Michael Brooks
@michael
Michael Brooks
Why do you want to shut out of your life any uneasiness, any misery, any depression, since after all you don't know what work these conditions are doing inside you? Why do you want to persecute yourself with the question of where all this is coming from and where it is going? Since you know, after all, that you are in the midst of transitions and
... See moreRainer Maria Rilke • Letters to a Young Poet
To really like my work I have to look at it with different eyes. I have to forget everyone who did it better or faster, and remind myself that no one has ever done it quite the way I have. I have to remind myself that the people I compare myself to probably compare themselves to others and that if they let their self-doubt keep them from creating... See more
Jenny Lawson (thebloggess) • Trial and error and error and error.
Perhaps the art of harvesting the secret riches of our lives is best achieved when we place profound trust in the act of beginning. Risk might be our greatest ally. To live a truly creative life, we always need to cast a critical look at where we presently are, attempting always to discern where we have become stagnant and where new beginning might
... See moreThe essence of life is that it’s challenging. Sometimes it is sweet, and sometimes it is bitter. Sometimes your body tenses, and sometimes it relaxes or opens. Sometimes you have a headache, and sometimes you feel 100 percent healthy. From an awakened perspective, trying to tie up all the loose ends and finally get it together is death, because it... See more
Pema Chodron • When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times
Timbre is that unique sound quality of an instrument bestowed by the wood or metal chosen. Articles have timbre too. Writers imbue their creations with subtitles, comma choices, and inflections that bear their unique signature.
An easy way to increase the size of that signature is to pack your subtitles with opinion . Rather than simply use them to... See more
An easy way to increase the size of that signature is to pack your subtitles with opinion . Rather than simply use them to... See more
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This constant addition and subtraction of experiences can keep us mindful that we are in a continual state of fluidity. There is no set list of qualities that define who we are, so there is no reason to panic if you feel a shift occurring.
Lawrence Yeo • Death: The Roommate of Life - More To That
To make an article more inviting, gently:
- Divide sections using subtitles
- Vary paragraph length
- Vary the tone with asides and snappers
- Use interstitials (quotes, statistics, images)
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Here are some other techniques people use to access and maintain the zone:
- Introducing a long delay between when you do the work and when it is shown to the world. Annie Ernaux writes about this in A Simple Passion, a memoir about how she becomes obsessed in a banal way with a man who is having an affair with her—the thought that others will read
Substack • Notes | Substack
