Is There Anybody Out There?
Walter Ong once said that the writer’s audience is always a fiction. And while “always” is a strong word, I tend to agree with him. To whom are we aiming our message? Case in point, as I sit and write this, who is it that I think is going to read it? Well, you, of…
College Essay Season is Upon Us
You’ve spent late nights studying for tests. You’ve done the extracurricular activities. You’ve aced the standardized tests. The only thing standing between you and that college acceptance letter to your first-choice school is an essay. And if you’re not careful, that essay can be the difference between a virtual rain of confetti welcoming you to your dream…
Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs
The field of semiotics is one typically reserved for academics, though its applications are supremely important in every genre of writing. Briefly, semiotics is the study of the relationship between signs, signifiers, and signifieds. All of that is a fancy way of saying it’s the way that words convey meaning. For example, think of the…
Is This Thing On?
Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw once said, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” And while it might be easy to classify this as yet another witty comment by a writer known for witticisms, the inherent truth in his statement demands attention. We can believe that we are…
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Andrew B. Spencer // Writer + Editor 