When I’m looking for writing inspiration, first and foremost I’ll turn to my bookshelf. But second? I’ll turn to my television. Movies and prose fiction are close relatives, in my opinion, and there’s much that writers can learn from their silver-screen...

When my British mother slipped on an apron, four active, hungry children knew food was on the way. And her shout to don our hand-stitched “pinnies,” was as clear a call to dinner as any bell. As I write this, I realize something obvious but never questioned. My...