Out With a Bang
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 : 5:23 PM : 1 comments
It's the end of the year so why not end it with a Top Ten list? These are ten fun ideas, theories, or terms that have entered the Jon lexicon in 2008. Without further ado, the list:
(1) The Persistence Theory
We've determined that persistence and proximity is the way to a girl's heart. I hope you'll agree.
(2) Intervention Teams
Everyone makes bad decisions in life, here's what needs to happen when your friends make one. Or fifty.
(3) My So-Called Life
Are the days slipping on by? Forget what you're doing year by year? Everything blending together? Try creating a life spreadsheet!
(4) Crossing the Streams
Do you like to mix your friend groups? Should you consider it? Maybe, maybe not.
(5) Man-ic Panic
Men in their late 20s are freaking out and taking drastic action to jump start or escape from their lives. It's a phenomenon.
(6) Fussy Buddy
Find out if you suck to be around. Debbie Downer? Fussy Buddy? Nobody calls you to hang out? Here's why. Also includes the term of the year: FOMO.
(7) Social Manipulation
Admit it, you like it when things go your way socially.
(8) Karaoke Set List
Don't sleep on the power of scripting your first few karaoke songs.
(9) Arch-nemesis
Life is too short not to have frenemies and enemies. Who's the Batman to your Superman? Who's your Lex Luthor?
(10) Relationship Worksheet
Makes for great conversation starters, reference charts, and overall analysis of what's wrong with you (them).
Labels: Writing
Infinite Jest
Thursday, October 23, 2008 : 3:37 AM : 0 comments
"He [David Foster Wallace] talked about a kind of shyness that turned social life impossibly complicated. 'I think being shy basically means self-absorbed to the point that it makes it difficult to be around other people. For instance, if I'm hanging out with you, I can't even tell whether I like you or not because I'm too worried about whether you like me.'"
-Rolling Stone, link from kottke.org-
Labels: Writing
Bubble Boy
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 : 11:10 PM : 1 comments
You remember that fun game we like to play? Which wedding would you go to if it was scheduled on the same day? Friend A or Friend B's? Well, a real life example of this has happened and not only are the stakes high, the person involved is a possible bridesmaid for both weddings. I don't know what the proper protocol here is but I'd assume it's first dibs. Which is kind of terrible if you think about it because then it's like someone's basically making a decision for you.Well here's what's going aside from the fun game of Wedding Roulette. My book is practically done and going through copy edits. I hear that galleys are coming in the next week or so, which represents the first time I'll see it bound and looking like a book. To be honest, throughout the entire process, I've never seen it all at once in physical format. Usually I'm reading it off the computer or printed out in snips and pages. A few weeks ago, when I turned in the final draft, I had a chance to print it all out and sat down at the pool to go through it.
It was a bit nerve wracking. I tried to clear my head and think about this book as something I was totally unfamiliar with and resisted the urge to go through with a pen correcting things, nit picking, and generally trying to author it. It turned out to be easier said than done. Even though it's a brisk read, I stopped halfway through because I just couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't go through it without having that writing voice ringing in my head. I had to beat a hasty retreat and finish it later.
So when these galleys come in, I'm going to give it another go and really read it in one sitting. Hopefully there will have been enough distance between writing and reading for me to enjoy it. I had a friend read a similar versioned draft and the day after she read it, she emailed me and was like "I'm done." I was a bit floored by how fast she'd read it and felt relieved that someone had been able to finish it. In one sitting no less.
Her comments were basically, "Okay, so I know you're not gay (at least, I think I know), but I seriously had a hard time adjusting to the fact that you wrote that, especially at the beginning. It captured something in the FEMALE teenage mind so well that I can't wait to make my best friend read it."
So that's like my first real review and it blurs the line of my masculinity but in a totally great way. I think there's only been four or five people who've even looked at parts of the book -- aside from anyone involved in it -- and mostly the comments have been positive, which is a relief.
So yeah, the book is pretty much done and coming early summer 2009. I'm sure I'll be talking about it a lot more because really, it's kind of exciting.
In Brief
Sunday, May 20, 2007 : 11:12 PM : 0 comments
Just real quickly (I have so much to say about the weekend in Ann Arbor): The book and writer's conference went amazing. We started off at a beautiful bed and breakfast, tucked in a location on campus we could scarcely believe, and everything got better from there. I got to re-acquaint myself with the campus, marvel over all the changes, eat all the foods I was looking forward to, participated and watched some great panels and speakers, and met a ton of really interesting people. I'll go into detail about it all when I get the chance but truly it was an inspiring weekend. Here's some quick moblog pictures from the weekend.We moved along to New York right after Michigan and we're so busy exploring, meeting, and just having tons of fun that I haven't even touched a computer in days. Yeah, days. I might be in withdrawal, might.
One thing that Lilly noticed was weird on campus -- aside from it being semi-empty due to school being out of session -- was that everyone now has (white) earbuds attached to their heads. It's forces you to notice everyone walking around in their own little worlds. It's hard to explain how such a subtle thing makes the people/students on campus seem so distant from each other. Where's the community spirit?
Grammar Style
Thursday, April 5, 2007 : 3:25 PM : 0 comments
Ever wondered how to properly use apostrophes, colons, semi-colons, and hey, punctuation in general? Check out this short primer titled, "How to Use English Punctuation Correctly," and become a pro. I've always been confused by colons and semi-colons and now that I know how to use them, I can't stop. I've become an over-punctuator; after a lifetime of being restricted to commas and periods, I'm now making up lost time. I used to score well in high school grammar class simply because I winged it; now I actually know why and what I'm using punctuation for -- sort of.
And for the "advanced" writer, "How to Avoid Colloquial (Informal) Writing." Or "How I Stopped Blogging and Started Writing." I'm still working on this one personally.
How many times have you been told to "show, not tell?" I'm barely aware of what this means, outside of the elementary school context, so here's a great explanation: "Self-Editing For Fiction Writers: Show and Tell." This book was recommended to me by an editor that knows exactly what she's talking about. Read on and figure out what narrative summary is and when to (not) use it.
Labels: Writing
