Argh Ink

This is a Good Book Thursday: Audience

Jenny — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 09:18:07 +0000

Now that my brain is still back in place and I’m writing and rewriting, I’m starting to think more about things like audience. In particular, what the difference is between pandering to your audience (all those damn tropes) and serving them. Because let’s face it, writing and reading are collaborative acts (even without Bob). What I write, you add your own assumptions, dreams, taste, and needs to. It’s part of the reason why I try to leave so much white space in the narrative. If I describe every character down to the freckles, that doesn’t leave you any room to design your own version. So I don’t dwell in description, which came back to bite me now as I rewrite “Getting Carter” because I keep forgetting whether Nadine is blonde or dark. I think she’s blonde, I think she had on a dark wig once, but I am still not completely sure. The first time I ran into this was back on my first novel, Manhunting. For some reason, I gave the hero, Jake, a mustache. And then got several letters from fans that started, “In my version of Manhunting, Jake doesn’t have a mustache.” Yeah, won’t do that again.

And then I hit this in an essay by Adam Gopnik in The New Yorker on musical theater: That regular audience is theatre’s condition of existence. Great art can emerge from a garden cottage in Massachusetts or a madhouse in the South of France and find its audience generations later. Theatre needs its audience tonight. Even the highest tragedies, from “King Lear” to “Death of a Salesman,” must first of all offer their customers the prospect of a nice night out. Even as common rituals dwindle, the shared passion persists: people still want that night out. The show must go on because someone wants to see it.”

And I thought, “That’s fiction, too.” Readers want that night out, they just cast in the terms of a comfortable seat, a tasty beverage, possibly a snack, and a story that delivers. And the people who write fiction need that audience, need to make sure they have that night off from the real world, and then probably to find somebody to talk about it, call up the Good Parts, bemoan where the author went off the rails, and just generally revisit that experience again. People call reading solitary, and it isn’t. You’re never alone in a book, the author is always right there beside you.

So what did you read with the author beside you this week?

Watching Wednesday: Be Safe Out There

Jenny — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 09:12:48 +0000

My favorite PSA ever:

Making it Monday: Peanut Butter Toast

Jenny — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:31:49 +0000

I have plans, BIG PLANS, for getting my act together, but it turns out I’m getting it slowly. I have big projects in sight, and I’m gathering supplies–that’s a project in itself–but actually producing anything . . . I made peanut butter toast tonight.

So what did you make this week?

Admin Help, Please

Jenny — Mon, 26 Oct 2026 09:27:28 +0000

So AI has evidently entered WordPress spam. Usually the spam is pretty blatant and occasionally pretty funny, but lately some of the spam that gets through the filter has taken words from the posts and responded to them so it takes me a minute. I think I’ve caught all of it, and of course if I see your names I pass those right through, but if one of the spam posts finally snookers me–which is inevitable–would you please let me know? I try to keep this place as clean as possible, but at this point, I’m gonna need a little community help.

And I thank you for your support.

Good Sunday: Seasons

Jenny — Sun, 25 Oct 2026 18:25:29 +0000

God, I love seasons. When I’m screaming about cold and ice, here comes spring, balmy and full of promise. About the time I’m wanting more warmth, spring slides into summer and the world just explodes with color and soft sunny yellow light. And when I’ve had enough heat, fall comes along with all that crispness and sharp light. What really surprises me right now is much I’m looking forward to winter, not my favorite season. But I want all that white light, and the difference between indoor and out, and how great I feel bundled up against the cold in the cold. I’m actually looking forward to winter, although I’m still enjoying the fall. Seasons. Those were a good idea.

What good things happened to you this week?

This is a Good Book Friday: The Apology

Jenny — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 23:59:39 +0000

Sorry. Finished Arresting Anna only a year late. Spent three hours in a dentist’s chair. Now loopy on pain meds.

What did you read this week?

Good Sunday: Positive Gossip

Jenny — Sun, 18 Oct 2026 08:53:40 +0000

I read an essay in the NYT about cynicism: The thesis was that cynical people are generally assumed by others to be smarter than positive people, and studies have shown that the opposite is true: optimistic people tend to be smarter and more successful than cynics. That’s because cynicism is lazy and reductive: if you dismiss the possibility of hope, you don’t have to do anything to fix things. You can just sit and bitch. Hope means you have to act. The essay finished by recommending positive gossip: telling each other about acts of kindness and cooperation, about the good things in the world.

So we’ve been positive gossiping for weeks.

Come on, Arghers, spill some tea.

This is a Good Book Thursday: ARGH

Jenny — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 13:29:45 +0000

So far today I missed putting up GBT on time and a dentist appt. I’m going back to bed.

What did you read this week?

Making Monday: The Joy of Finishing

Jenny — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 21:51:58 +0000

Tonight, I am finishing Arresting Anna. I have already finished my taxes. The relief is beyond ecstasy.

What did you make last week?

Good Sunday: Good Memory

Jenny — Sun, 11 Oct 2026 08:43:00 +0000

I just read this in the NYT:

“Try getting in touch with people you care about and asking them to recall something that gave them joy, Dr. McGonigal said. Research shows that sharing memories enhances relationships and improves well-being. “And it’s often a wonderful way to learn about people,” she said.

So this week, rephrasing a little, reach back into the past and tell us something that gave you real joy, so much that you still remember it and smile years later.

Or you know, tell us something good that happened this week.