abracanabra | Secret Knowledge (Reply)

(From my writing newsletter--the whole thing is here.)

Thoughts in Passing

I recently listened to the Odyssey Workshop podcast in which Elizabeth Hand discussed the idea of secret knowledge, and it makes a lot of sense to me in the context of my current short story work-in-progress. The idea is that each of us has "secret" knowledge, knowledge about the peculiarities and small details of a job, a hobby, or an experience. We may think this information is boring, but it is fascinating to a reader unfamiliar with it. This relates to the standard writing advice of making things more specific--instead of "shoe," say "blue sneaker" or "stiletto heel."

We all have secret knowledge. But we can also discover it through research. Including those everyday, how-things-work details adds realism and gives the reader the feeling of being in on a secret known only to a few. tl;dr I've spent quite a bit of time researching drag queen makeup and pest control techniques this week! Hopefully it will have the desired effect.

(Do you have a writing question? Send it to me, either by replying to this email or by using the comment form on my website, and it may get answered in the next newsletter.)

What I've been up to lately, writing-wise:

Writing short stories, collecting critiques on the rough draft of my novel-in-progress, and generally trying to straighten out the backlog of writing-related things. Oh! And an illustrated charity anthology of odd sayings and microfiction that I have a piece in, Beer-Battered Shrimp for Cognitive Ruminations, is running a Kickstarter.

Reminder! Today and next Friday, if you're in the Twin Cities you can see me perform at Cole Sarar's Scifi Reading Hour at Bryant-Lake Bowl. Facebook event link: https://www.facebook.com/pg/SciFiReadings/events