I tried writing a nice, normal story once, but I fell asleep in the middle of writing it.
Sorry, MacBook Air…
I checked out the current generation of MacBook Airs yesterday. I have an older (pre-butterfly keyboard) Air. Airs are cheap (for Apple) right now.
I could type quickly and accurately on it, but I really didn’t care for the shallow key travel, so I think I’m going to pass for now
Apple has been faulted for prioritizing thinness and style over function and reliability. For the price they command, I expect better than a keyboard that doesn’t feel much different than typing on the virtual keyboard on my iPad.
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/03/27/apple-apologizes-about-third-gen-keyboard-issues/
Beauty and the Beast, and changing writing styles
As a writer, I read a variety of material, and recently read a compilation of various versions of Beauty and the Beast. I found the following passage interesting, mainly because its style is so different than writing today:
She was not alarmed at the sentiments with which you might inspire her, and persuaded that her virtue was sufficient to guarantee her against the snares of love, she attributed her sensations to a simple curiosity to ascertain if there were still upon the earth men capable of loving virtue unembellished by exterior ornaments, which render it more brilliant and respectable to vulgar souls than its own intrinsic merit, and frequently, by their fatal attractions, obtain the reputation of virtue for the most abominable vices.
– Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve (Translated by James Robinson Planché)
That’s… one sentence.
Candy for the soul
If you spend enough time reading or writing, you find a voice, but you also find certain tastes. You find certain writers who when they write, it makes your own brain voice like a tuning fork, and you just resonate with them. And when that happens, reading those writers … becomes a source of unbelievable joy. It’s like eating candy for the soul.
— David Foster Wallace
Love and writing
I’ve heard the advice that if you are contemplating writing a book, you’d better REALLY be in love with it, because you are going to be living with it in your life for a long, LONG time…
Narrative Structure
A long and thoughtful piece by Maggie Stiefvater on narrative structure.
“… as a professional storyteller, it’s my job to know what is invisible (and thus costs the reader nothing) versus what is now outside the norm (and thus costs the reader something to process). I don’t mind asking the reader to work for things that are important to me, but I need to know when I’m doing it in order to make sure I can keep their overall load light enough that they don’t lose emotional investment and trade my novel for Netflix. “
Epics, Break-Up Songs, & That Old Chestnut, ‘Just Because You Don’t Like It Doesn’t Make It Bad’
The Last Evo
Read this, and let Maggie Stiefvater break your heart over a doomed car you’ll never see and will never drive
It delivered what every Evo always has: frantic, capable joy. It whispered what the Evo had whispered to thousands of drivers before me: Drive it like you stole it; drive it like there’s no tomorrow.
— Maggie Stiefvater, Driving the Last Brand-New Mitsubishi Evo to its Grave, at roadandtrack.com
Why word order matters
The radio news has been reporting that in the California wildfires, a grandmother and her two grandchildren “were reported killed by their relatives.”
Uh… no. They were reported by their relatives as having been killed. Their relatives didn’t kill them.
Harlan Ellison, 1934 – 2018
I had the pleasure of meeting Harlan Ellison several times. His writing continues to be an inspiration.
Oh, and he HATED the phrase “Sci-Fi.” Even now he must be screaming from his grave about that headline.
Harlan Ellison Dead: Legendary ‘Star Trek’, ‘A Boy And His Dog’ Sci-Fi Writer was 84