Pam Webb

a writer's journey as a reader

Archive for the category “Writing”

18 Mar 2013
5 Comments

Pinning My Interests Away


I’m stuck.  I’m stuck on the how and why I am venturing out on the newest craze of “HeyLookAtMe” socializing: this week it’s Pintrest. It must be that hermit in me that is holding out on sticking up photos of couches, cupcakes, book covers, pets, and favorite movies. I don’t get the concept of pinning up photos.  But that’s a whole ‘nother post in itself.

English: Red Pinterest logo

English: Red Pinterest logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve been doing some pondering of late about the whole tizzifying concept of web presence.  If publishers, agents, editors, even fans (thinking someday potential) exonerate and extol the virtues and necessity of working The Web–well, then I guess it should be done.  I thought I was doing pretty well with a biweekly post to my blog.  Apparently that’s not enough.  I should have a Facebook account (I don’t).  I should also Tweet, Tumble, Stumble Upon, and be Linked In with others–I did try, but the bigger question came up: when exactly am I to find time to write if I’m busy telling everyone that I’m writing?  Here’s some more figuring, a step up from pondering:

It takes time to …

  • Sign up
  • Create a profile
  • Check messages
  • Answer messages, invitations, reply back
  • Update the profile page
  • Again
  • Redecorate the home page
  • Again
  • Create a post
  • Postdate my posts
  • Get lost visiting other blogger’s sites
  • Leave pithy comments
  • And on, and on

All this activity consumes my precious time needed to write.  I decided I found myself running around checking too many little fires instead of enjoying the warmth of the bigger one I had built.  That’s metaphor speak for all that time and energy linking, tweeting, facing, and pinning, and stumbling, and what other web verbage is out there, left no time for the actual purpose of kindling* those web fires in the first place: my real writing–picture books, YA novels, poetry, middler reader renderings.  My cow joke manuscript is languishing.  I should be pursuing that publisher tip I received last year at the SCBWI conference. Yes, there are publishers who looking for a cow joke book for their list.

Sigh. My writing languishes while I coax and blow on the embers of a handful of hopeful flames of recognition.  So I shall not be poking at smolderings any longer; I shall stick to the toasty warmth of WordPress.  Especially since I’ve discovered the scheduled post option.  I now have time to attend conferences, revise current projects, and reflect upon yet another rejection letter.

So, wonderful reader(s)–have you found that all those web verbage fires leave you a bit cold, considering all the effort it takes to get them going?

*kindle, Not Kindle–not an intentional pun

Blue Skies,
CM

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Posted in Blogging, creativity, Reflections, technology, time management, Writing and tagged , , ,
27 Feb 2013
2 Comments

Blog Hop


blog-hop-png

Valerie Lawson is one gung-ho gal when it comes to writing and getting published.  From her detailed commentary from attending the Big SCBWI Conference to contests to writing tips she knows how to motivate and inspire.  That’s why I jumped at her latest writing endeavor (see above).

The Next Big Thing comes at a great time for me because I am determined to get my manuscripts out into the hands of editors and agents this year. I recently sent an agent  one of my YA manuscripts and I am awaiting her response.  So, here I go with my Blog Hop contribution:

1. What is the working title of your book?
FreeFall
2. Where did the idea come from for the book?
For a time I was a teacher in an alternative program and there were a couple of male students who struggled with trying to change the direction of how their life was headed. Fighting, a tough home life, and going to juvie hall were aspects of life they dealt with. I saw how they struggled to keep from falling further into a destructive lifestyle. I also saw the need for a strong male mentor to step in and help befriend these guys and so  with these elements before me I sat down and the story began writing itself.
3. What genre does your book come under?
Definitely YA, although I believe adults would find interest in the interrelationships.
4.  Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
I’m not much up on teen actors these days, but I did keep a mental picture of a young Matt Dillon (Outsiders vintage) in mind for Wes, the lead protagonist.
5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Sometimes to keep from falling we need to accept the hand of friendship.
6. Is your book self-published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?
It is currently being reviewed by an agent.
7. How long did it take to write the first draft of your manuscript?
The first draft took about a year to write and I submitted chapters through my writing group and through Inkpop when the site was up and running. I also received feedback from an editor at an SCBWI conference. I’ve been working on polishing the manuscript over the last couple of years based on feedback received.
8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
I think of Ponyboy from The Outsiders and how he tried to overcome the difficulties of his life, but The Outsiders isn’t really my inspiration, only the struggles are– of a young man with potential who is caught up in a lifestyle he wants to get out of, yet isn’t sure how to do so. Any YA books where the protagonist is in conflict with himself, as well as conflict with society would be the main genre.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book? See #2
10. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Feedback received mention the high school action being realistic, along with the shifting dynamics of longtime friendship that’s changing. There’s also a great scene of a three on three basketball competition. The biggest grabber is the opening.  Here it is:

          Falling.  Air rushing past him.  Rippling his cheeks, his clothes, coursing over him like cool river water.  Arms spread-eagled out, he faces the approaching ground with a smile.  Yeah.  Getting closer, closer.  Any time now.  Not quite there. Pull!

          “You’re dead.”

          Wes slammed the console.  “No way.  The machine is off.  I had it timed.”

          Nick smirked. “Game over. You’re dead.  You didn’t pull the rip cord in time.  And you are now splattered all over some farmer’s field in Kansas.  You cut it too close every time.”

          Still tingling from the game’s adrenaline rush, Wes stepped out of the game booth. He got such a rush playing Free Fall.  There was something about jumping out into nothing but the blue sky and screaming down towards earth.

Thanks, Valerie for the inclusion to The Next Big Thing. Be sure to check out her site and the others who have participated.

Image

FreeFall: a novel of a young man who needs to change his direction in life

Happy Pages!

Posted in Blogging, creativity, Uncategorized, Writing and tagged , , ,
15 Feb 2013
3 Comments

#9: Poems to Know and Grow On


It’s been too long since I paid attention to my Musings of a Voracious Reader list.  Tidying up my files I discovered entry #9: Poems to Know and Grow On and it seems quite appropriate as a post-Valentine’s Day post, since poetry is the food of love (right next to chocolate).

As I teach poetry, especially as I prepare my AP students for their exams in May, I am reading more and more poets and poetry.  This is a good thing.  In fact, I am now taking on what I have deemed as the “Emily Project” which is discovering Emily Dickinson.  Understanding her would be another project in itself.

As I teach, read, and study poems I have gathered a few along the way.  I dearly wish I had a better knack for memorization because I would like to pull out a poem for any occasion and dazzle, delight, and demonstrate the power of poetry to any willing listener. I love it when that moment arrives in a movie when one character starts a poem and another finishes it.  Remember Willoughby and Marianne from Sense and Sensibility? *sigh*

This is simply a sprinkling of poems I have deemed worth knowing and to grow on:

1. My First Memory (of Librarians) by Nikki Giovanni–a Book Booster’s banner poem of delight

2. Harlem (A Dream Deferred) by Langston Hughes–his imagery is enviable

3.Introduction to Poetry by Billy Collins–enjoy poetry, don’t tie it to a chair and beat a confession out of it (love this)

4. Hope Is A Thing With Feathers by Emily Dickinson–hope wings its way into our hearts

5. The Road Not Takenby Robert Frost–almost clichéd by its overuse, it’s still a powerful statement about making choices

6. The Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll–delightfully fun for any age

7. This Is Just To Say by William Carlos Williams–after I discovered this was actually a note to his wife I embraced the poem even more

8. The Tyger by William Blake–imagine seeing a tiger for the first time; how can something so exquisitely beautiful be also so incredibly deadly?

9. One Art by Elizabeth Bishop–the more I read Bishop the more I realize what talent she has for capturing life’s moments

10.I Hear America Singing by Walt Whitman–“a sweaty-toothed madmen” claimed Todd from Dead Poets Society, when asked what he thought of Uncle Walt; Whitman is clearly underrated (check out the Poem Flow when you hit the link or better yet check out this YouTube)

11. Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare–the Bard employs his wit whilst he poketh funneth at the syrupy nature of sonnets

12. We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks–no matter the era, youth’s self-destruction prevails

13. Fog by Carl Sandburg–its simplicity speaks volumes

14. The Daffodils by William Wordsworth–my heart gladdens of spring’s promise as the daffodils lift their golden heads above winter’s chilly grasp

And there are  fourteen poems, a drop of verses in the deep well of that which stirs the soul, as a nod to Valentine’s Day and the tradition of sweet rhymes, chocolate, and roses.

One last poem to know and grow on, not necessarily my favorite, but definitely memorable.  True love is memorable, as Poe so deftly renders in this tribute to his lost love. This one usually makes my ninth grade students pause, which is one reason I refer to it.

Annabel Lee
by Edgar Allan Poe 
It was many and many a year ago,
   In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
   By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
   Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,
   In this kingdom by the sea:
But we loved with a love that was more than love--
   I and my Annabel Lee;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
   Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,
   In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
   My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
   And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
   In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
   Went envying her and me--
Yes!--that was the reason (as all men know,
   In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
   Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love
   Of those who were older than we--
   Of many far wiser than we--
And neither the angels in heaven above,
   Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee:

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
   Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling--my darling--my life and my bride,
   In her sepulchre there by the sea,
   In her tomb by the sounding sea.

Virginia Poe watercolor painted after her deat...

Virginia Poe watercolor painted after her death in 1847. From eapoe.org Category:Edgar Allan Poe (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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Posted in America, creativity, Poetry, Reading, Uncategorized, Writing and tagged , , , , ,
11 Feb 2013
2 Comments

The Little Write Lies We Tell


I think the best writing advice I have taken to heart lately comes from one of my latest reads, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.  Francie, the protagonist, is a girl of poverty and determination. She begins writing stories that please her teacher, ones that are about butterflies and happiness, receiving praise and the coveted “A” grade mark.  She then switches to tell life how it really is, the heartache of tenement living, and this alienates her teacher.  Fortunately, her teacher sees the struggle Francie is faced with: the write truth does not mean the right truth.

Here is the advice she gives Francie:

“You know, Francie, a lot of people would think that these stories that you’re making up all the time were terrible lies because they are not the truth as people see the truth.  In the future, when something comes up, you tell exactly how it happened but write down for yourself the way you think it should have happened. Tell the truth and write the story. Then you won’t get mixed up.”

 

Another author who swerves  from truthtelling into storytelling is Tim O’Brien, well known for his The Things They Carried.  I found a fascinating article from the United States Naval Academy, of all places, in which there is discussion concerning future military leaders and their discernment of what is truth.  The article relates this need of truth in leaders with a literary course with O’Brien’s novel as the text: (highlights are mine)

Fiction proves the golden means between absolute truth and absolute dream. It is impossible to ascertain the absolute truth of an experience, but it is nevertheless critical that one try to ascertain the multiple truths, to be “in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact & reason,” and this challenge marks the human condition. Fiction is neither counter to nor identical with the truth, though given the exigencies of war, fiction often provides the best approximation of reality; as O’Brien writes in “How to Tell a True War Story,” “In war you lose your sense of the definite, hence your sense of truth itself, and therefore it’s safe to say that in a true war story nothing is ever absolutely true” (TTTC, 82). O’Brien claims that “My role is not to solve mysteries, but to expand them… To ultimately make readers think of their lives in terms of ambiguity. It’s the human condition and we’re uncertain about almost everything” (Hicks, 89-90). The storyteller takes the facts of experience and embellishes or even alters them in order to get at a closer experience of truth; O’Brien finds in fiction the possibility of expressing “that surreal seemingness, which makes the story seem untrue, but which in fact represents the hard and exact truth as it seemed” (TTTC, 71). Thus, the capacity to tell a story, to make a factual account that leaves out the subjective experience into a fictional but seemingly more truthful account, is essential to understanding the experience of war for all involved and to beginning the long process of recovering from its damages and of correcting its failures.

A US Serviceman reading an Armed Services Edit...

A US Serviceman reading an Armed Services Edition of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Tell the truth. Write the story.

Anyone know if a poster of this ideal exists out there?  It would go well on my office wall.

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Posted in Blogging, Books, creativity, Literature, Reading, Teachers, writers, Writing and tagged
08 Feb 2013
1 Comment

Loving, Living, and Liebstering


I am always glad to turn the calendar page to February for several reasons.  First all, once January is past I begin to rally and anticipate spring, which, of course is next month, and spring leads into summer.  Secondly, there’s Valentine’s Day, and although I’m not real keen on a forced holiday I do like that it’s about love, appreciation, and chocolate.  Plus, it’s fun to see all those cute red and pink heart decorations when shopping (and there are no annoying overdone Christmas songs blasting all over).

So with my happy dance getting underway it was pleasant to open my blog notification up to see http://artsandyouthlove.wordpress.com/ had nominated me for the Liebster Award.  Lovely!  Thank you!!

The rules of the Liebster Award are as follows :

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog and link back to the blogger who presented this award to you.

2. Answer the 11 questions from the nominator, list 11 random facts about yourself and create 11 questions for your nominees.

3. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 11 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog letting them know they have been chosen. (No tag backs)

4. Copy and Paste the blog award on your blog

Questions Answered:

  1. Do you like answering random questions? If given time to think about the answer, I’m okay with it.
  2. If you could meet anyone, who would it be? Living? Meryl Streep or Bobby McFarrin Past? Helen Keller
  3. If you could change your talent for another talent, what would it be? Hmm, I really like writing, and as much I would like to become a world-renowned juggler I will stick to writing, thanks anyway for the wish wand
  4. Do you listen to more than one genre of music? Absolutely!  I’m open to pretty much everything that doesnt’ involve screaming lyrics or screaming guitars. Not too fond of opera or country music though.
  5. What’s your favorite junk food? Is dark chocolate junk food?
  6. Do you watch tv? Blech!!!!!
  7. How do you feel about Valentine’s Day? Hallmark induced sentimentality.  Everyday is a day to express love and appreciation to people.
  8. What is your favorite movie genre? Old black and white comedies, especially Katherine Hepburns, Gary Coopers, Cary Grants.  Don’t mind a good old John Wayne western now and then.
  9. What is your favorite season? Summer 🙂
  10. Do you find it hard to create and answer random questions? Not really, but is this really a question?
  11. How’s your week going? It’s Friday.  Nice….

Elevensies for the next batch of nominees:

1.  It’s 2pm on a sunny Saturday–where are you and what are you doing?

2.  Given the choice of reading a classic novel or the latest bestseller which do you prefer?

3.  Could you work in a job without a window?

4. How do you celebrate the first day of vacation?

5.  Who is your favorite poet?

6.  Do you think technology is affecting they way we converse with one another?

7.  Here’s the magic wand–what’s your wish?

8.  What country would you visit if you won the sweepstakes?

9.  Which pet do you prefer–traditional (dog) or exotic (hedgehog)?

10.  How many blogs do you read during the week?

11.  What do you think of blog awards?

Here are my nominees (and if you are over 200 followers because I couldn’t find your follower indicator, you are still wonderfully worthy of Liebster Blogging Kudos) and I went with reading/writing-themed blogs this time:

1.http://angelagodbout.wordpress.com/

2. http://wetinkpresspublishing.com/

3.http://alibilibrary.com/

4. http://joanngrasso.wordpress.com/

5. http://lazycoffees.wordpress.com/

6. http://runnerwithwords.wordpress.com/

7. http://redpeffer.me/

8. http://literaryman.com/

9. http://ctwesting.com/

10. http://jenniferkblog.wordpress.com/

11. http://befferkins.wordpress.com/

As for the stuff about me…eh, I’ll pass for now. The sun is out after a long absence and it’s time to walk around the block for a dose of vitamin D.

Happy Pages!

Posted in Awards, Blogging, creativity, Uncategorized, Writing and tagged ,
04 Feb 2013
5 Comments

But Is It Art?


Flying through my Yahoo news headlines I was caught off-guard by the news of the Etch-a-Sketch inventor passing away recently.  I hadn’t thought that the ubiquitous toy had an actual creator–I thought it had always been there, like marbles, yo-yos, and bouncy balls.  Yet, the famous graphic sketch toy did indeed have an inventor,  André Cassagnes,  and it went into mass production by the Ohio Art Company.

The classic red-and-white Etch A Sketch model

The classic red-and-white Etch A Sketch model (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As a baby boomer I have a fondness for the Etch-a-Sketch.  A kid could create anything with it and then shake to start all over again.  Think of all the paper art teachers could save by handing out these fabulous little art producers.

However, is it truly art?  Or are the renderings created in the category of velvet Elvis paintings making it only subjective and in the eye of the beholder?

Check out this blogger’s post about the Etch-A-Sketch. What do you think? Is it art?

A bit of a skeptic, I went searching on the Internet and I found at least one artist who convinced me the graphic erase renderings are art.

The Etch-A-Sketch® Art of Jeff Gagliardi

For him it began with the Taj Mahal on his nephew’s Etch-A-Sketch.  Check out his creations here.

How would one frame it?  I can see the scenario.

DSC_0028

DSC_0028 (Photo credit: Ryan D Riley)

“Hey can I look at your Mona Lisa Etch-A-Sketch?”

“Uh, sure.  Just don’t touch…”

“OOps…[awkward silence]

“Aw man, I asked you not to touch it.”

For those not as deeply affected by the passing of this toy icon inventor. Here are some basics W.S.I.C.s [why should I care]:

  • The Etch-A-Sketch came out in the ’60s and became one of the most popular toys of that era.
  • In 1998 it found its place into the National Toy Hall of Fame.
  • The Toy Industry Association named the Etch-A-Sketch to its Century of Toys List.

In case you are wondering how it works, check out this video.


In terms of the application for writing, there is the definite possibility of its benefit.  There have been many a manuscripts of mine that could have benefited from a quick shake to get things started all over again.

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Posted in Reflections, reviews, Uncategorized, Writing and tagged , , ,
19 Jan 2013
17 Comments

A Mistaken Tree


Have you ever avoided something because of a developed perception?  Foods, movies, places, and unfortunately at times, books, can get slighted because of mistaken notion of what it is all about.

Take A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, for example.  I’ve known about this novel for years, and even tried reading it once. I started reading with a formed bias that  the plot focused on a poor family living in New York with an alcoholic father who kept them back from success. I didn’t want to read yet another sad story about poor people (I might have just finished The Jungle) and I put the book down after a few pages and did not return to it until recently.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (novel)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (novel) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’m not sure why I decided to try the novel again.  I’m not one who seeks out what I call “downer” reads–those books where reality gets too real and somebody dies or there is a tragic accident or there is unmitigated loss.  I’m not much of a reader of Dickens for those reasons. Yet, in my quest to read all the old classics and the touted contemporary ones I checked out ATGiB once again.  As I began reading  I found out what the plot really was about: it centers on a poor family living in New York with an alcoholic father who keeps them back from success.

Discriminating Voice: Umm, excuse me–wasn’t that what kept you reading the book the first time?

CM: Yes, actually.

DV: The difference this time?

CM: I kept reading.

That’s right the reason that stopped me reading it the first time got set aside and I plunged on, despite my preconceived bias.  I don’t know why I listened to that squeamish inner reader voice  the first time.  I liken that inner reader voice  to the fussy eater voice I had as a kid. Especially when it came to eating broccoli.  When young I didn’t appreciate it until I had tried other vegetables over the years and decided it was actually pretty tasty.  So it can be with a read.

I think I stopped reading ATGiB because the opening involved description and a bit of poem about how the sadness, yet homeyness of Brooklyn.  Being a West Coast gal I could not a)relate to New York at all and b)I was not into poetry at the time.  Now having sampled, nibbled, and devoured poetry over the years I appreciated what Smith had established–setting.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn does center around a family (the Nolans) who live in New York (Brooklyn) in which the father is an alcoholic, and his alcoholism does create hardship for the family.  It also centers around Brooklyn in the early to mid 1900’s. The tree serves as a metaphor throughout the story.

p. 6:
The one tree in Francie’s yard was neither a pine nor a hemlock.  It had pointed leaves which grew along green switches which radiated from the bough and made a tree which looked like a lot of opened green umbrellas  Some people called it the Tree of Heaven. No matter where its seed fell, it made a tree which struggled to reach the sky.  It grew in boarded-up lots and out of neglected rubbish heaps and it was the only tree that grew out of cement. It grew lushly, but only in the tenements districts.

image Wikipedia

That’s the story right there in that paragraph.

The Nolan family consisting of Francie, her younger brother Neeley and her parents, Johnny and Katie, struggled throughout the novel, barely surviving the trials of their poverty. Contrary to the harsh aspects of their tenement life was the slice of heaven they called Brooklyn.  The omniscient narrator takes the readers on the life journey of the Nolans, with Francie as our guide.

Francie is as tough and irrepressible as Scout Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird) and Mick Kelly (The Heart is a Lonely Hunter). I do have a fondness for those tough chicks of literature.

Simply said, this time around I devoured the book, which proved difficult because I wanted to stop and savor it as well.  Betty Smith is a wordsmith and descriptive narrative is her forte.

p.165
These two visiting teacher were the gold and silver sun-splash in the great muddy river of school days, days made up of dreary hours in which Teacher made her pupils sit rigid with their hands folded behind their back while she read a novel hidden in her lap.  If all the teachers had been like Miss Bernstone and Mr. Morton, Francie would have known plain what heaven was.  But it was just as well. There had to be the dark and muddy waters so that the sun could have something to background its flashing glory.

The novel also is rich in detail, providing a living portrait of Brooklyn in the 1900’s, its sorrows, its hardships, its comedy, and its people.  I have a new RRS (re-read someday) favorite.

My takeaway transfer, from reader to writer is this: do not be stingy on the details.  Yes, yes–I’ve heard this writing advice many times.  Seeing it in actuality brings the lesson to reality.  Betty Smith recreated Brooklyn through the lives and eyes of the Nolans.  They survived and thrived just like that tree that grows in Brooklyn.

 

 

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Posted in America, Blogging, Books, Literature, Reading, reviews, writers, Writing and tagged , ,
13 Jan 2013
17 Comments

Writerly Wisdom IV


WordPress has that playful Pavlovian side in that every time we post a blog we are rewarded with a quote.  I liken it to the prize earned in my Crackjacks box.  The way notable and the everyman combines words to create a noteworthy thought is one of my happies in life and keeps me posting.

Even prior to joining the ranks of WordPress bloggers, I have delighted in gathering words. I save them and savor them. Like with many things in life, I have learned that the best way to enjoy something even more fully is to share it.  And so here–I am sharing my latest gathering of  various quotes, with the emphasis on writing. I hope you also savor their impact, their resonance, their form of sustenance as I harvest them from my hiding places and shake them to send them skittering across the page.  Enjoy!

 

I love being a writer. What I can’t stand is the paperwork. Peter De Vries

The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write a book about it.Benjamin Disraeli

There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.W. Somerset Maugham

 

English: W. Somerset Maugham British writer

English: W. Somerset Maugham British writer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

I loved words. I love to sing them and speak them and even now, I must admit, I have fallen into the joy of writing them.Anne Rice

 

A plot is two dogs and one bone. Robert Newton Peck

Prose…words in their best order.

Poetry…the best words in the best order.

                                                Samuel Taylor Coleridge

 

 Out of the quarrel with others we make rhetoric;

Out of the quarrel with ourselves we make poetry.

                                                                W.B. Yeats

 

 

 

A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom.

                                                                Robert Frost

The only reason for being a professional writer is that you can’t help it. Leo Rosten

There is creative reading as well as creative writing.Ralph Waldo Emerson

Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money.Jules Renard

The scariest moment is always just before you start.Stephen King

Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers. Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov Hails a Cab

Isaac Asimov Hails a Cab (Photo credit: zzazazz)

 

My ideas usually come not at my desk writing but in the midst of living. Anais Nin

The task of a writer consists of being able to make something out of an idea. Thomas Mann

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. Ben Franklin

The two most engaging powers of an author are to make new things familiar and familiar things new. Samuel Johnson

No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader. Robert Frost

Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. Anton Chekov

Go to the edge of the cliff and jump off.  Build your wings on the way down. Ray Bradbury

The beautiful part of writing is that you don’t have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. Robert Cormier

 

 Nothing’s a better cure for writer’s block than to eat ice cream right out of the carton. Don Roff

 

image from members virtualtourist.com

 

What writerly quotes of wisdom inspire you? Oh, and what ice cream is your choice to thaw out writer’s block?

Happy Pages,

CricketMuse

 

Posted in Blogging, Books, Literature, Uncategorized, writers, Writing and tagged , , , , , ,
04 Jan 2013

The Ruing of Breaking


rue 1 (r)

v. rued, ru·ing, rues
v.tr.

To feel regret, remorse, or sorrow for.
v.intr.

To feel regret, remorse, or sorrow.
n.
It never fails.  About the time I begin to feel *normal* I go back to work.  For those of you who are not teachers I may not get much sympathy–after all, most of the world does not get large chunks of time off scattered throughout the year like educator types do.  Skip this post then.  I really don’t want to read comments about whatever am I complaining about getting almost two weeks off for Christmas Break.  This post is more about coping with the deprogramming I go through while on break.  I definitely feel regret, remorse, and/or sorrow; I rue.
Now don’t get me wrong.  I don’t rue my choice of career.  I love teaching.  Some days I even like it (old joke).  What I rue is how intensely I view my career.  I don’t stop thinking school during my break and I am constantly forming  lesson plans, looking up new sites, checking mail (answering questions from students–yes, I will write you a reference letter), and refining old units as I create new ones. That creative energy, that inertia of teaching doesn’t just quietly wait for me in the classroom; it follows me home and won’t let me enjoy reading a book without marking a passage to share with students, I can’t read the newspaper without clipping out an article that underscores a lesson recently covered, and I’m unable to work on my writing because of all those teacherly cobwebs covering up my creativity.
Until today.  Today I woke up and felt like teaching is a distant memory, a fond reminiscence, something I once did.  Today I really got the urge to write, write, write.  New ideas, a resurgence of purpose, a desire to edit and revise and investigate new publishing opportunities.  Aah, then there is the crashing reality of it being Friday and knowing I return to the classroom on Monday, meaning writing will once again take a nestled backseat to my day, that is f I have time and energy after grading papers and configuring another day’s set of lessons.
Today is today.  Monday is Monday.  I shall not rue my break, only embrace the fact it gives me glimmer of what retirement might be like.
P.S. I found this documentary at the library: American Teacher. Wow! What an eye-opener.
To all teachers out there: January is that much closer to June. Hang in there!
Posted in Blogging, creativity, education, Teachers, time management, Writing and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
31 Dec 2012
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SO–Howdja do in your review?


The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

With the semester ending or about to, grades come to mind.  The old “Whatdja get?” question comes up, which is either exhilerating or embarrassing.  Having just posted some stats from my one year anniversary, I thought it appropriate to add as a post script the more official WP version.  We are all going to be getting our Blog Report Cards, and they are so graphically pleasing to boot.   Doesn’t WordPress make you feel special?  I wish all their stat monkeys happiness and hope they get some time off for their excellent work.

So howdja do in 2012? Here’s an excerpt form mine (I have no shame, I know):

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 7,000 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 12 years to get that many views.

Mount Everest from Kalapatthar.

Mount Everest from Kalapatthar. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

*What a nice way of saying, “Umm, not too impressive in view numbers, but nice try.”  Thanks, WP.  What can I say?  I don’t Facebook, Tweet, Pin, Link, or other social mediatize.  I’m happy with those who find me on WP.  But you’ll raise your blog traffic! I know, I know. Here’s the deal–I’d rather spend those minutes writing another blog post instead of promoting the one I just wrote. 

 

 

Gene Kelly said it best in Singing in the Rain: Gotta dance.  Okay, he would have said, “Gotta Write!” except he loved dancing more.

Cover of "Singin' in the Rain (Two-Disc S...

Cover via Amazon

 

Speaking of anniversaries–I celebrate another one on January 1–yup, the MEPA and I will be celebrating one plus thirty.  One of these days we’ll get that Hawaiian cruise going; for now it’s staycation with a side of a splendorific weekend ala Marriott.

Again:

Happy New Year Blogger Buds

CricketMuse

Click here to see the complete report.

Posted in Blogging, celebrations, Writing and tagged ,

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