Dear Geist,Is it bad manners for a writer to include no acknowledgements in a novel, even though he spent hours picking the brains of five young men for shared memories, to be used in his book?
Double what?
Dear Geist,Is my learned friend pulling my leg when he says I should look up a goofy common literary error called “double bobbles”?
Pre-starting Panic
Dear Geist, I have the single best idea for a screenplay that I've ever had, and I can hardly breathe. It took me all day just to write this note to you, so so how will I ever start actually writing???
Soft-boiled
Dear Geist, What exactly is an eggcorn? I saw one online and went through a whole bunch of them and some websites and they all seemed to be playing with my head. Not the best way to greet a fellow writer.
Natural Writer
Dear Geist, Is there any such thing as a natural writer?
Pandemic Book Boom
Dear Geist, Is it true that Canadian and American publishers enjoyed high sales of books during the early months of the pandemic in the spring of 2020? I read that book publishing companies were shutting down!
Me, Myself and I
Dear Geist, Why does my agent nag me about stuff like table manners and a swear word here and there when we do an event? Is there a polite way to tell an agent to back off?
Message in a Book
Dear Geist, Do you know who wrote this sentence: “Writing is not just getting things down on paper, it is getting things inside someone else’s head”? I really want to know how to do that!
Real Time
Dear Geist, Do you have any examples of written passages dealing with remote but real time? Nothing too esoteric, but not quite, you know, earthly? Two of us are grappling with this little move but we haven’t found the right tone.
Keeping it Simple
Dear Geist, If Americans and Canadians have been trying to streamline and simplify theactual English language forever, why don’t we have more simple words?
Digging in
Dear Geist,Can you suggest a good solid book on writing that would help me unearth the material that I’m pretty sure is deep deep down?
Staggered
Dear Geist,To get right to the point, what are staggers and jags?
Dead serious
Dear Geist,What is the difference between autopsy and postmortem?
Chicken Tracks
Dear Geist,How can a writer know when the erasures and crossings-out are mostly spinning wheels and little actual writing?
Brain tweak
Dear Geist,Can you point my writing pal and me to some interesting writing exercises?
Sweet and Sour
Dear Geist,Where do you stand on italicizing some food items (shawarma; al pastor; pollo asado; birria; carnitas; etc.)?
