featured posts
Jun. 26, 2011
Leonardo, procrastinator
Leonardo da Vinci’s epic procrastination and the practical use of procrastination as a sign that your work (rather than yourself) may be dull.
Tags: featured posts · Leonardo · procrastination · writing tips
Jun. 10, 2011
Think Quantity
Looking over the numbers of prolific artists and innovators reinforces the basic rule: Creativity is a function of the quantity of work produced.
Tags: creativity · featured posts · procrastination · writing tips
Mar. 21, 2011
The Five Commandments
A few rules for a novelist (or any artist, presumably) struggling to get a new project started.
Tags: creativity · featured posts · writing tips
Feb. 8, 2011
“Madame Bovary” translated by Lydia Davis
Lydia Davis’s wonderful new translation of Flaubert’s masterpiece *Madame Bovary* feels quite modern.
Tags: featured posts · Flaubert · realism
Jan. 10, 2011
Fast Fish and Loose Fish
What an ancient law of whaling teaches about story ideas.
Tags: bookfour · featured posts · Herman Melville · writing life
Nov. 18, 2010
Shoes
The earthy, sensuous craft of making shoes vs. the ethereal art of writing books.
Tags: Converse · featured posts · Ryusaku Hiruma · shoes · writing life
Oct. 13, 2010
“Next”
James Hynes’s *Next* is the best novel I’ve read in a very long time.
Tags: featured posts · James Hynes
Oct. 5, 2010
Drawing Circles
Lessons for creatives from two famous circles, Giotto’s O and the enso of Japanese calligraphy.
Tags: enso · featured posts · Giotto · painting · writing tips
Sep. 16, 2010
It’s All Been Done
The pleasures and doubts of writing in a genre.
Tags: Defending Jacob · featured posts · writing life · writing tips
Aug. 10, 2010
Vita Brevis, Ars Brevior
A good but not great movie from 1965 is a reminder how short-lived most art is.
Tags: featured posts · John le Carre · video · writing life
