January 2024 – Andrew Careaga

That exclamation point!

Some see the ! as the comic sans of the punctuation world, a clownish affront to all who take their writing and reading seriously.

When I decided to rename this blog Andy writes! to signify its new direction, I’m sure a few readers cringed at the sight of an exclamation point in the title.

I understand. For writers, the exclamation point (hereinafter referred to as “!”) is perhaps the most maligned and most offensive of all punctuation marks. In his book Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style, Benjamin Dreyer calls the ! “bossy, hectoring, and, ultimately, wearying.” In her Grammar Girl Style Guide, Mignon Fogarty, without passing judgment, advises, “Don’t overuse them.” The late Elmore Leonard, a prolific and best-selling crime novelist, laid down the law on the ! in his 10 rules for writing: “You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.”

Never not writing

A lot of writers and other artists have a bit of Thurber in them.

Even when you’re not writing, you’re writing.

I said this recently to a writer-friend who had not been doing much writing lately. My remark was an attempt to help my friend feel better, but I’m not sure it landed as I had hoped. But I’ve thought a lot about that brief exchange, and it prompted me to elaborate on that idea.

The exchange also brought to mind this quip from author, humorist, and cartoonist James Thurber.

I never quite know when I’m not writing. Sometimes my wife comes up to me at a party and says, “Dammit, Thurber, stop writing.” She usually catches me in the middle of a paragraph.
From Conversations with James Thurber, edited by Thomas Fensch

Introducing ‘Litmags, etc.,’ an X list of literary journals

One of the best things to come out of the social media platform formerly known as Twitter (now X) is Lists, a tool to help denizens of that website organize, categorize and curate social media accounts by subject or interest.

Even though the platform has become less useful, less interesting, and more soul-sucking since Elon Musk bought it, you can still find nuggets of value as long as you use it wisely and stay away from the cesspool of the general feed. One way of walling yourself off from that toxicity is by creating lists of the accounts you most want to follow, or by following lists curated by trusted sources.

Friday Five: opportunity knocking

Reprising a former practice as we head into the weekend.

In this blog’s previous life as a resource for higher education marketers and communicators, I would occasionally post a feature on Friday called Friday Five. It usually consisted of a collection of links on a specific topic, or occasionally five-part Q&As with writers, other bloggers, and other people influential in the marketing/PR/communication world. Anyway, I thought I might reprise this idea with a focus on the craft of writing. Consider this the maiden voyage of the new Friday Five.

My writing routine

My journaling routine begins early in the morning. Writing longhand in a notebook is one of the first tasks of my day.

As a follow up to my recent post about confronting the blank page (or blank screen), I wanted to describe my writing routine and, I hope, prompt some of you to share yours in the comments.

But first, a short back story:

Once upon a time I journaled consistently. Then I fell out of the habit. I don’t know why. Got busy, I guess.