The following piece was published in November 2019 in Fairfax Media newspapers and online. I’ve had it with multiple. It’s a rubbish word. It says nothing. Yet it’s everywhere … in print, online and on the airwaves. We read of fans who make multiple trips to hear a band, of snakes that bite victims multiple times, and miners who’ve had multiple warnings to clean up their messes. Anywhere that people write and broadcast English, it seems, you’ll hear the …
WHAT FOLLOWS is a piece I wrote last year about Sigmund Freud and the uncanny. It coincided with the 100th anniversary of the great psychoanalyst’s essay on the subject. He almost apologised for giving his views on the concept, but that he did indicates its importance in thinking and writing. Especially the latter; the uncanny as a concept is used not just by Gothic storytellers and Hollywood scriptwriters. It’s fundamental to all great literature, which is written, as literary sages …
Detained indefinitely at home, most people are looking for things to do. I’m going to suggest learning to write. Yes, everyone learns to write — more or less. But most people don’t do it well. No fault on their part. They’ve been badly taught or over-complicate their writing for invalid reasons. To my knowledge, no written advice, no book, no YouTube tutorial covers how to write like an old-time reporter. We were taught well. And the crux of what we …