Posts tagged with writing
“ What you have to say is what you have to say.”
(Source: The Globe and Mail)
Letters to punctuation
Emdashes recently asked readers to contribute letters to their favorite punctuation marks; I think this one takes the cake:
TO: The Period
FROM: Western Union
Regret that telegrams never used a period STOP Official standards required replacing period with word stop STOP This was true for entire history of the telegram despite efforts to stop stop STOP Powers that be made sure that efforts to stop stop stopped STOP Happy to report that in 2006 use of telegram came to a stop stopping use of stop STOP Repeat there will be no more telegrams period STOP
Western Union
Seems meta in a way that I can completely get behind. No one has addressed the exclamation point yet which I may have to rectify!
“ One must not put a loaded rifle on the stage if no one is thinking of firing it.”
Auckland Zinefest is approaching!
Come along and get a copy of Subject’s second issue, which quite literally has words and pictures in it. We’ll also have some other words and pictures, printed out on pieces of paper, and stapled together.
In even more exciting news, Amanda is going to be right next door to us with her own picture and word based products!
It’s a great day, and you can get a whole swag full of interesting, unique stuff for like $20, or, goods of equal value. So come.
Yes! Come!
I will have a new zine, some copies of old zines & some of Cameron’s new poetry zine “declarations and wine”.
As far as i know, old zine friends like Moira and Amber are going to be there also, so it will be just like 2003 all over again.
xo!
One paragraph at a time
Maya Stein writes the only sort of poetry I like; it’s evocative storytelling which uses beautiful metaphors & makes me want to write.
stage right
she crouches at the edge of the stage: poised, predatory.
over the duration of rehearsals, the show breaks down to a list of parts - her focus is the smooth, effortless machinations of a successful backstage crew. there is only time, even beats, in between acts; props to be laid out for the next part; a responsibility to eliminate any element of surprise for the performers.
she holds the props to lay out for the next act. the moment comes and a silent gun fires. she counts the beats of music which wash over the gap, moves through the passage, sets up the stage and resumes the starting position for the next round.
the audience barely notices, but there are two performances here tonight.
spines
winter means that the weeks are leaves of a book and the weekends are spines of the great stories of our time. the spines connect the leaves into an unending accordion. if it isn’t for the spines you can’t connect the leaves; if it isn’t for the leaves you don’t get to the spines. you can’t just have all leaves or all spines because that isn’t a book - it’s just two piles: one of stitching and glue, one of paper.
there is less than 6 weeks to go for daylight saving to start again. then, it’s a case of heading off to the bookstore.
Living the Prolific Life: A How-to Guide
lists commonalities between prolific people in different disciplines and offers tips on how to do this for yourself.
how to become a writer
hah. pick which parts actually are too true - i’ll give you a hint - one is the law school thing. to everyone who graduated law school - i salute you. i am thankful i knew enough about myself and what i wanted at that point to drop out.
short form notes
I sometimes wonder how other people write: how they pull together disparate ideas, how they form their direction on a subject, if they too sometimes start off with an idea in mind but then after working things through change direction.
I have always been a short form writer, and my tendency in text is to edit and edit and edit. This has always been of slight amusement - potentially only to myself - as I throw words out verbally to explore ideas and tell stories more than anything else. It’s not uncommon for my viewpoint to change through conversation, though sometimes it can take a long time to get there. I have no opportunity to edit and be as acute verbally as I wish to be on the page.
I have scribbles on coasters and napkins, in my notebook and on the back of the carbon copy of my Warrant of Fitness form. Sometimes they become posts here, somewhere else, part of a zine, or shrink to a Twitter exchange. I have created several outlets for different types of writing to cater to all kinds of ideas - whether I feel my opinion is definite or discussion is open. I love that freedom, especially when I know that to get the full picture you need to have all the information. Even the web trail is only what appears online.
I think this is exactly why people start blogs with grand ideas about content and form, only to then get caught up in their newer/better/faster idea. I think that starting out, with some ideas, some notes, and not too much expectation is the way to build something that fosters community, discussion and makes you new friends.
