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Writing . . . is a license to be curious. I, for example, am interested in how things work, in how a creative movie deal is structured, how a conglomerate is formed. How a tooth is reconstructed or an aorta patched. How a geologist pinpoints a possible oil strike, how an immunologist isolates a virus. How a fire investigator knows when a fire is an ( Read more... ) -
JKR's U.S. editor on channeled kosher raisins
It's over a year old, but I only now just read Arthur A. Levine's post on what makes a good book good:
...isn’t this the exact question a writer asks himself when sitting down to write? What do I have to say that is original, that contributes, that hasn’t already been done, said, written a thousand times before ( Read more... ) -
burning and learning
What Helen Radice said:
As I've argued before, you have to make music matter enough for people to decide to invest in it, not expect it to pay. If you want a classical CD, you have to fund it, just as if you want a music lesson, or a nice harp. If you are poor, hopefully a civilised society that cares about the arts has sponsorship opportunities ( Read more... ) -
"N'oublie pas de donner le bonjour..."
Mrrrr. I need another obsession hobby like a fish needs a flamethrower, but there's a part of me that's actively itching to sit down with my Harrap's, get a grip on all the damned prepositions and pronouns, and then translate a slew of French pop songs into (1) colloquial English and/or (2) singable English. And then to put in enough time at the ( Read more... ) -
damning the doing, but doggedly doing anyway
matociquala: All you can do as an artist is, when it's your turn, do your damnedest to tear the cord out of the motherfucking wall.Today's tally ( Read more... ) -
blessings and amusements
- Via marymary: Erin Noteboom's "Deep calls to deep at the noise of thy waterfalls". Wow.
- Yaki manu (dumplings with sesame soy sauce) and chapjae (clear noodles with beef and veggies) at Manna.
- This video of Francis Cabrel performing "Je sais que tu danses." I've owned the studio recording of this song for years, but there's an intensity to this ( Read more... )
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"It is not for us to say..."
Feeling distinctly grotty instead of the slightly unwell that's plagued me the past week-and-a-bit, so it's tea and Robitussin and naps this weekend. Overall, though, it was a pretty good week -- sold a poem, attended a fun cocktail party (with really good crabcakes -- almost no breading and a perfect mustard sauce -- and good conversation, too), ( Read more... ) -
echo and survey
I forget what the phrase is, but you know how one might meander along, mulling over something in a vague-ish way and then someone on LJ neatly articulates it?
What matociquala said:
...people expect characters to act in accordance with stereotypes, not with actuality--and if they break those stereotypes, the writer often has to find ways to ( Read more... ) -
And ever and anon to be drawing forth thy Dagger...
From the in-box:
According to Rabbi Levi, Abraham said to God, 'If You seek to have a world, strict justice cannot be exercised; and if You seek strict justice, there will be no world. Do You expect to take hold of the well’s rope at both ends? You desire a world and You also desire justice? You can have only one of the two. If You do not relent a ( Read more... ) -
distracted and insufficiently caffeinated entry
Was up too late and up too early (in relation to the too-lateness, that is), and there was a rejection for two poems in my in-box when I opened it. And I don’t have enough left in the mental tank to get any new submissions out the door before midnight.
On the other hand, I’m not sick yet, my beta-reader remains awesome, and there are other good ( Read more... )