Tag: writing

Essay

Most Writers Can Relate to Wednesday’s Aversions to Being Edited

In many ways, writing is the act of saying I, of imposing oneself upon other people, of saying listen to me, see it my way, change your mind. It’s an aggressive, even a hostile act.  -Joan Didion While Tim Burton’s interpretation of Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) in, what else, Wednesday can be more than occasionally too mawkish for comfort, there is one thing he and … Continue reading Most Writers Can Relate to Wednesday’s Aversions to Being Edited

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Essay

Do Not Come for My Em Dash

Considering that very few news items generate an interest in literature, the ongoing conversation about whether or not an em dash is the ultimate telltale sign of AI-generated writing has been especially notable. Not just because it’s marked a clear line between those who are fans (a.k.a. devoted users) of the em dash and those who are not, but because, of all the telltale signs … Continue reading Do Not Come for My Em Dash

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Essay

Sigrid Nunez Brings Up a Valid Point in The Friend About Technology’s (Lack of) Use in Literature

Most people still clinging to the notion of being a writer (or at least a “pure of heart” one) are likely classifiable, at this juncture, in the “old soul” category. As such, they tend to romanticize the era when everything wasn’t dominated by technology. More specifically, smartphones and the internet. And among the many hard truths/pearls of wisdom that Sigrid Nunez offers in The Friend … Continue reading Sigrid Nunez Brings Up a Valid Point in The Friend About Technology’s (Lack of) Use in Literature

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Prose Poetry

28/11/2024 by Fabiana Real-Bravo

Paula’s notebook. It’s where her lists live. She has metropolises of tasks. Her duties have taken over the red lines, and expanded to the margins schools teach us not to invade. The pages are supposed to be neat, organized, saturated with chemical equations and drawings of covalent bonds. However, reality is everlasting. Obligations rule her mind and her hands. So the pages are filled with … Continue reading 28/11/2024 by Fabiana Real-Bravo

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Criticism, Essay

What Should You Do When You’re Accused of Plagiarizing But Don’t Really Feel That You Have Based on Your Own Set of Values?, Or: I Can’t Believe Plagiarism Is Incontrovertibly, Inarguably Objective!

Everyone always wants to speak from the outraged and victimized perspective of a person who has been plagiarized, never taking into account the perspective of the one accused. The following is coming from the latter standpoint. The people who believe what they believe (i.e., “plagiarism fundamentalists”) will not be convinced otherwise long enough to open their mind even a single iota about this. But still, … Continue reading What Should You Do When You’re Accused of Plagiarizing But Don’t Really Feel That You Have Based on Your Own Set of Values?, Or: I Can’t Believe Plagiarism Is Incontrovertibly, Inarguably Objective!

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Criticism

Says I: Against the Repetitive of Use of “Says” and “Said” in Prose

Something has happened in the writing world recently. A sudden sea change in favor of the repetitious use of a particular four-letter word…describing characters’ utterances. Said. Where once it would have been unthinkable to see such lazy writing (and it is lazy, not “simple,” as many writers are fond of using as a defense), it’s now deemed the norm for “straightforward, unpretentious” writing. Writing that … Continue reading Says I: Against the Repetitive of Use of “Says” and “Said” in Prose

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Essay, Writing and Pop Culture

On That And Just Like That… Moment, Or: Asking A Writer Not To Write About Certain People Is A Particularly Egregious Form of Censorship

As trouble in “paradise” inevitably keeps mounting for the Bradshaw/Shaw reunion, it was plain to see that things were already going to be majorly problematic when Aidan’s (John Corbett) ex-wife, Kathy (Rosemarie DeWitt), called Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) to arrange a little sit-down. Although she tried to tell herself (and her friends) it wasn’t weird, Carrie is no stranger to the uncomfortable revelations that arise … Continue reading On That And Just Like That… Moment, Or: Asking A Writer Not To Write About Certain People Is A Particularly Egregious Form of Censorship

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Essay

Maybe The Only “Good” Thing About The Attack on Rushdie Is That It Proves Literature Still Has Power… Or Not, Since It Only Does If You “Speak Ill” of a Very Particular Subject

Salman Rushdie’s August 12th stabbing in “idyllic” Chautauqua, New York brought up many emotions for those with enthusiasm for literature (and even those without it). Or, more accurately, the freedom of speech element it champions. On the one hand, there is something “encouraging” about the fact that the power of someone’s words in novel form could hold such weight. On the other, that it took … Continue reading Maybe The Only “Good” Thing About The Attack on Rushdie Is That It Proves Literature Still Has Power… Or Not, Since It Only Does If You “Speak Ill” of a Very Particular Subject

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Essay

“The Things I Once Enjoyed Just Keep Me Employed Now”: On the Benefits of Artistic Obscurity

There is an undeniable sadness to knowing that—short of a goddamn miracle—you’re going to end up dying in obscurity like Kafka. Oh sure, you can tell yourself you’ll be that “rare exception” and that you’ve got “true talent” (as if that’s what publishing is about) that outshines all the rest, but you may eventually find that you aren’t rare and talent isn’t enough. And yet, … Continue reading “The Things I Once Enjoyed Just Keep Me Employed Now”: On the Benefits of Artistic Obscurity

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