Lev Raphael's Blog, page 28
January 10, 2016
Does Goodreads Care About Its Bogus Quotations?
Back in November, I contacted Goodreads to let them know that the top quotation by George Eliot is bogus:
It is never too late to be what you might have been.
Yes, you've seen it attributed to her everywhere: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, t-shirts, kitchen magnets, mugs, bookmarks, tote bags, tattoos. But there's no source.
I read George Eliot in college religiously, and she was a major inspiration to me as a budding writer. So the first time I saw the quote it felt off to me -- a bit too...
It is never too late to be what you might have been.
Yes, you've seen it attributed to her everywhere: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, t-shirts, kitchen magnets, mugs, bookmarks, tote bags, tattoos. But there's no source.
I read George Eliot in college religiously, and she was a major inspiration to me as a budding writer. So the first time I saw the quote it felt off to me -- a bit too...
Does Goodreads Care About Its Bullshit Quotations?
Back in November, I contacted Goodreads to let them know that the top quotation by George Eliot is bogus:
It is never too late to be what you might have been.
Yes, you've seen it attributed to her everywhere: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, t-shirts, kitchen magnets, mugs, bookmarks, tote bags, tattoos. But there's no source.
I read George Eliot in college religiously, and she was a major inspiration to me as a budding writer. So the first time I saw the quote it felt off to me -- a bit too...
It is never too late to be what you might have been.
Yes, you've seen it attributed to her everywhere: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, t-shirts, kitchen magnets, mugs, bookmarks, tote bags, tattoos. But there's no source.
I read George Eliot in college religiously, and she was a major inspiration to me as a budding writer. So the first time I saw the quote it felt off to me -- a bit too...
January 7, 2016
Degas' Viral Art Quote Is Fake
One of the most inspiring quotations about art that you can find on line is this one:
Art is not what you see, but what you make others see. (Edgar Degas)
It shows up everywhere.
But where's the proof that Degas ever said it or wrote it? You can't rely on Goodreads as a source because fake quotes and misquotations run riot there. And if you do a Google search you'll just end up finding one site after another repeating the quotation without any source at all.
I checked French Google and f...
Art is not what you see, but what you make others see. (Edgar Degas)
It shows up everywhere.
But where's the proof that Degas ever said it or wrote it? You can't rely on Goodreads as a source because fake quotes and misquotations run riot there. And if you do a Google search you'll just end up finding one site after another repeating the quotation without any source at all.
I checked French Google and f...
January 4, 2016
Let's Stop Obsessing About "Writer's Block"
"Writer's Block is bunk."
That's not exactly what prize-winning author Loren D. Estleman said a few years ago at a Michigan writer's conference, but it's close. And he'd already published over 60 books--and he worked on a typewriter.
The problem with even using the term, he said, is that it's a supremely unhelpful way of saying something very basic and ordinary in the life of a writer: you're stuck.
I totally agree. When writers say they have writer's block, a normal, unremarkable part of...
That's not exactly what prize-winning author Loren D. Estleman said a few years ago at a Michigan writer's conference, but it's close. And he'd already published over 60 books--and he worked on a typewriter.
The problem with even using the term, he said, is that it's a supremely unhelpful way of saying something very basic and ordinary in the life of a writer: you're stuck.
I totally agree. When writers say they have writer's block, a normal, unremarkable part of...
Why Do We Fixate on Writer's Block?
"Writer's Block is bunk."
That's not exactly what prize-winning author Loren D. Estleman said a few years ago at a Michigan writer's conference, but it's close. And he'd already published over 60 books (which he wrote on a typewriter!).
The problem with even using the term, he said, is that it's a supremely unhelpful way of saying something very basic and ordinary in the life of a writer: you're stuck.
I totally agree. When writers say they have writer's block, a normal, unremarkable pa...
That's not exactly what prize-winning author Loren D. Estleman said a few years ago at a Michigan writer's conference, but it's close. And he'd already published over 60 books (which he wrote on a typewriter!).
The problem with even using the term, he said, is that it's a supremely unhelpful way of saying something very basic and ordinary in the life of a writer: you're stuck.
I totally agree. When writers say they have writer's block, a normal, unremarkable pa...
December 31, 2015
Why I Didn't Make New Year's Resolutions
I haven't made a New Year's resolution in many years, because they started feeling like lines drawn in the sand: bold, dramatic, exciting.
Until the tide comes in and washes them away.
I see plenty of writers resolving this and that on line. But I don't need New Year's resolutions to motivate me in my career because New Year's Eve and New Year's Day really aren't any different from other days in my writing year. Well, except for the champagne, which might either slow me down a bit, or c...
Until the tide comes in and washes them away.
I see plenty of writers resolving this and that on line. But I don't need New Year's resolutions to motivate me in my career because New Year's Eve and New Year's Day really aren't any different from other days in my writing year. Well, except for the champagne, which might either slow me down a bit, or c...
Why I Don't Make New Year's Resolutions
I haven't made a New Year's resolution in many years, because they started feeling like lines drawn in the sand: bold, dramatic, exciting.
Until the tide comes in and washes them away.
I see plenty of writers resolving this and that on line. But I don't need New Year's resolutions to motivate me in my career because New Year's Eve and New Year's Day really aren't any different from other days in my writing year. Well, except for the champagne, which might either slow me down a bit, or c...
Until the tide comes in and washes them away.
I see plenty of writers resolving this and that on line. But I don't need New Year's resolutions to motivate me in my career because New Year's Eve and New Year's Day really aren't any different from other days in my writing year. Well, except for the champagne, which might either slow me down a bit, or c...
December 29, 2015
How to Help Friends In a Shame Spiral
We've all felt the power of shame. We feel exposed, totally flawed, and hopeless to do anything about it. Shame can be so devastating that all we want to do is hide.
And watching a friend suffer a shame experience or listening to a friend share how ashamed they feel about a failure, a broken relationship, or a terrible mistake they've made can trigger shame in us, too. That's one of the paradoxes of shame: it's contagious.
The immense power of shame can make us try to ward it off by sayi...
And watching a friend suffer a shame experience or listening to a friend share how ashamed they feel about a failure, a broken relationship, or a terrible mistake they've made can trigger shame in us, too. That's one of the paradoxes of shame: it's contagious.
The immense power of shame can make us try to ward it off by sayi...
How to Help Friends Struggling With Shame
We've all felt the power of shame. We feel exposed, totally flawed, and hopeless to do anything about it. Shame can be so devastating that all we want to do is hide.
And watching a friend suffer a shame experience or listening to a friend share how ashamed they feel about a failure, a broken relationship, or a terrible mistake they've made can trigger shame in us, too. That's one of the paradoxes of shame: it's contagious.
The immense power of shame can make us try to ward it off by sayi...
And watching a friend suffer a shame experience or listening to a friend share how ashamed they feel about a failure, a broken relationship, or a terrible mistake they've made can trigger shame in us, too. That's one of the paradoxes of shame: it's contagious.
The immense power of shame can make us try to ward it off by sayi...
'The Force Awakens' Is a Masterpiece of Nostalgia
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE TWO OR THREE PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T SEEN IT:
The Force Awakens is a brilliantly manipulative piece of film-making meant to reel in everyone who loved the first three Lucas films and rightly despised the next trio. And make them bring their kids, too.
It's got real humor.
It's got a giant planet-destroying weapon -- this time, an actual planetary super-gizmo that harnesses the power of the Sun.
It's got a great pilot destroying that weapon.
It's got Han Solo, Chewbaca,...
The Force Awakens is a brilliantly manipulative piece of film-making meant to reel in everyone who loved the first three Lucas films and rightly despised the next trio. And make them bring their kids, too.
It's got real humor.
It's got a giant planet-destroying weapon -- this time, an actual planetary super-gizmo that harnesses the power of the Sun.
It's got a great pilot destroying that weapon.
It's got Han Solo, Chewbaca,...
