Dunning-Kruger effect

Tipsday: Informal writerly learnings, Jan 22-28, 2023

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s the last tipsday (and last day) of January. Get your fill of informal writerly learnings for the week 🙂

Mary McDonough: when doody calls (AKA a telltale sign of writerly procrastination, and what it may reveal). Then, Jamie Beck considers the controversy around trigger warnings in literature: to warn, or not to warn. Emilie-Noelle Provost explains how to handle malicious online comments about your work: taming the haters. Next, Heather Webb says that self-soothing is really all about micro-tension. Liz Michalski tells a tale as old as time. Writer Unboxed

How brands ruin slang. Otherwords | PBS Storied

K.M. Weiland suggests six problems to troubleshoot when your story isn’t working. Helping Writers Become Authors

Deborah Zenha-Adams introduces us to the ancient science that can help you get your story written. Live, Write, Thrive

Elizabeth Spann Craig shares some advice about handling edits and critiques.

The dark side of happy endings. Tale Foundry

F.E. Choe wants you to be brief; be specific; be gorgeous. Then, LA Bourgeois shares five more creativity exercises for writers. Lori Walker interviews Jumata Emill about exploring social justice topics in a YA thriller. Next, Anna M. Holmes says that research is the key to immersive world building. Monica Cox shares five tips for making the most of your first read through. DIY MFA

Tiffany Yates Martin has some advice for college students on how to pursue a career in editing. Then, Julie Vick offers advice about promoting your book as an introvert in the age of TikTok. Jane Friedman

Shaelin shares her 6-arc story structure (character-driven and pantser-friendly) with template. Shaelin Writes

Christina Delay helps you build suspense with secrets. Then, Becca Puglisi discusses originalizing your story idea. Writers Helping Writers

Maria Connor shares five tips for managing your author business during times of crisis. Ellen Buikema: writing science fiction, part 1. Writers in the Storm

On writing antiheroes. Hello, Future Me

Tiffany Yates Martin has some advice about the Dunning-Kruger Effect or dealing with author despair syndrome. Fox Print Editorial

Joanna Penn interviews Oliver Altair about the importance of confident creative direction, voice, and taste in generative AI art. The Creative Penn

Chris Winkle explains why we stigmatize enjoyment. Then, Oren Ashkenazi ranks the climaxes of Marvel’s phase four, from worst to best. Mythcreants

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you took away something to support your current work(s) in progress.

Until Thursday, keep staying safe and well, my writerly friends!

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, July 3-9, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

Welcome to thoughty Thursday, your opportunity to get your mental corn popping. And happy Friday eve, all!

Steve Karnowski reports that Chauvin sentenced 21 years for violating George Floyd’s civil rights. Associated Press

Samantha Beech and Dakin Andone: Jayland Walker suffered at least 60 wounds in fatal police shooting, Akron police chief says, as authorities release bodycam footage. CNN

Ashley Domingo Hendricks explains what dance activism is. JSTOR Daily

Aborting the sun: the facts, the feels, the action. Khadija Mbowe

Rebecca Deczynski says that, with Roe gone, entrepreneurs and brands are fundraising for reproductive rights organizations. Inc.

Crystal Echo Hawk: women’s bodies are no longer their own. For Native people, they never have been. Elle

Cazembe Murphy Jackson is a trans man who had an abortion: reproductive rights is everyone’s fight. Esquire

Satoshi Sugiyama and Chang-Ran Kim reveal that Shinzo Abe’s assassin used a handmade firearm. Reuters

Martin Finucane reports that Boston researchers may have found the biomarker for long covid. The Boston Globe

Clark Quinn wants instructional designers to think about activities beyond the course. Learnlets

Guy Kawasaki interviews Esther Dyson on what’s after success. The Remarkable People Podcast

Joe tries to land a plane (to prove a point). Be Smart

The Next Big Idea Club says it’s time to reframe our thoughts about anxiety. Here’s how to use it productively. “Treating all anxiety as a disease hinders us from finding ways to manage and use anxiety to our advantage, and from benefiting from treatments when we do need extra support.” Fast Company

Alex Pasternack wonders what physicists have found and what they’re looking for next at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. Fast Company

Meet the microbes that could eat your trash. TED-Ed

Olivia Box admires sacred trees in Japan. JSTOR Daily

Thank you for taking the time to visit. I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, Feb 20-26, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time, once again, to get your mental corn popping!

Liz Baker: jury finds Amhaud Arbery’s three killers guilty of federal hate crimes. NPR

David K. Li reports on the sentencing of the officer who killed Daunte Wright. NBC News

Where are the missing Black towns? Every How Did We Get Here, part 3. The Amber Ruffin Show

Sophie Hurwitz: LGBTQ+ Ghanaian refugee faces “cruel” deportation after asylum claim denied in Canada. Xtra*

Olivia B. Waxman and Arpita Aneja reveal the legacy of the Reconstruction Era’s Black political leaders. Time

Cathy Free: she found her father’s segregated schoolhouse decaying in the Virginia woods. Now it’s on its way to being saved. The Washington Post

Vladimir Isachenkov, Yuras Karmenau, Aamer Madhani, and Eric Tucker report that Biden and Putin signal bigger confrontation ahead over Ukraine. CTV News

Alexandru Micu: the Dunning-Kruger Effect, or why the ignorant think they’re experts. ZME Scince

Clark Quinn critiques an article on microlearning: good and bad advice all in one! Learnlets

Maya Wei-Haas: Mars rover takes big steps in its most important mission. National Geographic

Stunning, 360-degree view of Mars from Perseverance Rover.

Rebecca Shedd sheds (sorry, not sorry) light on 15th Century clothing for writers. Then, Shannon Ferretti says it’s like learning to ride a horse. Dan Koboldt

Dominique Potvin considers altruism in birds: magpies outwit scientists by removing each other’s tracking devices. Corvids rule! The Conversation

Florence + the Machine – King

Thanks for spending time with me. I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.

This weekend, I should be posting my next chapter update for February.

Until then, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories (now, more than ever)!