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WRITING SAMPLES

The following samples provide a representative cross-section of I.J.'s recent work. Click the link at the end of each synopsis for the full text.

Next on the Tee, George W. Bush

It's common enough to see basketball players nubbing their golf drives thirty feet, movie actors embarrassing themselves by taking club in hand, and presidents nearly decapitating innocent spectators. But there are some foursomes we truly deserve to see play a round. more

Golf Monthly
Speech! Speech!

Speech! Speech!

Toasts are as much a part of a reception as the garter toss and cake cutting. But your guy doesn't have to be Vince Lombardi to deliver a stirring speech. All it takes is a little preparation and creativity. more

Bride's
Going the Full Nine: How to Be A Model Husband from the First Day of Pregnancy to the Last

Going the Full Nine: How to Be A Model Husband from the First Day of Pregnancy to the Last

A game plan for men awaiting the birth of their first child. more

Pregnancy
Uncle Hugh's Guide to Maintaining a Ten Handicap

Uncle Hugh's Guide to Maintaining a Ten Handicap

My Uncle Hugh is in his mid-fifties, carries forty extra pounds and walks like Benny Hill with a double hernia, yet he claims to maintain a ten handicap. I recently played a round with him to uncover his secrets... more

Golf Monthly

Wrestling the Alligator

I can hit a curveball, install a dimmer and make a reverse lay-up. So how come I can't wrap a present to save my life? more

Today's Bride

Dating 102

A meditation on dating phase two, which involves all the complications of dating phase one with twice the number of people. more

The Globe and Mail
At Home on the Range

At Home on the Range

Have you ever discovered the key to a perfect swing on the practice range only to see it fall apart before you reach the first green? You're not alone. more

Golf Monthly

Downsizing

With no signs of expansion slowing down, some organizational restructuring is required in the biggest organization of all. more

Winners' Anthology, Canadian Authors Association Short Story Contest 2001

The Average Guy's Guide to Looking Good at the Gym

Maybe you're not going to be crowned Mr. Universe anytime soon. But you can still look respectable in the attempt. more

Exercise for Men Only

Lightning in a Bottle: Five Tips for Using Metaphors and Similes Effectively

Handled judiciously, metaphors and similes can be powerful tools in the writer's arsenal. Misused, they can serve as distractions. Here are five guidelines for creating metaphors and similes that will help make your story stand out from the rest. more

Novel & Short Story Writer's Market

Tales of an Ectomorph

Peering up the side of my arm toward the dumbbell held atop it, I can?t help but think of my old dorm-mate Kevin, the kind of guy who looked like he?d been produced at a meat-packing plant... more

Beyond Fitness
The Crib

The Crib

My problem with Julian is getting worse. It happened again this morning, while I was standing over his crib, watching him sleep. more

Today's Parent

The Groom's Real Calendar

By now you?ve read several grooms? planning guides advising you when to announce your engagement, pick up your tux and take out cash to tip anyone within a six-mile radius. But those guides leave out a few important tidbits. Here's some straight advice from a groom who's been through it all and come out unscathed (mostly). more

Queensland Brides

Eye of the Beholder

Funny thing, my body. Yesterday I stepped out of the shower looking like an Olympic swimmer. Today I look like a cross between Tobey Maguire and my father. What the heck is going on? more

Beyond Fitness
A Beautiful Seduction

A Beautiful Seduction

Strolling along Sainte-Catherine Street in Montreal, mingling with the stylish shoppers enjoying the most concentrated stretch of commercial activity in Canada, one might feel he has slipped into a temporal fissure where old world meets new, modern bustle coalesces with European hospitality, an air of ease and composure belies something exciting humming constantly near the surface. This is Montreal's essential contradiction and its irresistible allure: Rather than a city caught between two eras, it is, instead, the model of a perfect marriage. more

Holidays for Couples
Gym Classes

Gym Classes

Ever wonder what you look like to others in the gym? I don?t. Okay, I do. I wonder all the time. The gym is like a field lab in which a number of different species exist--sometimes keeping a safe distance from one another, sometimes undertaking a cautious approach, sometimes even intermingling--and I?d like to know which species I belong to, mostly so that I don?t accidentally intrude on the territory of one whose biceps are much larger than mine. more

Beyond Fitness

Diary of a Pool Meltdown

Sure, I?ve finished no better than sixth in my fantasy pool over the past decade. Sure, I'm the guy whose players always end up missing time due to hangnails, vertigo or parasites. Sure, most of my cornerstone picks turn into Buddy Biancalana the moment I draft them. Despite all this, my gut told me 2004 was finally going to be my year. Here's how it went. more

Lindy's Baseball

15 Ways You Know You Were Born to Write

Can't decide whether you're a born scribe? This list will help. more

Writer's Digest
My Son the Poo-Poo Head

My Son the Poo-Poo Head

I'm not sure exactly when my five-year-old's blossoming vocabulary was replaced with an embryonic version of Chris Rock's stand-up, but the evidence can?t be denied. more

Today's Parent

Oceans of Time

The first page of my Bermuda guidebook offers this advice: "Slow down". more

National Post

50 Ways You Know Your Baby is Doing Well

If you have time to read this, that's number one. more

iParenting.com

Inside the Open

IJ Schecter's unforgettable account of the riveting 2006 Canadian Open. more

Golf Canada
Talking the Talk

Talking the Talk

The best way to conceal your neophyte status at the gym is to be aware of the top 20 things one should never say. more

Beyond Fitness
Kids Teach the Darndest Things

Kids Teach the Darndest Things

Sometimes big lessons come in small packages. One writer shares how acting like a 3-year-old improves his writing. more

Writer's Digest
True Love

True Love

"I never pictured it this way," Drew thought, as Cathy's father measured him with gentle eyes and an unnerving smile. Drew reminded himself that Mr. Banwood liked him. At least, he thought he did. more

Storyteller
Whistle While You Work: Golf at Whistler

Whistle While You Work: Golf at Whistler

Though each of the courses at Whistler is an artistic masterpiece, even more essential to Whistler's golf appeal is its philosophy in evidence at every turn. more

Golf Guide
Winter Wonderland

Winter Wonderland

As the cold snap brings an end to the golfing season, I'm left with only my dreams to keep me going through winter. If only those dreams could come true... more

Golf Monthly
Diary of a Pool Meltdown

Diary of a Fantasy Meltdown

Sure, I've finished no better than sixth in my fantasy pool over the past decade. Sure, I'm the guy whose players always end up missing time due to hangnails, vertigo or parasites. Sure, most of my cornerstone picks turn into Buddy Biancalana the moment I draft them. Despite all this, my gut told me this was finally going to be my year. more

Lindy's Fantasy Baseball
The Overbearing Camper

The Overbearing Camper

God was still a child, at least in our terms, when he enrolled at the summer camp where I worked. more

Eureka Literary Magazine

I.J. Schecter
43 Park Hill Road
Toronto, ON M6C 3N2
(416) 803-9847

© I.J. Schecter 2003

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