I was out at a karaoke bar recently and someone sang 'What It's Like' by Everlast. This somewhat cheesy, quintessentially 90's song came out when I was a teen, and I've always known all the words but somehow I've never really heard them before. Or maybe it's that, being older and having a bit of …
Words to Control + F
When in the process of splashing out words for a new story, we all find ourselves writing words we don't need, repeating words, and being hacks in general. I've composed a list of these 'filler' words that I've found most often in my own work. Search for, and delete! Very: Delete any that aren't in …
Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders
Love, death, ghosts, and history. What a sad, funny, interesting and heart-squeezing novel. From Wikipedia: Many years ago, during a visit to Washington DC, my wife's cousin pointed out to us a crypt on a hill and mentioned that, in 1862, while Abraham Lincoln was president, his beloved son, Willie, died, and was temporarily interred …
I miss Thinking
In my late teens I used to go sit in all night cafe's by myself and think for hours on end. I imagined ways in which the world could work, other universes, strange consciousness, other creatures, alien landscapes--all without a smartphone or even a book. Just free refills of coffee and my imagination. I miss …
Proust: Rambling thoughts, or more?
I've started listening to my first Proust, and it's not very engaging. It is interesting though. Mainly I'm thinking "this guy is just going on about inane memories that can have no importance to anyone other than himself, and yet this is a classic." I think that goes to show that you really can write …
Jonas David 