Rhythm

Lori Kennedy on the PBS show Sewing with Nancy demonstrates free motion machine quilting: "I'm not a fast sewer. But listening to your sewing machine can help you develop a good rhythm." (Photo: Nancy Zieman.)



Disappearing acts

In the writing I like best, the writer disappears and the work seems to have written itself. This kind of disappearing act, ironically, requires the closest attention to language and form.

From Ongoingness: The End of a Diary by Sarah Manguso:

I often prefer writers' diaries to their work written intentionally for publication. It's as if I want the information without the obstacles of style or form. But of course all writing possesses style and form, and in good writing they aren't obstacles.

Another friend said, I want to write sentences that seem as if no one wrote them. The goal being the creation of a pure delivery system, without the distraction of a style.  The goal being a form no one notices, the creation of what seems like pure feeling, not of what seems like a vehicle for feeling. Language as pure experience, pure memory. I too wanted to achieve that impossible effect.

Read under good light.

From 1986 but still timely, this New York Times article by Elaine Louie: "Expert Advice on Selecting a Good Reading Lamp."

• The older you get, the more light you need. When you're young you can read by low light or no light. At 60, you need around 100 watts.
• Too much light is as bad as too little. Glare hurts your eyes.
• Avoid high contrast. "What you want is a well-lit room where the reading area is illuminated by a generous, focused pool of light, and the surrounding area by comfortable ambient lighting."
• Translucent shades are best for reading.
• Three-way bulbs (50-100-150) are most comfortable and useful.
• A reading lamp should be placed to the side and slightly behind the reader. It can go on either side. "But to avoid the shadow of your arm while writing and reading simultaneously, a right-handed person should place the lamp on the left."

Writing lessons from lawyers

Janet Reno, 1938 - 2016

"Use small, old words." -- Janet Reno

"Make time to think." -- Swain Wood