This edition of the Link Lasso is themed around writing. What else is new?

First, this New York Times column dispels the notion of the writer locked away in an attic or study or loft, and reaffirms the literary art as being essentially one of connection to the world. Given that, here’s an infographic showing the effect of writing on our brains.

And now the mechanics of writing. Stephen King illuminates the importance of opening sentences in a novel. Chuck Palahniuk has an interesting exercise on the ‘thought’ verbs. (I’ve tried it; there’s some fun to be had.) And if you saw the movie Man of Steel, and have some aspirations to be a screenwriter for Hollywood, here’s some advice on crafting a good screenplay but through the lens of a film review. And I should mention that spoilers abound, so make sure you’ve seen the movie first.

And as a kind of bizarre twist in the question of which writing medium to use, the Kremlin has announced that it wants to switch back to typewriters.

Finally, I always like to end with a video of some sort. So here’s stand-up comedian Jay Larson (no, I’d never heard of him before either) doing what all great writers do: telling a story.