Tools and Insights – Page 3

Tell Your Story

admin2021-01-29T08:07:23-05:00

My mother used to marvel at the twists and turns her life had taken. “If I could write a book, nobody would believe it,” she’d say. What about your life? Would we believe your story? How will you know until you write it? Are you ready to write your memoir or the “Great American Novel”? Let 2021 be the year you finally commit to getting your stories or poems or essays on the page. No matter what your writing goals are, it’s great to have support. The blank page can be intimidating. Princeton Writes invites you to join Writing Space, a [...]

Tell Your Storyadmin2021-01-29T08:07:23-05:00

Talking Over Turkey

admin2020-12-02T13:10:34-05:00

Talking Over Turkey Are you worried about Thanksgiving? I’m not talking about the mask and hand sanitizer part. You’ve planned for that. The limited guest list, you have arranged. The menu? That’s the easiest thing. But the conversation with relatives who disagree with your political views—what do you do about that? It is understandable that Americans have trouble debating with the “other side” without hurting familial relationships. Our Aristotelian style of argument—think of the five-paragraph essay format you relied on in high school—seeks to win. We make a claim, provide evidence to back up that claim, and draw a conclusion, which [...]

Talking Over Turkeyadmin2020-12-02T13:10:34-05:00

The Joys of Audiobooks by Stephanie Whetstone

admin2020-10-01T14:16:03-04:00

The Joys of Audiobooks by Stephanie Whetstone My son is always wearing headphones. Whether he is on the computer, taking out the trash, or walking around the block, his ears are covered by black, oval puffs, connected by a headband. The blue light on the edge shows that he is wirelessly connected to some device. “Take those off,” I say, waving my arms to get his attention. “Huh?” he says, then frees one ear so he can hear me. But he's not listening to music or a podcast. He's listening to a book. I have extracted him from another world, [...]

The Joys of Audiobooks by Stephanie Whetstoneadmin2020-10-01T14:16:03-04:00

Dispatches from Quarantine: Notes from an Unknown Island by Elizabeth Durham

John Weeren2020-08-07T08:22:58-04:00

Dispatches from Quarantine Notes from an Unknown Island by Elizabeth Durham In the early days of the pandemic, I was inundated with messages about writing. Some of them were directly addressed to me, like invitations from various sectors of the University to join writing groups, or emails from academic journals calling for real-time analysis of the events unfolding so rapidly around us, all of us, around the world. Other messages were indirect, floating in our cultural midst, like a vague sense I should be keeping a diary of this moment or emailing far-flung family and friends, just to check in, or [...]

Dispatches from Quarantine: Notes from an Unknown Island by Elizabeth DurhamJohn Weeren2020-08-07T08:22:58-04:00

Dispatches from Quarantine, Part 4: Goodbye for Now by Cate Mahoney

Cate Mahoney2020-06-19T14:36:03-04:00

Dispatches from Quarantine, Part 4 Goodbye for Now by Cate Mahoney Parting is such sweet sorrow! But in the midst of the pandemic, it does feel a bit like another change that slips under the surface as everyone is dealing with so much already. This is my last post as a University Administrative Fellow. Having graduated this past month, I’m moving out of Princeton and into the world! Picture Hayao Miyazaki’s movie Howl’s Moving Castle when the castle moves on and I’m the tiny protagonist standing in the landscape planning how to take my next steps. Or let’s think of this [...]

Dispatches from Quarantine, Part 4: Goodbye for Now by Cate Mahoney Cate Mahoney2020-06-19T14:36:03-04:00

Dispatches from Quarantine, Part 3: How to Look Good Zooming by Cate Mahoney

Cate Mahoney2020-05-06T17:06:52-04:00

Dispatches from Quarantine, Part 3 How to Look Good Zooming by Cate Mahoney Now that we’re all working at home, giving presentations at home, and trying to stay sane at home, users of Zoom, the suddenly ubiquitous video conferencing platform, will want some tips and tricks in their digital tool belt. I offer these suggestions as someone who recently (and successfully!) defended her dissertation virtually. (Thank you, thank you—you’re too kind.) (1) Find your light! And by this I mean placing your light source in the right position so that you are illuminated and don’t look like a cave dweller. To [...]

Dispatches from Quarantine, Part 3: How to Look Good Zooming by Cate MahoneyCate Mahoney2020-05-06T17:06:52-04:00

To Zoom or Not to Zoom?

admin2020-05-07T11:11:50-04:00

To Zoom or Not to Zoom? As we try to stay connected to our families, friends, jobs, and communities while we social distance, we spend our days "Zooming" or "FaceTiming." Sometimes, this is a great way to come together, but it's not the only way. Email still works. Letters are wonderful for communication that is not urgent. Phone calls can have an intimacy and a connection that a video feed might not. And last but not least, you can host a book exchange, like the Pace Center's Bogle Fellows. However you do it, we hope you stay in touch with colleagues, friends, [...]

To Zoom or Not to Zoom?admin2020-05-07T11:11:50-04:00

Dispatches from Quarantine, Part 2 by Cate Mahoney

Cate Mahoney2020-04-13T20:27:01-04:00

Dispatches from Quarantine, Part 2 by Cate Mahoney Hello, world! I hope this finds you safe and sound and keeping a level head for as much of the daytime and nighttime hours as you can. Here in New York City, we’re finally leveling off the curve of the virus, but I expect we’ll be staying in quarantine for much, much longer to make sure we keep it that way. I don’t know about you, but the days are blurring together for me. I try to keep a routine of when I wake up, take the dog out, and try to get [...]

Dispatches from Quarantine, Part 2 by Cate MahoneyCate Mahoney2020-04-13T20:27:01-04:00

Writing at Its Best: COVID-19 Edition, by Aaron Su

Aaron Su2020-04-09T18:00:18-04:00

Writing at Its Best: COVID-19 Edition, by Aaron Su In the midst of our ongoing global pandemic, many of us are finding ourselves attending to friends or relatives in need; balancing new schedules and priorities; or perhaps just idling away at home, as we follow "social distancing" techniques to the best of our abilities. It may feel like our entire lives are being conditioned by this event. For this reason, it is especially important that we find ways to uplift ourselves by writing and speaking in ways that carry the full weight of what we want to say. Stories have a [...]

Writing at Its Best: COVID-19 Edition, by Aaron SuAaron Su2020-04-09T18:00:18-04:00

Dispatches from Quarantine, Part 1 by Cate Mahoney

Cate Mahoney2020-03-30T14:44:03-04:00

Dispatches from Quarantine, Part 1 by Cate Mahoney Hi, all! I truly hope this finds you and your loved ones in good health. Time seems to blur these days as we stay inside to flatten the curve of COVID-19. There has been a lot of talk across social media about writing in this time of crisis. You’ve heard of Love in the Time of Cholera? Who’s writing Love in the Time of Corona? (Ouch.) Many people are saying something along the lines of: "Well, you’re stuck inside, so use this time to be ultra-productive! There is simply no better time to write than [...]

Dispatches from Quarantine, Part 1 by Cate MahoneyCate Mahoney2020-03-30T14:44:03-04:00

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