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One of the most frequently cited rules in fiction writing is “Show, don’t tell.” It basically instructs the author not to explicitly narrate, but to help create a more vivid scene in the reader’s mind by relying on the descriptions of setting, actions, sensory details, character feelings, etc. This is an example of telling: (1)
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I don’t think I’ve felt entirely comfortable in my office at work since 2019. I don’t know what it is (or maybe I do and it’s a five-letter word, of which the last four are the name of the author of Metamorphoses), but work doesn’t feel like it used to; my office doesn’t feel like
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There is this university-level committee I am on, and every meeting is a trip to the Twilight Zone because the meetings are where I get to meet Bizarro Xykademiqz—someone who superficially seems like they would be similar to me, but are actually the exact opposite. Seriously now, there’s a person (a woman, in case it
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The good news is that my novel will be out in March. The bad news is that Academadness will therefore NOT be out in March. 😩 I’m pushing it back, yet again, this time to May. Learning how to write short fiction and then long fiction that people might wish to read apparently isn’t enough.
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The first week of January is traditionally International Blog Delurking Week, but it slipped my mind so we ‘re doing it a little late. Without further ado… *drumroll* Delurkpalooza 2024! Show thyself, dear blog reader! Whether you’re old or new, whether you commented before or not, please stop by and tell us a little about
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Happy 2024! May it bring you good health and contentment, and, if you’re in academia, also untold grant riches, high-profile publications, and a teaching schedule that makes you miss the most pointless meetings. This has been my 2023: Professional: Taught seven million courses, or at least it feels like I did. I taught a large
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When you become senior enough, you get to (kind of) be temporarily in charge of other senior academics, generally as chair of a committee, or seventeen. I don’t know if I am finally achieving new levels of maturity, but I’ve acquired some unexpected insights from chairing one important university committee. One such insight has to
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Happy Turkey Day! I cooked all day yesterday, I have to grade a midterm all day today, and then cook all day tomorrow because it’s spouse’s birthday and there’s a labor-intensive dish he wants. Then on Sunday I grade the midterm for another class. *** I finally picked a notes app and entered all the
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It’s November, the time of NaNoWriMo and NaBloPoMo, and in years past I blogged daily during the month, but this November the idea of blogging even close to every day is so laughable, I might have peed myself a little just thinking about it. In other words, there’s no way I can pull off every
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Whenever I start to leave needlessly elaborate comments on other people’s blogs, that’s a signal I should probably write my own post. The exhausting semester proceeds apace, with the pace being one that gives whiplash. Sunday evening is a time of dread as I face the calendar of upcoming obligations. Last week, I had a
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