I Think I’ve Just Been Argoted

Every human pastime — music, cooking, sports, art, theoretical physics — develops an argot to spare its enthusiasts from having to say or type a long-winded description every time they refer to a familiar concept in each other’s company.  The problem is that as we become proficient at our job or hobby we come to use these catchwords so often that they flow out of our fingers automatically, and we forget that our readers may not be members of the clubhouse in which we learned them.
—  Steven Pinker
[Apologies to all you linguists out there.  I believe I just turned a noun into a verb.  —  KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2018	Good-Bye AG Jeff Sessions
2017	On Our Wall (Part 2)
2016	I Beg The Question
2015	By Their Fruit
2014	Proven Worth
2013	From Missouri
2012	Recipe To Write: Start With One Aching Urge
2011	Ip And Rib
	Real Things
2010	Final Competition

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In All Its Messy Complexity

Writers tend to fare badly under autocrats.  Dictators understand very well that the strength of thought and analysis that literature embodies is a threat to the mind control that is an essential feature of tyranny.  In countries like China, Russia, Turkey, Myanmar and Bangladesh, writers are routinely jailed or killed for creating work their governments find threatening.  For American writers, the reality of such scrutiny and peril can be hard to fathom.  We need to write now, write well — tell the truth in all its messy complexity.  It’s our best shot at helping to preserve a democracy in which facts still exist and all of us can speak freely.
—  Jennifer Egan
From her opinion piece / editorial: “Facts Still Exist“
Appearing in: Time Magazine
dtd: 24 Dec / 31 Dec, 2018  (Person of the Year, double issue)
It also appears online at:  http://time.com/5475490/writers-truth-democracy-jennifer-egan/
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On This Day In:
2018	Danger = Opportunity
2017	True And Great
	Sand At The Beach
2016	There Is A Difference Between Dangerous And Frightening
2015	Always A Goal
2014	Standing Strong
2013	Shaken And Stirred
	The Bird With The Broken Wing
2012	Friends In High Places
2011	Objective Independence

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Let Us Dare

The true source of our suffering has been our timidity.  We have been afraid to think.   . . . .   Let us dare to read, think, speak and write.
—  President John Adams
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On This Day In:
2017	Two Good To Be Real
	Secrets
2016	Learning Subtle Differences
2015	Dog Eat Dog World?
2014	And Sometimes Blogs About It
2013	Outside-In
2012	They Are All Perfect
2011	Delegation – The “How-To’s”
2009	Diet Update and Other Bits & Bobs…

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And Blog Posts, Too

One always has a better book in one’s mind than one can manage to get onto paper.
––  Michael Cunningham
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On This Day In:
2017	Just Doin’ It
2016	Definitely Not Bell Shaped
2015	Dreadful Pity
2014	Worse Than Useless
2013	Personal Prisons
2012	So, Not Yet Then
2011	Real Love

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Not Sure Anyway…

We are writers, and we never ask one another where we get our ideas; we know we don’t know.
—  Stephen King
From his book:  “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft“
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On This Day In:
2017	Forms Of Conservation
2016	Oh, So Lacking
2015	e pluribus unum
2014	Nothing So Far Removed
2013	Positions
2012	Two Errors
2011	Long Live The King!

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Tic-Toc

Having imagination it takes you an hour to write a paragraph that if you were unimaginative would take you only a minute.
—  Franklin Pierce Adams
[Maybe procrastination has a little bit to do with it, too.  —  KMAB]
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On This Day In:
2017	Explaining Working Class Support For Donald
2016	Not In My Experience
2015	Effort
2014	Honest Wants
2013	Faith, n.
2012	Surprise Me
2011	Confused With Truth

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Daydreams And Wanna-Be’s

“On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft” (2000©)  —  book review
Who hasn’t day-dreamed of writing the “great American novel” and becoming wealthy and celebrated?  Okay, maybe not me in over 40 years, but still…
Today’s book review is for “On Writing“, by Stephen King.  Yes, that Stephen King.  The horror novelist / writer.  Well, actually, he does write in other genres, too, but that’s the one I know him for.  This book came recommended to me by various sources – some “best of” lists and also a couple of blogs / sites I follow.  I found it on sale for $3 at my local Half-Price Books store, so I snatched it up.
The book is basically a three-part tome: King’s life leading up to writing, how to write well, and finally, advice on life and how to get started getting your writing published.  Part one is extremely interesting and amusing.  I got several belly laughs out of it.  Part two is mundane, yet (probably) useful.  I have already begun applying some of King’s suggestions in my own writing here on this blog.  Part three will probably be useful if I ever (again) imagine myself sitting down to write the great American novel or autobiography.  One of King’s recommendations is to write about what you know.  I’m afraid the only thing I know the most about is me.  (Sad, but true.)
So, final recommendation: very highly recommended!  Is this the finest book I’ve ever read on being a writer.  Yes!  With the qualification it is also the only book I’ve ever read on being a writer.  Having said that, it is a fast read at less than 300 pages and I found it enjoyable and informative.  And, of course, multiple quotes will appear on this blog in the future…
One last mention: King recommends all wanna-be writers start off by reading Strunk & White’s “The Elements of Style“.  (According to part 1 in the book, King is a former high school English teacher.  Go, figure.)  Fortunately, for cheapskates like me, the book (“Elements“) is out of copyright and you can find it in pdf format at multiple locations on the web.  At fewer than 30 pages, it should also be a quick read.  The book cover on Amazon looks very familiar, so maybe King’s book is the second book I’ve read on writing.  LOL…  I probably read “Elements” in high school and blotted the contents out of my memory.
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On This Day In:
2017	Summer Pale
2016	Ain’t It Funny
2015	At Both Ends
2014	Whiner(s)
2013	Just Passing Through
2012	Dog-gone Heaven
2011	Occasional, Sad Results

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