Geese! The first skein of spring just flew overhead in V formation, calling as they angled toward the river. I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. Perhaps this interminable winter will end after all.
Posted in Likes | Tagged a skein of geese, awesome, geese, inspiration, snow, Spring, yay | 1 Comment »
Some days are just off, for whatever reason. Days when you hit all the wrong buttons on your computer, make foolish mistakes because your brain isn’t firing on all cylinders, fumble everything you touch and your nose won’t stop bleeding. Yeah, it’s that kind of day for me.
What to do in the face of such pitfalls?
Keep going.
Apologize to self and others for calls not made, for eating too much cake (or not enough), for not finishing the to-do list or not writing the perfect story. Do better next time.
Even if it happens to be April Fool’s Day.
Posted in Other, Writing | Tagged creativity, facepalm, Motivation, persistence, Thoughts, work, writing | Leave a Comment »
In writing, brevity works not only as a function of space on a page, but the time that an audience is willing to spend with you.
A friend sent me an excellent article this morning, with some of the most useful advice I can think of for writers. It can also be one of the least welcome suggestions:
Keep It Short.
Danny Heitman’s essay uses this pithy guidance to sum up a lot of bits writers hear when trying to improve their craft: be concise, be concrete, be on point, write for your audience, etc. This does not mean blindly banging away on the Delete button, mind you:
I frequently hear champions of brevity advising writers to cut their word counts by scratching all the adjectives or adverbs… The point of brevity isn’t to chop a certain kind of word, but to make sure that each word is essential.
Short version, keep it short. (Although I can’t help myself, here’s one more quote from the article, this time citing John Kenneth Galbraith):
The gains from brevity are obvious; in most efforts to achieve it, the worst and the dullest go. And it is the worst and the dullest that spoil the rest.
Draft your short story, essay, poem, novel or recipe, then if you have a little time, put it aside. When you come back to it fresh, make friends with that Delete button.
Posted in Writing | Tagged brevity, creativity, Danny Heitman, editing, Fiction, finishing, how to, John Kenneth Galbraith, literature, New York Times, Thoughts, Writers, writing, writing advice | Leave a Comment »
Yes, yes, Google is busy building our new robot overlords, but in the meantime look at the cool stuff they do!*
In Apples Vs. Oranges: Google Tool Offers Ultimate Nutrition Smackdown, NPR’s The Salt reports that the folks at Reddit have uncovered yet another bit of excellence from our friends at Google: the nutritional comparison tool.
Cue whole minutes of searching for such face-offs as “compare sweet potatoes vs mashed potatoes”, “compare potatoes vs rice”, “compare beef vs pork”. And of course, the inevitable “compare bacon vs celery” … because the only stupid question is one you don’t ask, right?
(Strangely, “compare beaver tails vs. poutine” got me nothing, and I have to say I’m feeling a little judged right now, Google.)
If you’re interested in straight nutritional information, Google can help there too. Search for “how many carbs in french fries?” to get a summary table and handy sidebar of nutrition facts.
Thank you, robot overlords. Now I’m hungry.
* True, robot overlords are pretty cool too, in a “fictional view from afar” kind of way.
Posted in Likes | Tagged bacon, beaver tails, food, Google, handy, NPR, nutrition, poutine, reference tools, robot overlords | Leave a Comment »
It’s snowing, it’s too cold for the cat to go out, and my front steps are covered in a slurry of slush and ice but! I don’t care because today is the Spring Equinox!
March Equinox in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada was on
Thursday, March 20, 2014 at 12:57 PM EDT
That’s right, Google has a doodle, it’s the first day of Spring and day is (basically) as long as night. After a cold dark winter, that’s good news!
Look, kids, that big ball in the sky. Now do you believe in the Sun?
Posted in Holidays, Likes | Tagged good news, snow, spring equinox, winter, yay | Leave a Comment »
I’m home from a trip and happily catching up on work. Lots to do, so I will leave you with this link to Nina Paley’s essay on The Cult of Originality:
The trick is, what’s completely obvious to you isn’t obvious to anyone else. Many people can tell exactly the same story about exactly the same event, but if each speaks from their authentic point of view, each story will seem “original.”
Well, that helps take the pressure off. Now to see if I can’t apply some of that originality to my current projects. In other news, this weekend I discovered the Rijksmuseum’s terrific online digital library, learned to stack wood, and can now tell a male partridge apart from a female.
Posted in Likes | Tagged artists, arts, creativity, free images, home, inspiration, Nina Paley, originality, Rijksmuseum, work | Leave a Comment »
Here’s a deal for anyone interested in the (excellent) writing program Scrivener: for the next five-ish days, the deal site AppSumo is offering the program for $20. Scrivener usually sells for $45, and even the NaNoWriMo winner price is 50% off. (That’s how I got my copy and it was 20-odd bucks very well spent.) It’s also a wonderful way to write, in my experience. I used to write in Word. I’m much happier now.
No ties to either AppSumo or Literature & Latte, just a satisfied user of the latter. Still not sure if Scrivener is right for you? Check out the free trial versions for Mac and Windows, and bask in the joys of a program written by writers, for writers.
Posted in Likes, Writing | Tagged applications, creativity, deals, Literature & Latte, Scrivener, work, Writers, writing | Leave a Comment »
Yes, after much social media back and forth, The Amtrak Residency for Writers Is Now Accepting Applications. Like the idea of riding the rails with nothing to do but be inspired by the scenery and write write write? I know I do:) Check out all the details at Amtrak’s site:
#AmtrakResidency was designed to allow creative professionals who are passionate about train travel and writing to work on their craft in an inspiring environment. Round-trip train travel will be provided on an Amtrak long-distance route. Each resident will be given a private sleeper car, equipped with a desk, a bed and a window to watch the American countryside roll by for inspiration. Routes will be determined based on availability.
A desk too? Heaven!
Posted in Likes, Writing | Tagged #AmtrakResidency, Amtrak, artists, creativity, Fiction, finishing, free, fun, train travel, work, working holiday, Writers, writing, yay | Leave a Comment »
Another one for the “make change” column, this time for the knitters among us…
From a news piece in Australia today:
Knitters Wanted for Penguin Pullovers
The Penguin Foundation has a global callout for knitters to make pullovers for penguins in rehab. Penguins caught in oil spills need the little jumpers to keep warm and to stop them from trying to clean the toxic oil off with their beaks.
If you happen to be a Ravelry member there is a free pattern all ready to go. Extra sweaters are used for fundraising and educational purposes.
/because you can’t write all the time
Posted in Likes | Tagged animals, Australia, free pattern, knitting, oil spills, Penguin Foundation, penguins, Ravelry, rehabilitation, ridiculously cute, yay | Leave a Comment »
-
Recent Posts
She Said, He Said
-
-
Favorite Posts
Archives
Categories
It’s All So Random
What I’m Reading
You must be logged in to post a comment.