Wednesday, May 26, 2010  A 12-step program for writers who care
about their readers  by Daphne Gray-Grant   Many people sing the
praises of 12-step programs; others make jokes about them. Have
you ever thought of trying one for your writing? I give you the
formula, below.  I'm no hockey fan, so when I was tired and
bored one evening last week, I didn't put The Game on TV.
Instead, I idly flipped the remote and settled briefly on
Intervention -- a reality TV program I hoped would be more
savoury than other examples of the genre.  Described as "a
powerful and gripping television series in which people confront
their darkest demons and seek a route to redemption," the
episode I saw focused on a young woman who shot herself up with
I-cannot-remember-which-drug with inexorable fury. The show was
as relentless as a child with a hammer. But who knows what grief
this woman was subjected to as a youth? And who fully
understands the role her own genes might have played in her
various habits?  While I had nothing but sy