Here's a subject a bit arcane, but totally fascinating: Writing systems of the world's languages. How did they develop? What's the difference between logographic versus syllabic versus "abugidas" systems? Appetite whetted? Check out these books:

A History of Writing: From Hieroglyph to Multimedia by Ann-Marie Christin

The World's Writing Systems by Peter T. Daniels

Writing Systems: A Linguistic Introduction by Geoffrey Sampson

Breaking the Maya Code by Michael D. Coe

The Story of Decipherment: From Egyptian Hieroglyphs to Maya Script by Maurice Pope

One of the first questions I'm asked when people find out I've published a novel is, "How long did it take you to write it?" When I tell them it took about 17 years, I watch their jaws drop and after the look of shock dissipates, I know they're expecting me to have produced a masterpiece along the lines of War and Peace or Remembrance of Things Past. They can't imagine how it could have taken me all those years to write a semi-autobiographical, coming of age story. How could that be? Well...  Continue reading...

How do you deal with writer's block? Author Michael Bracken takes an, um, absolutist view: "This probably isn't the answer you're looking for: There's no such thing as writer's block. You either write or you don't write. It's that simple." Do you agree with Michael? Read how he supports his argument here.

After months in a teeming sea of words, the Loungeurs have crawled to shore to issue a report. It turns out that computers have as much to teach us about language as we have to teach them!  Continue reading...

Like a million wise uncles, blogs offer every kind of advice you can possibly imagine. Want to write better, think better, produce better, market better? Well then, check out these avuncular tidbits:

How to Write Research Papers that Rock!

10 Ways To Keep Your Memory Strong

9 Effective Ways to Get 200% More Work Done

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