"Don't interrupt motion with map-making"

Some of the best advice on writing I heard this quarter came from Candace in the class when she said, "Don't interrupt motion with map-making,"  a piece of advice I have been given permission to steal.

What she meant -- or what I am going to say she meant -- is that when you have a story rolling along, don't stop to draw a map or give directions to a side road or some other diversion. Give the reader enough information to follow your story but not so much detail to get lost in it. Not every twist and turn or person we meet along the way needs to be explained or introduced.

The advice reminded me of Mark Twain's remarkable demonstration of how far afield "map-making" can lead you. I promised I would put up a link to the story, and here it is. There's a YouTube video of Hal Holbrook reciting it, but I thought he gave it away up top. It's better in the reading.

Enjoy.

Another Fall quarter at the UW comes to a close

I have a few more papers to edit and then the class will be in the hands of Jessica for two quarters. Hope to see everyone at the certificate ceremony in June.

Jessica shared some of her reading list, and it looks very, very interesting. Maybe I should enroll. Here are the articles she will be using that are available online:

“A Home at the End of Google Earth,” by David Kushner http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/11/india-orphan-google-earth-journey

 “The Million Dollar Nose,” by William Langewiesche http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/issues/2000/12/langewiesche.htm

"Howling Window Signals Skyscraper’s Fatal Flaw," by Louise Kiernan
http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-danger-1-story,0,464418,full.story                      

At long last, the link to Candace's blog

I'm long overdue on getting a link up here to Candace's blog "In My Binder." So here it is, some thoughtful writing on many issues, but mostly revolving around women who have been inspirational to her.

Check it out at: http://inmybinder.com/

A former student welcomes you to her blog

Hello everyone,

Hope all of you are doing well. I have joined The Borgen Project (a national campaign to advocate for global poverty through the U.S Senate) as their research writer/blogger. Here's one of my recent blogs: http://borgenproject.org/blog/

Please take some time to read what this Non Profit is doing - we have people in 150 cities across the US who are all trying to make the US Senate respond to the global crisis of acute poverty, either through writing, fundraising, meeting/talking to Congressional leaders, and advocating for passing of Bills. 

As a Borgen Project supporter, I want to share this information with my friends. You can read more about it here: http://borgenproject.org/

Please share this information with other friends and family, colleagues and associates. Also, let me know if you are interested to join hands with this national campaign.

Best wishes,

Mantra