March 12, 2006
Experiments in progress
Only minutes after my last post, it started snowing. But it's warmed up now and there really is a feeling of spring in the air, shoots coming up, and even a patch of winter aconite under the trees at the back of the garden. I'm experimenting with photo systems, and herewith testing one of the things Flickr provides. Lots more going on as we get ready to announce the Cool Planet Guide.
| www.flickr.com |
Posted by Karen Christensen at 7:52 PM | Comments (0)
June 14, 2005
Reader writers
I love hearing from readers. Every author does. But write an environmental book and 90% of the letters will be from crackpots—people obsessed with one specific cause that for them looms larger than the big issues I’m trying to help readers focus on.
There was the person whose worry was the chemicals used in mushroom farming, and the one who told me sharply that home schooling was the only green form of education. The list goes on.
Here’s are five tips to refer to if you find yourself thinking of writing any author (including me):
1. Give her a little praise first thing. Tell her one thing (or even two or three) that you liked about the book.
2. Read the text on the cover and maybe even the introduction, so you know what she meant to do when she wrote the book (don’t criticize us for not doing something else—but you’re welcome to suggest a hot subject for a new book).
3. Think about how relevant your particular concern is to a broad community of readers. Go ahead and write even if it's narrow, because most authors are passionately interested in their subjects, but show your awareness that it is a narrow issue.
4. Lighten up. How about showing that you have a sense of humor?
5. If there's something specific--and easy--she can do and might actually want to do, explain just what it is--succinctly. Then she'll be able to pass on the tip to others.
And thanks for writing!
Posted by Karen Christensen at 8:07 PM | Comments (0)
Reader writers
I love hearing from readers. Every author does. But write an environmental book and 90% of the letters will be from crackpots—people obsessed with one specific cause that for them looms larger than the big issues I’m trying to help readers focus on.
There was the person whose worry was the chemicals used in mushroom farming, and the one who told me sharply that home schooling was the only green form of education. The list goes on.
Here’s are five tips to refer to if you find yourself thinking of writing any author (including me):
1. Give her a little praise first thing. Tell her one thing (or even two or three) that you liked about the book.
2. Read the text on the cover and maybe even the introduction, so you know what she meant to do when she wrote the book (don’t criticize us for not doing something else—but you’re welcome to suggest a hot subject for a new book).
3. Think about how relevant your particular concern is to a broad community of readers. Go ahead and write even if it's narrow, because most authors are passionately interested in their subjects, but show your awareness that it is a narrow issue.
4. Lighten up. How about showing that you have a sense of humor?
5. If there's something specific--and easy--she can do and might actually want to do, explain just what it is--succinctly. Then she'll be able to pass on the tip to others.
And thanks for writing!
Posted by Karen Christensen at 8:07 PM | Comments (0)
January 12, 2005
How The Armchair Environmentalist got started
I have the same tired but true story as many women about getting interested in environmental issues when I first had a baby; parental instincts are powerful, and we want to think of our children growing up in a world that still has a little greenery and where they can drink cold water and relish summer breezes with pleasure and not with fear.
But I found that writing about Green issues as a young mum in London meant that everyone wanted me to stick with the domestic and be a cheerleader for even the most absurd suggestions. I tried to be a saint, for a while. But I never wanted to be a full-time activist or to compose recipes for homemade cleaners. I wanted to share the practical tips I came across (which did not include such gems as 'Write small to use less paper' or 'Squeeze a lemon into the final rinse cycle'). But it was the big picture that matters: our connection with the natural world, and how we could go about our business without damaging the things we love. How we could change our ways--as communities, a society, a world--and leave an environment that isn't just tolerable but welcoming and beautiful and intact to our children.
Of course when I write a book I have to behave myself, and not criticize supposedly environment-friendly products or organizations that are really out of touch with how we live. But writing a blog gives me a chance to be frank, to tell you what concerns me, and share my efforts to understand and work on issues at home, at work, and in the world at large.
Posted by Karen Christensen at 5:35 AM | Comments (0)