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for thinking people

Censorship of Thought and How to Avoid It

October 5, 2020

Society

censorship, control, social media, society, thought, writing

Not all limitations in expression are censorship. Think of an academic essay where – except quoting others for specific purposes – you can’t say “lol” or “whazzup”. But censorship is all about limitations in writing and expressing. Censorship of thought, in particular, is an especially insidious process – and the ultimate goal of censorship.

Censorship of thought essentially refers to self-censorship – I will use the terms interchangeably in this post. A system or process that manages to censor thought has been so effective in “plain vanilla” censorship, that people – having become conditioned – no longer bother writing or expressing what they think would be anyway censored.

Therefore, censorship – like using euphemisms, which are also a form of censorship – is ultimately about thought control. Moreover, exactly like euphemisms, self-censorship is achieved with subtlety, sophistication, and ambiguity.

That’s precisely what makes it so dangerous. Like unintended misinformation, self-censorship can creep into your writing without even your noticing it.

censorship of thought
Censorship is about raising a wall and teaching someone to stand before it.
Self-censorship is about teaching someone to stand there even when the wall is removed
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Writing Gimmicks and How to Avoid Them

September 28, 2020

Writing

literature, manipulation, music, writing, writing gimmicks

Writing gimmicks are tricks authors use to distract readers from a bad text. We’ll be defining this in more detail in this post, but in this context a trick has nothing to do with reader manipulation.

Reader manipulation is a legitimate narrative technique. Writing gimmicks, on the other hand, are not techniques but fluff. Indeed, writing gimmicks often have nothing to do with the text itself and are more about extra-textual factors.

In this post we’ll see what writing gimmicks are, how to avoid them, and there’s also a bonus: What are reverse writing gimmicks, and how to take advantage of them. As an example, I’ll throw in a brief reference to a kick-ass Japanese rock band. Home for Fiction combines everything, you can’t complain!

writing gimmicks
It looks flashy, but the way doesn’t affect the result. That’s what a writing gimmick is, too
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17 Ways to Grab a Reader’s Attention

September 21, 2020

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

affect, fiction, guest post, Igor Livramento, writing

Today’s post – showing you 17 ways to grab a reader’s attention – is authored by Igor da Silva Livramento. He’s a fellow academic from UFSC, fellow author, fellow creative-writing advisor, and overall a great fellow. He’s also a composer, music theorist, and producer. Check out his papers on Academia.edu, his music on Bandcamp, and his personal musings on his blog – in Portuguese, Spanish/Castilian, and English.

Fiction is an invitation to journey alongside characters, through places, with affect and a pinch of reflection.

Due to our increased inattention, the first few sentences are a hook in the sea of readers. Seeking our fish’s bite, we must answer at that initial stage: What is this text about? How will it be told?

A walk amongst bookshelves is a stroll beside infinitely many closed doors one may choose to open. Just flip the page and greet a plethora of people dealing with the most diverse situations in as many ways as possible.

Here I offer 17 sneak peeks that captivated me and might inspire you to captivate more readers. Join me on this ringing doorbells spree! (One could also label this techniques for speed dating the reader – preferences…)

grab reader's attention
There are many ways to grab a reader’s attention, and here are 17 of them to get you started
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