lost in ideaspace

When you're writing about a topic that fascinates you, it's easy—too easy—to zero in on the most interesting (to you) bits. Rabbit holes are fine for the casual newsletter or social media post, but in most cases, we owe our readers a comprehensive look

find a new way of working

Since I planned to discuss a recent documentary about Brian Eno, I began writing this by drawing an Oblique Strategies card. Lo and behold, I pulled the most famous one of all: I shuffled pretty thoroughly—what are the odds? This is the card everyone mentions when they explain these

knowledge of the instrument and an imagination

"Most of the other guitar solos that you hear performed on stage have been practiced over and over and over again," Frank Zappa complained to an interviewer. "They go out there, and they play the same one every night, and it's really just spotless."

imperfect and unpretentious

Getting started is the hard part. When I sit down to work, I'm uncomfortable. Itchy, antsy, easily distracted. I know why, too. For some reason, I'm convinced I need to know what words I'm going to write before I can write any words. Convinced,

checking for comfort

💡The inimitable Dave Crenshaw had me on his podcast recently. Our conversation touched on finding an audience, focusing on what matters, and learning from the competition. Worth a listen: Apple Podcasts, Spotify. A few months ago, I stumbled on Professor Robert Boice's wonderful tips for writers on the

revision and the wild spark

The fin makes the film. That's because a good, cohesive story works like a legal argument. Even if you marshal a terrific defense for your client in Acts One and Two, whiff the closing statement, and an innocent person is going to prison. No spoilers here, but David

the note butler

Last week, I wrote about how I pace the reader's experience using a standard manuscript page format. However, I forgot to include my inspiration for that essay. In an interview about his process, director Christopher Nolan discussed the pacing problem in the context of screenwriting: I try to

page pacing

You ever read a new e-book for what feels like a good stretch and then get antsy and tap to see where you are? And that little progress indicator is all the way left, zero daylight between where you are and the beginning of the book? And you're,

book blocks

The popular subreddit Oddly Satisfying features videos that tickle my brain just so, from feats of fine penmanship to spectacles of spotlessness. My favorite genre of these posts usually goes by "unclogging a drainage pipe." For example. (There are many more.) What could satisfy more oddly than a