True Lies
“The truth is, writing is this: hard and boring and occasionally great but usually not. Even I have lied about writing. I have told people that writing this book has been like brushing away dirt from a fossil. What a load of shit. It has been like hacking away at a freezer with a screwdriver.”
• Editorial Comment: It must be nice to be a writer.
PeezPix by Ted Pease
TODAY'S WORD ON JOURNALISM is a free “service” sent to the 1,800 or so misguided subscribers around the planet. If you have recovered from whatever led you to subscribe and don’t want it anymore, send “unsubscribe” to ted.pease@gmail.com. Or if you want to afflict someone else, send me the email address and watch the fun begin. (Disclaimer: I just quote ’em, I don’t necessarily endorse ’em. But all contain at least a kernel of insight. Don’t shoot the messenger.)
Ted Pease, Professor of Interesting Stuff, Trinidad, California. (Be)Friend The WORD
“Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” —Tom Stoppard
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ReplyDeleteThere are some stories — and freezers — that just aren't worth a screwdriver. Throw a padlock on it and leave it in a dark, smell-proof room.
ReplyDeleteSome freezers are scary, and just not worth hacking away at with a screwdriver. By way of introduction on Day 1, I ask students to tell one amusing/embarrassing fact about themselves. It works. About 12 years ago, one kid in a beginning newswriting class recounted how the family schnauzer had died shortly after Christmas, and they put it in the basement freezer to bury in the back yard when spring came. Gramma found this large roast about three years later. There were almost two burials. The exercise works. I still remember that kid.