A lot has been going on at the website in the last few weeks. We took on an intern, Blossom Akpojisheri of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. We’re sorting things out with a photo editor, Allegra Boverman. And the website became financially self-sustaining. It’s a lot to celebrate all at once. Considering Erika and I founded this…
Author: Adam Katz
TED Talks and Writing and Bowels
One of the issues with writing is that people always compare themselves to the rest of the world. It’s understandable to read a short story by Hemingway; to admire the master-class in compression and repression; and think to yourself: “I could never write like that.” That’s an easy way to score points against yourself. Because…
Cat Poems (Caturday)
Cat Poems What are Some Cat Poems? Okay. The aforementioned verses by Christopher Smart really are lovely. We mention them a lot on this site, and there’s a reason for that. A bit of background: Smart was an 18th century poet whose verse tends to sound very Biblical. He wrote a larger poem called “Jubilate…
How to Write a Story?
I want to share something with you. Partly because I think it’s funny, and partly because I think it’s interesting: “The Himalayan salt crystal his mother sent him for his last birthday tasted quite good on eggs. Did they taste better on eggs than the salt that came a can? Of that, Sisyphus couldn’t be…
Birthday Suit (Big Cat, Little Cat)
Big Cat, Little Cat: Birthday Suit The Birthday Suit and the Paradox of the Cat I think I like cats because they combine some of the best traits–affection, playfulness, musicality–with some of the worst traits–distrust, schadenfreude, lack of accountability–of people. A cat will break something and just walk away. A cat will play with its…
Mental Health Awareness Month 2023
There’s a joke about a writer. Mental Health Awareness Month was around the corner and this writer, being an expert in mental health–from both experience and education–was given the reins that month: their editor expected them to write weekly articles, daily blog-posts, and hourly tweets. The strain was so intense that the writer went mad….
Poetry Month (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat: National Poetry Month National Poetry Month: Get Excitededed!! April is National Poetry Month. We have events planned. You are invited! Details to follow! You can find information about it on our Facebook group. Meanwhile, do you know about 30 Days, 30 Poems? Last year’s was a success. The page still gets…
Discipline the Breath: What Poetry Does
So first of all Happy World Poetry Day! It’s no secret that we here at 2 Rules of Writing <3 us some poetry. In fact, we’re dedicating the month of April to sharing poetry from all over the world. We have people weighing in with their favorites from Hong Kong, Sweden, Nigeria, Australia, and that’s…
Low-Hanging Fruit (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat: Low-Hanging Fruit Low-Hanging Fruit and Comedy I grant you that size isn’t a funny issue for everyone. There are people who are bullied for their size; made to feel less-than, etc. Telling jokes about these kinds of traditional topics is an art that presents interesting challenges. What I was trying to…
Interrobang
Big Cat, Little Cat: Interrobang The Interrobang and Other Matters Has anyone actually seen an interrobang? I mean just been reading along and… BAM! INTERROBANG. I’ve been reading stuff for more than thirty years and I’ve never seen it once. Which reminds me that there are a lot of features of a language that seemingly…