This has come up multiple times in conversation lately: the Paradox of Craft. You learn, in part, to become a better writer by learning to become a more critical reader. You pick up patterns of plot and theme, story and character. You take a scene apart to figure out how it works. You build the muscle that helps you be more critical of your own writing.
The upshot is obvious, but there’s an unwanted side effect: It becomes harder to quiet that critic brain earlier on, when you need it to be quiet.
So, separately, I have had to learn all these ways to elude and distract the critic: Ritualistic adherence to routine. Constant reminders that this, this thing I’m typing right now, is just a shitty rough draft, it’s supposed to bad, it’s more like an extended brainstorming session. And lately: Absurdly high daily word-count targets.
My therapist might call these adaptive strategies. But, I’ve been thinking that they might just be the creative equivalent to not skipping Leg Day. A part of a well-rounded writing education.
I finished Robin Sloan’s Moonbound, and some of its big ideas are still lodged in my brain weeks later. In typical Sloanian fashion, there are secrets – secrets I dare not spoil here – hiding in plain sight. Here’s a fun tap-based Book Tour Simulator that Robin put together after his launch events.
Speaking of tours: We moved into our house December of 2019, which was before Street View-style home tours really became a thing. Well, here is the best use of that software I’ve come across: A 3D tour of the Alaskan research vessel Tiglax.
Watching the embedded videos, you definitely get a sense of how much this wants to be a immersive VR experience. But I’d argue that such an experience wouldn’t have nearly the same cobbled-together charm. It reminds me, almost, of those nineties point-and-click Sierra adventure games.
I found the above through Vera Brosgol’s new newsletter, Rat Cruise, which is documenting her experience as an artist-in-residence aboard that very vessel.
This was an insta-subscribe for me. I loved Brosgol’s graphic novel Be Prepared, and her latest, Plain Jane and the Mermaid, is on my list. I also loved Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio movie, for which Brosgol was head of story. Go sign up. You will not be disappointed.
Lastly, speaking of graphic novels, over on Dumpling Club (my patronage/membership program) we’re reading, for our summer book circle, Jillian and Mariko Tamaki’s Roaming. The Zoom discussion’s happening in August. There’s still time to join!
Jack
p.s. Tomorrow is Week 40, so it may be a few weeks before you hear from me again. Or not!