Russell Davies

first sentence problems

"So my favorite, foolproof way to start a story is with a person in a place with a problem, preferably in the first sentence. A named person in a defined setting is a signal to the reader’s human-being-simulator to get started assembling a skeletal frame upon which to hang future details about this ‘‘person.’’"

This is probably a good rule for all interesting writing - get the problem into the first sentence.

NewsNarrativeStream Q1.1

By Science Story Magic

1 Feb 2014

31 Jan 2014

 

from the New Yorker

30 Jan 2014

appealing glow

facility

Matt has posted about his talk from the Design of Understanding. The talk was, of course, brilliant but the way he did it was also fantastic - he demonstrated a deep facility with his chosen presentation tools.

It made me realise how often you still encounter someone doing a presentation who appears to have never seen their presentation software before.

Still.

These days.

Like it's perfectly normal.

It's like being booked for a violin recital, turning up with your violin and then having no idea how to play it, staring at your audience like how dare they expect you to know what you're doing.

Anyway. Not Matt. Matt is a maestro.

good postcard club

 

Giles is doing a thing. It'll probably be good.

me sen

I was spotifying through the gloomy moody of The Wire Subscribers' Releases of the Year 2013 when an East Midlands accent grabbed me. Still rare enough in the media to stick out. And it was attached to the only bit of properly energetic bit of noise in there Sleaford Mods, like if the Young Marble Giants had been two angry yoths from Grantham.

technology detox

Your media and your bloggers can't seem to give up on the idea of a technology detox, so I think maybe in February I'll give it a go too.

I'm going to spend 28 days without using language, textiles, contact lenses or buildings. If you need me I'll be in Regents Park, naked and half-blind trying to get nuts off the squirrels.