Anil Dash: Make better documents.
In my day job I regularly create and work with documents of various kinds, and I could stand to remember this advice. #link
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Tag: writing
In my day job I regularly create and work with documents of various kinds, and I could stand to remember this advice. #link
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Another blur of a month couple of months goes by, this time mostly busy with work, which is a good thing. You’ll never see me complaining about getting paid! More…
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A useful summary of that other big screenwriting book (the first one being Robert McKee’s Story, which I’ve had for decades but never finished). #link
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“Writing makes you not like yourself very much, I’m afraid. I think anyone would feel the same if they’d looked that deeply into themselves for a couple of years. I’m having to rebuild that now, my acceptance and liking of myself, because I’ve so examined myself from so many angles in such an unflattering way.” #link
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A fantastic repository for would-be screenwriters or anyone interested in the making of film. #link
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April was quiet enough. I enjoyed WrestleMania weekend, even if I wasn’t moved to write much about it. My Twitter thread is here, though you might need the context of the show itself to follow along. As always, the NXT TakeOver show was the highlight.
As I mentioned previously, April saw a few actual trips to the cinema for me, to see Rampage, Lu Over the Wall and The Breadwinner, the last of which is one of my favourite films of the year thus far.
I started upping my rate of movies watched in May, which I’ll elaborate on in a separate post. I’ve also been watching more streaming TV as of late. More…
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Short fiction by m’learned colleague over at Thumped. #link
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The short answer is yes, and the points made here are transferable to other forms of cultural criticism. #link
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A different approach to publishing stories, from the author of Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, only available as a limited-edition degradable print (a bit precious, that) or a PDF to print at home or read on your screen of choice (a bit limiting, when something that makes better use of HTML’s potential could be more rewarding). #link
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My second feature for Bandcamp Daily was published mid-month, this one on a selection of bands exploring new directions in grindcore. Again, it’s not a definitive guide, nor meant to be one; it’s a selection of artists across a spectrum that have caught my attention over time, and which fit the brief. I’m very happy with how it turned out; cheers to my editor Jes Skolnik for their work in that regard. More…
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This goes for journalistic writing as well as for fiction. #link
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Fantastic advice for writers, especially the parts about considering the reader (and the editor, who is also a reader, not just a butcher — and I mean butcher in the best craftsperson sense). #link
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In case I’m ever stuck for which one to use. #link
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It’s a trap I’ve fallen into myself, which is ridiculous because what am I if not working class? Also, like McInerney I wouldn’t articulate any distinction between the working class and the ‘lumpenproletariat’, since there’s as much if not more absence of consciousness to be found in the middle and upper classes. #link
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The Thin Blue Line didn’t really get going due to the Medium layoffs. But what little is there is still useful, and hopefully Bobbie Johnson will pick it up again in the near future. #link
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I really like Saunders’ short stories, but was wary of the prospect of his new novel, till I read this and remembered how self-effacing he is about his writing and his process. See also: the Chekhov–Saunders Humanity Kit, a sort of web-based riff on Saunders’ short fiction MFA class at Syracuse. #link
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The writer and script editor collecting tweeted thoughts on various TV and film type things. Can’t say I agree with everything, and certainly not his take on the Ghostbusters reboot (it’s not a fraction as funny as it thinks it is, and I fucking hate the Holtzmann character). But his tweets on Rogue One get to the nuts and bolts of why it doesn’t really work. My own review is superficial in hindsight, too forgiving of its flaws, but it’s a fairly superficial movie that I was evaluating in the context of a greater disappointment. #link
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How writing appears is integral to its function. It’s depressing how many people can’t grasp that, even so-called ‘writers’. #link
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Some of this is snark, naturally. But most of it is dead on, as they say up here in Dundalk. #link
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I picked up Scrivener recently via Boing Boing; it’s a lot to take in but will come in handy for some writing projects I’ve got in mind. See also: Using the Scrivener Binder to Organise Your Novel (or other project). #link
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Irish writers but universal themes. 'The Visit' was the winner, though my pick would’ve been Jane Casey’s discomfiting tale of everyday horror. #link
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In this house we’re probably the only people who haven’t seen Stranger Things among all the world's Netflix subscribers, but the issue discussed here is one that’s been a thing a lot longer. And it’s a problem with story-arc shows in general, when the main narrative thrust is too slow-burn to let the individual episodes stand alone. #link
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Decent stuff on the writing process; writers are problem solvers, not just ‘creatives’. [c/o Pinboard/infovore] #link
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Good advice for writing in general. #link
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It’s not even about fashion, really; it’s a touching tribute by a father (the novelist Michael Chabon) to his son, a young man he doesn’t fathom at all and yet understands profoundly. #link
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Can't add any more to what Tim Carmody says here. #link
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It confirms what was already known -- that while males dominate Hollywood cinema -- but the infographic breakdown makes tangible what's too easy an abstract notion to ignore. #link
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