MISCELLANY
THE WORLD OF
WRITING
6 NOVEMBER 2019 http://www.writers-online.co.uk
From buzzwords to Buchan, Derek Hudson brings you this month’s pickings
from the wide world of writingBritain seems to import ‘vaguely uplifting
lifestyle buzzwords in large quantities’,
said Theo Tait in The Week, recalling that
back in 2016 it was all about hygge, a
Danish word.
The Oxford Dictionaries defined this
as ‘a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that
engenders a feeling of contentment and well-being’.
Then came the turn of lagom, a Swedish word for not too
much, not too little, followed by the Japanese term tokimeku,
meaning ‘heart aflutter’ and now South Korea’s nunchi, the
art of intuiting what other people think, is heading this way.
Theo Tait said the Korean-American
journalist Euny Hong’s book, The
Power of Nunchi, is going to be bigger
than hygge.
But Theo’s money is money is
on sisu, the Finnish sense of stoic
determination, although he also has his
eye on ataraxia, the Greek for ‘a state
of serene calmness’.No 9-5 shifts for
prolific author
Danielle
Samantha Leach, writing in Glamour magazine,
correctly described writer Danielle Steel as a
phenomenon.
‘The author has written 179 books, which have been
translated into 43 languages. 22 of them have been
adapted for television, and two of those adaptations
have received Golden Globe nominations.
Danielle Steel releases seven new novels a year, and
her latest is The Dark Side.
Samantha says Danielle, 71, is at work on five to six new titles at all
times. ‘In 1989 Steel was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for
having a book on the New York Times bestseller list for the most consecutive
weeks of any author – 381, to be exact. To pull it off, she works twenty to
22 hours a day. (A couple times a month, when she feels the crunch, she
spends a full 24 hours at her desk.)’
Danielle, who has made some $375m from her writing, told Samantha:
‘Sometimes I’ll finish a book in the morning and by the end of the day
I’ve started another project. I don’t go to bed until I’m so tired I could
sleep on the floor.’BUZZWORDS FROMHYGGE TO NUNCHIBritain seems to import ‘vaguely uplifting
lifestyle buzzwords in large quantities’,
said Theo Tait in
back in 2016 it was all about
Danish word.