/lit/ - Literature

Recommend books about:
-nationalizing all natural resources
-abolishing all forms of taxation
-direct democracy / popular referendums as the norm

>>17126836
If they don't give names and dates in a call to action, then they're a psyop or charlatan.

>>14430074
When I look at the mirror, I don't see myself. My flesh, my face, my skin - but not me. There is a man in front of me, looking at me, but he is not me. He is the man in the mirror. The man in the mirror is a reflection of me, but the reflection is not right. It is imperfect, in the way that only a perfect mirror can be. I think of me. The man in the mirror is what the world sees, but he is not what I see. I must make corrections.

First I prepare the surface. I splash warm water on his face, to open his pores. I reach out and lather him. I listen to the sound of my fingers rubbing coarsely across his bristles. Like a sculptor, in pursuit of timeless perfection, I meditate on the Platonic ideal of my self. I consider all of the ways that he is not me. I consider each and every traitorous hair, freshly regrouped from yesterday's rout, and what I must do to it. I reach out for the razor and begin to carve - a strip, going from bottom lip to neck. The shaving foam falls away, as white as marble. I push my razor all across my canvas and as each piece splits off a little more of my face is revealed. Soon he is more me than him. Then I splash cold water on my face. It is a bracing full stop - the final wash, to clear away the dust and reveal the finished piece. Have I captured all my features? Have I revealed every truth?

The man in the mirror is gone. Now I am there. It is cathartic. I was there all along. The man in the mirror was never me, but now I have proved it. Now the world can see me as I really am.

>not sure how well this turned out, I was thinking about my experience losing weight in the process of writing it.
My main changes were to soften the tone. I made it less conversational in the parts that were conversational, but less direct in the parts that were direct. The result, I think, flows more smoothly. For example.

>I look at the mirror and I do not see myself.
This is too delcarative, in my opinion. Just adding a "when" makes it less declarative and thus feel less pretentious. That's a taste thing.

>",of course,"
I hate this. It's a cliche and the implied conversationality is paper thin. It doesn't communicate any information. Pet peeve of mine.

I also added a point and a sculpting/art motif but I'm not sure how well it came it. I also tried to give the piece more of a point - the author clearly has the viewpoint that you can't use your eyes to figure out who a person is. It's a more unclear way to make that point than I'd like, but I was trying to keep in pace with what you posted. Having a point turns a short piece of writing from "neat" (at best) to "interesting".

The motif is just a little thing to engage the reader a little bit more and make them use their brains. Plus it gives structure to your writing so it makes it easier for you to write.

All that said, what you posted was fine. I'm not even sure if what I posted was an improvement. It's just different.