Of or relating to the day before yesterday...
Of or relating to the day before yesterday...
Author solidarity, compelling sci-fi, and the end of Twitter.
Eight great things worth sharing this week:
Tomorrow, December 10, is Dewey Decimal System Day. Kids, the Dewey Decimal System was how we kept track of books before computers. Every book had a card that was stored in a cool-looking dresser of tiny drawers (you might remember this from the opening scene of Ghostbusters - jump to minute 1:25). The system was established in 1851 and was the main reason we started classifying books as fiction and non-fiction (a blurry line at best). RIP Dewey.
Some fun news in the world of author solidarity: An author named Chelsea Banning held a book signing last Saturday and only two people showed up. When she tweeted about it Neil Gaiman, Robin Hobb, Margaret Atwood, Min Jin Lee, and Jodi Picoult (to name a few) reached out to tell her she’s not alone after all.
I’m fascinated by playlists of songs curated to accompany books and this week I came across an article listing 11 hit songs that reference great works of literature. Of course they missed one of the most obvious. Led Zeppelin calls back to The Lord of the Rings in two (possibly three) of their songs.
I just finished reading Aurora by David Koepp and it is, hands down, the best apocalypse story I’ve read in a long time. Scientifically based, with compelling characters and (gasp) an actual plot. Two thumbs up (and big thanks to my friend Anne for the recommendation).
If you’re looking to make 2023 the year you finally finish your novel or memoir, check out my Sit Write Here coaching program. I designed it specifically to help frustrated writers finish their manuscripts. Day by day, week by week, I’ll help you get the words on the page.
Nerd Word of the Week: Nudiustertian ~ of or relating to the day before yesterday. You can save yourself three whole syllables by using nudiustertian instead of “the day before yesterday” and you’ll sound like a super nerd (though the value judgement of that moniker will depend on the company you keep).
In case you don’t yet know this about me, mindfulness meditation has had a huge influence on my writing. I talked about it at length with Anne Muhlethaler on her Out Of The Clouds podcast and wrote this post about how the concept of Right View has helped me edit my own work more effectively.
And in the vein of all things are impermanent, I really enjoyed this piece, A Tweet Before Dying, in Wired Magazine this month. A lot of people have been squawking about the end of Twitter, but writer Paul Ford prefers to look forward to new digital horizons. Count me in.
Happy writing, my friends,
April
1. Keep in mind, Dewey’s system had a place for literature in the 800s, but eventually that section became unwieldy and librarians chose to separate out the fiction.
3. The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce is so full of music, it requires a playlist. Although you can just call on Alexa to play each piece of music as it comes up in the story.