Topography of Tears
Crying is our most primal instinct. It’s the first thing we do when we are born: releasing an extraordinary amount of emotion in a very unique way. Tears are the unique accompaniment of this instinct, something purely human. They are spontaneous, they are difficult to control, and undeniable proof of the human emotion. Yet we know...
Lee Gutkind’s ‘The Yellow Test’ and Other Advice
Lee Gutkind, founder and editor of Creative Nonfiction, wrote an article in the New York Times back in 2013 about the importance and function of scene in writing nonfiction. The article is aptly named “The Yellow Test,” which is the technique Gutkind proposes writers use in order to check that their work is scene-heavy. The test simply involves highlighting...
Famous Lists
Human beings love making lists. Lists have permeated our culture, they help us organize our thoughts, help us remember thoughts for later, and generally minimize the chaos of human lives. The exact origin of the word list is unknown, but it can be traced back to a Germanic word meaning pleasure, a telling connection in...
