a dose of humor, in a very serious way.

The thing I'm enjoying most about Zadie Smith's writing is her tone. She is relaxed, she is precise, she is sure of herself and she is humorous. In these ways, she gives herself credibility and draws her reader in so that they are seeing the world through Smiths' eyes. She also maintains a nice flow; relaying on the information she has already shared with us a bridge to the information she is planning to share.
The informal diction of these pieces make them feel lighter than prehaps they really are. In "That Crafty Feeling", we get a lot just from the title. We see she is not taking herself too seriously, she has a great sense of humor, and she is going to teach us about her craft. Smith is honest with her audience,  letting them know that the steps she is offering to potential writers are not the same steps for one and all; but rather "...what they most accurately describe, in truth, is the writing of my novels." (p.99). Now that the reader understands we are going through this intense process of writing a novel through someone else's, personal steps and stages; we get to see it all directly from Smiths point of view. It's ok if your not a "micro manager", but Smith is; and so she examines her craft through her own eyes; hoping that some people out there are either smilar enough to her, or open enough to understand what she goes through.
There are so many places throughout these chapters that Smith is able to create humor by laughing at herself. "After each book is done, you look forward to hating it (and you never have to wait long).." (p.102) Smith points out the obvious in her ife and makes it either relatable to other aspiring authors, or at least just funny to her readers. She doesn't relay heavily on the technical jargon of publishing a novel. instead Smith focuses on the actual processes and states of mind that a writer goes through, not the typical "how to" you would expect. Another place I found a surprise was when Smith was describing a conversation in Liberia and adds "?" (p.118) to the banter. I had to stop. What does a question mark sound like, I had to ask myself. I appreciated the playfulness she added to such a depressing subject.
Smith was able to weave imagery into the readers mind by using simple descriptions that were not dragged down by excessive adjectives; "The old executive mansion is broken open like a child's playhouse..." (p.118) The imagery here is precise with out getting muddled down by details. She is right to the point, and it her descriptions are surprising and dramatic in their simplicity.