The logic of writing as you learned in schoolTurns out to mean little more than an obsession with transitionAnd the scattering of rhetorical tics – overused, nearly meaningless words and phrases. In fact.Indeed.On the one hand.On the other hand.Therefore.Moreover.However.In one respect.Whereas.Thus. These are logical indicators. Emphasizers. Intensifiers.They insist upon logic whether it exists or not.They … Continue reading Transition words
It was hard to narrow the list down to 5 books this year. So, I thought I’d share my top 4 and a collection of books that share 5th place. 1) Debt by David Graeber (Amazon): An anthropological dive into 5,000 years of human history from the lens of debt. I wrote an ode to … Continue reading 4+ books that might change your mind – 2020 Edition
“Your job as a writer is making sentences.Your other jobs include fixing sentences, killing sentences, and arranging sentences.If this is the case – making, fixing, killing, arranging – how can your writing possible flow?It can’t. Flow is something the reader experiences, not the writer. A writer may write painstakingly, Assembling the work slowly, like a … Continue reading Flow is something the reader experiences
Why are we talking about sentences?Why no talk about the work as a whole, about shape, form, genre, the book, the feature story, the profile, even the paragraph? The answer is simple.Your job as a writer is making sentences. Most of your time will be spent making sentences in your head. In your head.Did no … Continue reading Making sentences
Pay attention now:No matter how much you know or learn about syntax, grammar, and rhetoric,This small internal quaver, this inner disturbance, Is the most useful evidence you’ll ever get.Someday, you’ll be able to articulate what causes it.But for now, what’s important is to notice it. Noticing is always the goal. Actually, the goal right now … Continue reading Noticing that inner disturbance
“If you notice something, it’s because it’s important.But what you notice depends on what you allow yourself to notice, And that depends on what you feel authorized, permitted to noticeIn a world where we’re trained to disregard our perceptions. Who’s going to give you the authority to feel that what you notice is important?It will … Continue reading Noticing and authorization
A Learning a Day 