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Degrowth for Writers: Forget Sales, Focus on Meaning

November 5, 2019

Society, Writing

art, degrowth, marketing, society, writing

Most of us are think they are familiar with the term “growth”, thanks to media brainwashing. The economy this, the economy that. But how many are as familiar with the term degrowth? Even if you are, you’ve probably never heard it in connection with writing. What is degrowth for writers, and why should you care?

As with so many other things, it’s a matter of expectations. I’m amazed at how many people, how often, how inescapably, fail to answer this simple question: What do you want from your actions? What is it that you expect from your writing?

Answering such questions honestly is the only way thinking individuals can live with themselves.

degrowth for writers
“Riches don’t make a man rich; they only make him busier”
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Five Questions about Dracula Answered

July 16, 2019

Literature, Society

academia, Gothic, popularity, questions, social masses

Let’s do something fun this time. Or rather, let’s combine fun with knowledge and – horror of horrors – the academia. Before you run away from this page, shrieking in horror, hold your breath and wait: I’m planning to take the five most popular questions about Dracula as they appear on Google searches and answer them.

As you probably already know, Google’s autocomplete feature reveals the most common questions about a certain topic as you begin typing. Now, this also reveals some incredible stupidity out there. For instance, if you begin typing “is the moon”, the first results include “is the moon a star”, “is the moon a planet”To be absolutely fair, there might be a legitimate question there., and even – brace yourself – “is the moon made of cheese”.

At this point, I have no idea what I’ll get if I begin typing questions about Dracula, so I’m ready to be surprised myself. Let’s get started!

Questions about Dracula
Five questions about Dracula and vampires you always wanted to ask
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How Euphemisms Work: Thoughts on…Thought Control

April 26, 2019

Society

control, euphemisms, idiocy, language, society, thought

A quick definition of a euphemism is “a phrase or word used as an ameliorating substitute for an unpleasant or offensive word”. Some people might say “senior citizens” instead of “old people” (or, heaven forbid, “old farts”). But how euphemisms work is a more complex issue, with elaborate psychological underpinnings.

“Euphemism” is a Greek word, literally meaning “good speech”. It was used in the Koine Greek (also known as Alexandrian Dialect, roughly between 300 BCE – 300 CE). Its modern meaning came much later.

Euphemisms can be very obvious, as in the senior-citizen example above. But they can also be extremely subtle, which is what makes them interesting. So, let’s take a look at how euphemisms work. But before that, a funny story about euphemisms. It involves mice. Lots of them.

how euphemisms work
Cute mice, aren’t they? Except if you don’t like mice. Then they’re not mice. They’re…
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