Let’s start with an exercise I stole from Alexander Chee, who stole it from Annie Dillard, who stole it from Samuel Johnson.
Take a section of what you’re working on now and circle (or underline) every verb you use.
Next, count the verbs on each page, and write the number in the margin. When you get to the end of the piece, average the number. Continue reading “Better Verbs”
When an artist or inventor creates something truly original, we tend to envision it as a thunderbolt, a flash of genius striking from above. Imagine Picasso painting La Demoiselles D’Avignon, the first Cubist work, with its startling multiple angles and unprecedented gorgeous weirdness. How did that happen?
That’s one of the questions that Time magazine’s special issue The Science of Creativity, edited by my friend (and Gotham student!) Richard Jerome, tries to answer. It’s a fascinating read, full of insights into how and why humans make art, tell stories, and invent things. Continue reading “On Creativity”
I recently spent two weeks in the summer heat of South Africa, visiting with my wife’s family. It was nice to have time with her extended family and to show my little daughter (that’s her in the pic) some of the wonders of this country. But you know what else was great about this trip? I had the time to read four novels!
True Grit by Charles Portis, about a teenage girl avenging her father’s murder in the Old West. Continue reading “Come Write With Us!”