Quote of the Day

"Substitute 'damn' every time you're inclined to write 'very;' your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be." - Mark Twain

Blog Advice: I Need Your Help

Simply put, I want to make my blog better.

What would you like to see? More quotations? More writing? Better writing? Longer posts? Is my blog visually pleasing?

What keeps you from following it? Or what keeps you following it if you do? The topics discussed? The quotes?

I am willing to do the work, and I am working to be more consistent.

My Quotation Journal

Here is what an average page in my quotation journal looks like...

I am almost finished with the journal and am working on transferring all the quotes to a Word Document, in case there is ever a fire and all the words get burned to ashes. I hope to give this journal to someone special some day. From my eyes, it is one of the best gifts I could ever give, not only because of what the journal means to me, how precious it is, but also because of all the ideas and bits of life advice it contains.

Love Books? Watch Video.

This video, sent to me by someone close, moved me to tears and laughter. It is stunning. With no words, it says so much about books, reading, writing, and life. Writing brings color into your life. It can save your life (a lesson first taught to me by Stephen King in his book, On Writing). If you have written, then you can live on through your words and continue to influence lives even after you are gone. Books are our friends, and we love them!

"Not everyone needs books, but those who do are not alive without them."

"When she came to write her story, she would wonder exactly when the books and the words started to mean not just something but everything." - Markus Zusak, The Book Theif, 30

"But the truth is that grammar is always interesting, always useful." - Francine Prose, from Reading Like a Writer, 43

"Literature not only breaks the rules, but makes us realize that there are none." - Francine Prose, from Reading Like a Writer

"And I began that night, by the light of dozens of candles, to finally put on paper what was in my heart." - SARK, from Juicy Pens Thirsty Paper

I want this experience. SARK has taught me much about writing and not writing. Did she become a writer that night? Or was she born a writer? But a writer, in the words of SARK, is "one who writes," so maybe it is not until you start writing that you can call yourself a writer. I guess that makes sense.

I wonder if I light the candles the writing will come.

"You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write." - Saul Bellow

This quote is in an insomnia journal that I use on nights when I struggle to sleep.

The contents of dreams and the ideas and words that arise during rest and relaxation are things meant to written. They come from the subconsious. They are real. They are true. They are magical. I have had those moments where I sit up in bed and absolutely need to grab a pen and paper and write the thought down. Since the experience happens without intentionally thinking or writing, the thoughts are generally simple and precise. Little bits of truth. Flawless statments. There is no struggle or deciding which word works best. There is no editing or revising. A moment of clarity.

"The slow hard toil of getting all the lovely words just right." - James Branch Cabell

"I just try to warn people who hope to get published that publication is not all it is cracked up to be. But writing is." - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird.

Friend And Critic

Everyone needs someone to read what they have written, but finding the right person can be tough. You need both a critic and a friend. Beginners especially need someone who is both honest and gentle. Someone who will provide constructive and encouraging feedback.

Anne Lamott in Bird By Bird (again! I love the way she writes) says "I don't think you have time to waste not writing because you are affraid you won't be good enough at it, and I don't think you have time to waste on somone who does not respond to you with kindness and respect. You don't want to spend your time around people who make you hold your breath. You can't fill up when you're holding your breath. And writing is about filling up, filling up when you are empty."

And she goes on... "beginners are learning to play, and they need encouragement to keep their hands moving along the page."

Getting Started

A quote just to get my blog started ... "writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way." - from Bird by Bird, quoting E.L. Doctorow.

I recommend reading Bird By Bird to anyone who is or wants to be a writer. Just take things bit by bit. Paragraph by paragraph. Day by day. Such great advice on writing and life!