I just finished reading The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson. One of the rare non-fiction books that I read in one sitting, straight through without pauses. Ronson’s writing is really funny and while he tackles some very serious issues he handles them with a light touch. While the titular(…)
I Regret to Inform You That My Wedding to Captain Von Trapp Has Been Canceled. Priceless.
People talk about how important it is to trigger all five senses in writing all the time. True. But how to do so in an interesting way? I just read a fascinating article (The smell of virtue: Clean scents promote reciprocity and charity.) about the influence of scent on behavior – clean scents, in particular.(…)
We all have pet peeves. Writers tend to have a lot of very nitpicky, word-related pet peeves – hobbyhorses, in Laurence Sterne’s phrasing – and the word decimate is one of mine. People use decimate to mean “wiped out” or “totally destroyed” all the time. The usage is common enough that it’s become correct, according(…)
I figured out pretty early on that one of the best ways to pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses in my own writing was to find readers. And, using the principle of “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine,” I decided that one way to acquire readers would be to sharpen my own skills as(…)
Apologies for the brief absence – I was très occupée. More to come soon, but in the meanwhile, I’ve been listening to the song below on repeat for the past few days. Enjoy.
