Brain Punch
Ideas that hurt, but in a good way
Brain Punch
Because Hemingway left his work at an interesting moment, it became easier to return to his typewriter the next day. Think of it like a TV show cliffhanger. If you are interested in the story, you’re more likely to return to the show next season. Hemingway essentially incorporated self-made cliffhangers into his productivity schedule to maintain hi... See more
Kevin Dickinson • Tap Into the “Hemingway Effect” to Finish What You Start
Fitting in and belonging are not the same thing. In fact, fitting in is one of the greatest barriers to belonging. Fitting in is about assessing a situation and becoming who you need to be in order to be accepted. Belonging, on the other hand, doesn’t require us to change who we are; it requires us to be who we are.”
Brene Brown
Some of my favorite artists make “to-draw” lists. David Shrigley will make a huge list of fifty things to draw a week in advance. Having the list means he doesn’t have to waste studio time worrying about what to make. “The simple thing I’ve learned over the years is just to have a starting point and once you have a starting point the work seems to ... See more
Austin Kleon • Keep Going: a book by Austin Kleon
Writers have kept notebooks since time immemorial. The auctorial equivalent to the artist’s sketchbook is the “commonplace book,” which can contain everything from newspaper clippings to grocery lists to attempts to capture those inspirational bolts out of the blue.
I’m sure that somewhere out there, there is a writer who is far more disciplined tha... See more
I’m sure that somewhere out there, there is a writer who is far more disciplined tha... See more
Cory Doctorow • The Memex Method
Kurt Vonnegut, talking about when he tells his wife he’s going out to buy an envelope:
“Oh, she says well, you’re not a poor man. You know, why don’t you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I’m going to have a hell of a good time in the process of b
... See morePeople who live in large cities have larger egos because at night they can't see the stars
Work backwards from the emotion you're trying to create in the reader. Then let the structure follow.
- Use your tools to make things, don't make things about your tools. Technology and the end result are in a dance, one can never lead the other too long.