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I first heard the term “word salad” in a symbolic logic course. My professor used it to describe a certain type of philosophical discourse: the imprecise, the grandiloquent, and most importantly, the self-defeating or the meaningless. It’s the kind of philosophy that gets parodied — the kind that makes people think my BA is in […]
This is one of those times I just cannot believe I didn’t post this sooner. Instructions: to Thoroughly Happy, press play.
This is Constantin Stanislavski. If you’ve ever taken an acting class, you’ve studied him. He’s best remembered for his contributions to drama theory: attempts to create training for actors that will help them portray emotion realistically. Stanislavski’s system was at first based on the principle of “Emotional Memory”, the idea that an actor must prepare […]
[Written in 2012 but changed to #1 in the “Philosophy of Writing” series.] Let’s pretend for a moment that my silly little Philosophy of Writing series is a useful workshop or a university class rather than something that has been inconsistent and possibly entirely unhelpful. If that were the case, “How Not to Write a Novel” […]
Stuff You Need: the chapter from your manuscript in standard English that you prepared in previous posts, a computer capable of viewing pdf files. Please note that the rules of grammar I cover here don’t necessarily apply to AAVE or other dialects of English that aren’t considered “standard”! The process is the same, though. So by now we are […]
Before you start working, go back to last week’s post and prepare your workspace in the same exact way. You’re going to have to make this a routine. Pretty pretty please? Or at least do something else to block out the world for half-an-hour. It’ll help you focus and be chilled. Good things! ~~~ In […]
I’m a cynic. Not a believer, not a hater. I don’t think my personal beliefs really belong in my fiction except in subtle ways I can’t help (they leak into my characterisation, I imagine), so let’s just leave it at that. “Maybe” is a trilogy of books [N.B.: this is no longer true]. I dislike […]
A Prose Poem by a Synesthetic, Inspired by Zoe Keating’s “Tetrishead” Music spills from her in rivulets, winding about itself and through the room — suddenly a night sky, a scatter of light from stars — red wine thick like oil paint. It smells of windy hills out here in the middle of dark and […]
So this is you. Hello, you! I want you to mechanically follow my instructions. If nothing else it’ll prevent you from getting brain damage. Please note: Every single time I say “chapter” in this webinar, I’m referring to either a) one chapter of a completed first draft of a novel or b) a short story from your novel-length portfolio […]
I hear a lot of talk about how the first draft is something you should just get down as fast as you can — a sort of verbal vomitus allowed to dribble out unchecked. Lots of professionals tell you to do this. “Just get it finished,” they say. “You’ll be able to fix it later.” […]
not very alice 
July 27, 2011 by Alice M.
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