Steven Pinker on writing in the classic style
The guiding metaphor of classic style is seeing the world. The writer can see something that the reader has not yet noticed, and he orients… Read More »Steven Pinker on writing in the classic style
writing
Lovecraftian Theology; or, Holmes in the Hammam
This is a nice summary of the Lovecraftian worldview from James Lovegrove’s Sherlock Homes and the Miskatonic Monstrosities, to compare and contrast with your own.… Read More »Lovecraftian Theology; or, Holmes in the Hammam
Harrison Bergeron: Kurt Vonnegut imagines true equality
THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody… Read More »Harrison Bergeron: Kurt Vonnegut imagines true equality
Haruki Murakami on Writing: Talent. Focus. Endurance.
These might be the most important qualities for doing anything. Talent In every interview I’m asked what’s the most important quality a novelist has to… Read More »Haruki Murakami on Writing: Talent. Focus. Endurance.
Arthur C. Clarke on Immortality and Decadence, Death and Life
… it was the two extremes of human population range that fascinated him most of all. They very young and the very old – both… Read More »Arthur C. Clarke on Immortality and Decadence, Death and Life
Wonder Stories: Early Science Fiction
“I tried questioning him. I pointed at a pyramid and asked ‘People?’ and indicated the two of us. He set up a negative sort of… Read More »Wonder Stories: Early Science Fiction
James Lovegrove Reveals the Truth About Sherlock Holmes
The manuscripts arrived at my house a fortnight later, and I unsealed the package straight away and got to reading. The paper was yellowed and… Read More »James Lovegrove Reveals the Truth About Sherlock Holmes
Intuition plus Iteration: George Saunders on Writing as Editing
Make it better. Make it more specific. We often discuss art this way: the artist had something he wanted to express, and then he just,… Read More »Intuition plus Iteration: George Saunders on Writing as Editing
Technology (23): Elizabeth Eisenstein on how the printing press created new networks and sparked further innovation
Here’s Eisenstein again. There’s a lot at work: The combinatorial innovation that was the printing press created further opportunities for cross-pollination by breaking down old… Read More »Technology (23): Elizabeth Eisenstein on how the printing press created new networks and sparked further innovation
Writing and Reading as Technology (12): Elizabeth Eisenstein on How the Printing Press Changed Books
I’m working my way through Elizabeth Eisenstein’s excellent The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe, an abridged version of her two-volume The Printing Press as… Read More »Writing and Reading as Technology (12): Elizabeth Eisenstein on How the Printing Press Changed Books