained a vital resource for book lovers in the community. Annie provides insight about her strategies for surviving, and, in fact, thriving, and talks about the state of retail book-selling today.

Read more on the Huffington Post >>

 

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: About Books, bookstores, Huffington Post Column, Mark Rubinstein Tagged With: authors, Barnes And Noble, Books news, Bookseller, Bookselling, bookstores, Digital, Digital World, eBooks, Social Life, Thriller, Writers

‘What If?’: The Big Question

December 3, 2013 by Mark Rubinstein

2013-12-02-markrubinstein_HPlightbulbphoto-thumbIn a previous Huffington Post article, I discussed the almost dreamlike process by which I write a novel. There is a coalescence of past and present; the melding of my own and others’ experiences. The article concluded by saying that drawing from life and imagination is at the heart of my novels, but each story begins in a unique way.

I’ve often been asked how the concept for Love Gone Mad originated, given its twists, turns and many machinations. Readers want to know how the initial idea came into being. I recall a specific incident that led to the thought of the novel.

Read more on the Huffington Post >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: About Books, Huffington Post Column, Mark Rubinstein, novel, On Writing Tagged With: authors, Books news, experience, novels, readers, what if, writing

The Nightmare of a New Novel

November 26, 2013 by Mark Rubinstein

A sense of incipient dread spreads though me when I first sit down to begin a new novel. No matter how many times I’ve done it before, the initial reaction is the same: where will this go? Will the attempt lead me to a dead end from which I can’t be extricated?

Perhaps it’s a crisis in confidence, but it’s far more than just a case of writer’s block. In fact, I’m not sure “writer’s block” is a valid name for this state of mind.

A novel is an organic thing. In a very real sense, it lives, breathes and takes on a life of its own, independent of my initial outline or plot summary. The outline never ensures full-blooded characters, not does it guarantee a rich plot, with compelling narrative drive. Hopefully, the story will grow or even change direction from the first plot summary, and the end result will be something I’d never anticipated. I never truly know the outcome — even as I’m traveling the novel’s trajectory — which can be part of the pleasure and nightmare of writing. In fact, whenever I look at the final product — the published novel — I find myself wondering where it all came from.

Once I barge past that initial feeling of immobilization, the writing assumes its own energy. Many things emerge. They seem to come from some deep mental recess. The experience can seem like a mystifying, dreamlike process, or even a strange form of magic.

But it’s not magic. Rather, mine is the writer’s oneiric landscape over which the quest occurs to capture in words, the thoughts and feelings of my characters in their turbulent stories.

I wonder if every writer experiences this when beginning a new work. I don’t know. I can only speak for myself.

Some people claim to experience this peculiar form of paralysis they call “writer’s block.” It seems to me, they just can’t get past the nightmarish fear of not knowing where it will all go, and beginning the hard work a novel demands — the brutal and beautiful slog of writing fiction.

Mark Rubinstein
Author of Mad Dog House and Love Gone Mad

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: Huffington Post Column, Mark Rubinstein, novel, On Writing Tagged With: Books news, fiction, How to Start Writing a Novel, Writer's Block, writing, writing a novel

Writer to Writer: A Conversation with David Mamet

November 19, 2013 by Mark Rubinstein

David Mamet is one of the most acclaimed, and eclectic writers of our time. As a playwright, he has won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for Glengarry Glen Ross and Speed-the-Plow. Other plays have included The Duck Variations, Sexual Perversity in Chicago and American Buffalo.

House of Games; Things Change; Homicide; Oleanna; The Spanish Prisoner; The Winslow Boy; State and Main; Spartan; Redbelt; Homicide; and the HBO film, Phil Spector, are among the feature films he’s written and directed.

Read more on the Huffington Post >>

Please share...Share on FacebookShare on Google+Tweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInPin on Pinterest

Filed Under: About Books, Huffington Post Column, On Writing, thriller Tagged With: Books news, Glengarry Glen Ross, Hbo, Phil Spector, Pulitzer Prize, Read more David Mamet, Speed-The-Plow, Three War Stories

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

Connect:

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on LinkedInFollow Us on GoodreadsFollow Us on Scribd

Recent Posts

  • Adrian McKinty Had Given Up On Writing: A Late Night Phone Call Changed Everything
  • David Morrell: Finding Inspiration, Transcending Genres, and Going the Distance
  • Don Winslow and the Making of a Drug War Epic
  • My talk with Lee Child about his “contract” with readers
  • C.J. Box on the Modern Western & Crime Thrillers

Archives

  • August 2019
  • June 2019
  • February 2019
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012

Categories

  • About Books
  • Aging
  • Awards
  • book launch
  • bookstores
  • courtroom drama
  • creativity
  • crime
  • doctor
  • Dog Tales
  • health
  • Huffington Post Column
  • Interviews
  • library
  • Love Gone Mad
  • Mark Rubinstein
  • medial thriller
  • novel
  • On Writing
  • Podcast
  • psychological thriller
  • Psychology Today Columns
  • Reviews
  • The Foot Soldier
  • thriller
  • Uncategorized
  • war

Copyright © 2015 Mark Rubinstein