Pam Webb

a writer's journey as a reader

Archive for the tag “inspiration”

28 Jul 2014
13 Comments

Blog Spotlight: Book to the Future


My latest spotlight is on another blogger whom I’ve exchanged commentaries since the beginning of my blogging foray.

In his own words:

Everyone calls me Ste J.
I am an obsessive book creature, in fact I spend more time between the (book) covers (I read in bed as well though) than I do with ‘real’ people.
Which means I probably spend more time with you guys than anyone else. Feel privileged.

Ste J is a bona fide bibliophiliac. He loves books. That’s a bonafide fact. Proof: he once read 100 books in 362 days, just to see if he could do it.  His blog is neatly organized into genre and with a mere click, a person can investigate reviews and titles. His tastes are eclectic, his insights meaningful, and his replies clever.

For a sampling of his classics page, click here.

Lately, his posts have wandered a bit off the original track of being primarily bookish in content and he writes on whim. I can relate.  I too have strayed from my original intent of providing astute book reviews that would dazzle and benefit bookdom and have taken to writing as serendipity taps the muse.

So, I hope you will check out Book to the Future and meet the intrepid Ste J, where as his banner states “more book than a mad ‘orse.”

Posted in Blogging, Books, Reflections, reviews, technology, Uncategorized, writers, Writing and tagged , , , , ,
17 Jun 2014
9 Comments

Unexpected Bits of Wisdom


Lately I’ve been noticing more and more products are sporting bits of wisdom as part of the package.

Halls Defense Multi-Blend Supplement Drops, Harvest Cherry

The first notice came with my occasional binges on Dove Dark Chocolate Bites.  It took me a wrapper or two to realize pithy little “promises” hid within. For instance, “Encourage Your Sense of Daring” and “Smile Before Bed. You’ll Sleep Better” are two gems.  I started calling these my chocolate fortune cookies and began collecting them.  If you are trying to cut down on chocolate–I know I need to– *GaSp* did I really just say that?–you can unwrap a few calorie free promises at https://www.dovechocolate.com/epromise.

Recently I discovered Honest Tea and upon popping open the cap I found some great quotes.  What I really like is the variety:

“Now I know the secret of making the best persons; it is grow in the open air and eat and sleep with the earth.”–Walt Whitman

“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”–Albert Einstein

“The truth is a beautiful and terrible things, and should therefore be treated with caution.”–J.K. Rowling

“The world is moved along not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.”–Helen Keller

“A common mistake people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.”–Douglas Noel Adams

“In order to a realist you must believe in miracles.”–David Ben-Gurion

“You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt.” –Samuel Ullman

Finding bits of wisdom on drink caps probably isn’t too unusual, after all you can often find prizes and such depending on the drink.  But what really surprised me was finding “A Pep Talk in Every Drop” as I popped a cough drop.  I’m not much in the habit of caring about getting inspired when my throat’s scratchy. Although it probably isn’t so bad to make people feel good when they are feeling bad.  Would these words cheer you up once your cough in under control:

“March forward!”  “Keep your chin up.” “Now you get it in you.” “Elicit a few “wows” today.”

I think when I’m done teachering I will look into wrangling up a job for some company supplying these pity bits of wisdom.  Hmm, I wonder how I find that listing at Linked In–“Wisdom generator available–light and deep bits created upon request.”

Any other bits or promises hiding out there?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Expressions, Reflections, Uncategorized, Words, Writing and tagged , , ,
24 May 2014
8 Comments

Wrap Up or Fall Flat


After five years of stop and go writing on my historical novel I’m nearing the end chapters. It’s rather intimidating. The ending involves the reuniting of a homestead mother with her family. The way I have presented the conflict is that there is some ambiguity of whether the mother left the family due to the grind of daily life as a pioneer women or if she wandered away due to fever delirium.
Here’s what I need to figure out:
-Is the husband readily accepting her leaving the family and not returning once she was better? (He’s a good guy overall, but was left with six children ages 3-15 to raise in her absence)
-How will the daughter (her POV) feel about her mama at this point? Anger, relief? This girl took on the task of raising her three ornery brothers and packed up her petticoats and put on pants to do so in order up keep up with them.

The right grab really counts… image: bodyresults.com

 

Reaching the end chapters is a lot like rock climbing. A cadence is developed in both–the reach and pull up towards progress. Just when the top is in sight, flat is sometimes hit, meaning no handholds and no way to go up. Finding a new path is sometimes the only direction left. Then again a risky move can be tried and what a sensation of exhilaration when it leads to success and pulling over the top.

Write now? I’m at that looking for a move that will pull me over the top.

So, writers–what do you do when you hit flat when the top ledge is in sight? Do you press on or look for a new route?

Posted in creativity, Nature, Reflections, Uncategorized, writers, Writing and tagged , , , ,
24 Apr 2014
1 Comment

Poem in Your Pocket?


Yes!

Pick a poem

from the offered bouquet

carry the fragrance

of words which refresh

and delight

Place a poem in your pocket

and travel

to new lands

make new friends

discover old memories

enliven the senses

and then

share it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1R5SFP7VXM

Posted in celebrations, creativity, Poetry, Uncategorized, Words, Writing and tagged , , , ,
30 Mar 2014
15 Comments

Way Too Cool Library(ians)


I am a bona fide bibliophile. I not only love (phile) books (biblio) I adore all that  is connected to them: writing, reading, bookstores, and libraries. If we go on vacation I seek out the library. Some seek out shopping, eating, beaching, hiking, or cycling–I seek out reading. My idea of the perfect vacation tour would be to visit libraries all around the world.  The cool part about libraries is the librarians. There are plenty of movies about super heroes as well as super agents, along with super smart folk who solve crime, save the world, etc.–but rarely is the librarian given credit where credit is due. Being a librarian at heart, I had a fair amount of fun watching The Librarian series–all that knowledge put to good use saving the world. Yeah, librarians do have skills.

image: pinterest.com

Libraries around the world preview:

  • clementinum int 10 of the world's most spectacular libraries

    This is in Prague. Oh, yes, I do want to go. I do. I do.

Posted in Books, Libraries, Movies, Reading, Reflections, travel and tagged , , , , ,
12 Mar 2014
2 Comments

The Book I Would Like to Write


Sometimes the rumblings of hunger manage to induce some amazing culinary renderings on my behalf.

“Let’s see–some rice, a dollop of pesto, assorted veggies, ooh a garnish of nuts, oh yeah there is that leftover sautéed chicken breast.”

Yes, it was tasty. No, didn’t snap a photo.

I wish I could do that with my writing. Here are the ingredients that are rumbling around in my writerly mixing bowl:
-an irrepressible protagonist who transcends time
-address a political issue in a manner that is neither knee jerk, condescending, nor didactic
-scatter in memorable minor characters who majorly affect the plot
-set the story in a picturesque small town of yesteryear
-provide a handful of quotes that will resonate long after the book has been reviewed, shelved, studied, and reread
-have one maybe two iconic symbols that shift paradigms
-explore old thoughts in a new way
-create a subculture that spans time, culture, and political decorum

Wait a minute…
This book is already available, attainable, and darn right delicious.

Harper Lee’s classic remains my ideal of perfect novel.  I have too many ideas rumbling around to only write one book, but oh what a book to have written as the one-claim-to-fame.
Do you have a ONE book that you feast on as a reader?  Or is there one special book that inspires your writer creativity towards boil, simmer, and serve?
Posted in Blogging, Books, creativity, Literature, Reading, Reflections, writers, Writing and tagged , , , , , ,
25 Oct 2013
4 Comments

Oh Willa–Your Pioneers!


''The Song of the Lark ''Oil on canvas, 1884

”The Song of the Lark ”Oil on canvas, 1884 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As I continually research my own pioneer novel-in-progress, I return to favorites for inspiration.  Having reread most of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House of the Prairie series, I am moving on to more grown-up fare such as Willa Cather’s Midwest trilogy of My Antonia, Song of the Lark, and O Pioneers!

Cather’s writing continually surprises me with its subtle acuity. She follows the nineteenth century omniscient style of narration that is no longer in vogue, yet as I read her seamless insights into each character, I realize I am easily visiting each character’s thoughts while still in the scene. That’s art.  It adds so much more dimension to the reading  that I find myself slipping from third person limited into omni in my own writing. *Sigh* Maybe I shouldn’t be reading Willa Cather–at least until I get my manuscript’s revisions tidied back up.

In that regard, unless you have your own concerns about being overly influenced while writing your own pioneer epic, I suggest rereading or experiencing Willa Cather’s O Pioneer!

Cover of "O Pioneers!"

Cover of O Pioneers!

Why?

It’s good stuff.  Really good stuff. Setting, for instance.  Turn to page 97 of your Random House Vintage Classic version and feast:

(Part III: Winter Memories: I)

Winter has settled down over the Divide again; the season in which Nature recuperates, in which she sinks to sleep between the fruitfulness of autumn and the passion of spring. The birds have gone. The teeming life that goes on down in the long grass is exterminated. The prairie-dog keeps his hole. The rabbits run shivering from one frozen garden patch to another and are hard put to it to find frost-bitten cabbage-stalks. At night the coyotes roam the wintery waste, howling for food. The variegated fields are all one color now; the pastures, the stubble, the roads, the sky are the same leaden gray. The hedgerows and trees are scarcely perceptible against the bare earth, whose slaty hue they have taken on. The ground is frozen so hard that it bruises the foot to walk in the roads or in the ploughed fields. It is like an iron country, and the spirit is oppressed by its rigor and melancholy. One could easily believe that in that dead landscape the germs of life and fruitfulness were extinct forever.

Personification, alliteration, imagery galore, tone, diction–it’s a banquet of literary delight.  Cather dedicates this full exposition to set up how this coldest of seasons affects the characters.  Steinbeck did much the same in Grapes of Wrath. Remember the turtle scene?

Sometimes I think we forget the importance of slowly revealing the story in our pressing need to “let’s get on with it” plot modernity mentality. Yet, there is an absolute pleasure in immersing oneself in the cadence of well-placed and balanced words.

Oh Willa–your pioneers keep singing to me of your prairie love through your song of fields, seasonal cadence, and your indelible tribute to those who left their mark upon the land.

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Posted in America, Books, Literature, Reading, Reflections, reviews, Words, writers, Writing and tagged , , , , ,
08 Jul 2013
2 Comments

A Woolf in Read’s Clothing


photo: imdb.com

My first vague acquaintance with Virginia Woolf is associated with Elizabeth Taylor. Both are pivotal influences in their chosen professions.  As a last wave baby boomer cI recall a bit of a fuss when the movie Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? came out.  Not being a Disney-generated flick my parents did not take me to see it.  In my childhood bliss of perceptual naiveté I believed Elizabeth Taylor to be Virginia Woolf and from the TV trailers she appeared to be a daunting person.  I could see why some might be afraid of her.

image: aroom.org

My second encounter with Virginia Woolf came way later when I began teaching high school English. Woolf’s essay “A Room of Her Own” was part of the senior lit curriculum, a prelude to a brief study in feminist writing.  Still getting my bearings about Shakespeare, I discovered through Woolf’s essay Shakespeare had a sister! I thought him to be like Atlantis, known but unknown, shrouded in mystery, waiting to be actually proven.  A sister?  It sent me scurrying to dedicated research and though Woolf got it all wrong about Willie’s sis, I now know much more about the Bard.

image: etsy.com

The third encounter came way of Meryl Streep.  She’s a fave, so I couldn’t resist picking up The Hours at the library.  Fascinating film (I admit some parts tweaked my comfort zone and my daughter squeaked, “you watched The Hours!”–my prudery is too well-pegged by family members). What truly fascinated me was Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf.  No wonder she received the Academy Award for her performance. A tortured artist always leaves me wondering  the why/what behind the reason of taking his or her  life instead of living it.

image: notreciinema.com

Finding Virginia a bit overwhelming I didn’t do my usual research and read on her. To be honest, although she intrigued me,she also made me nervous, much like James Joyce.  So much, almost too much in their writing for me to comprehend and absorb.  I felt unprepared to read her works.

At present I am a tiny bit more confident having an AP Institute training and one year of AP Senior Lit and Comp seated firmly on the resume.  I thought, “Okay, Ginny, let’s give it a whirl.”  I pulled down Orlando off the shelf and settled in for my summer chaise in the shade read.

Sigh.

I wonder if her writing would have been published if her husband had not set up Hogarth Press expressly for that purpose? Her writing is amazing, this is true. It’s rich, masterful, and paradigm pushing. Deemed ahead of its time, both Virginia and her writing nevertheless appeared to be respected and applauded.  Overall, I will have to pass on Virginia Woolf and her modernist approach to literature.  She and James Joyce are just enough of a different cup of tea to not be on my reread list.

I followed through on my research since I did not do my read on her.  I will definitely include her in my overviews on modernists. Virginia Woolf  may not be among my chosen authors; however, I do acknowledge her place in the literary hall of fame.

image: standrewsrarebooks.wordpress.com

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Posted in education, Literature, Reading, Reflections, reviews, Uncategorized, writers, Writing and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
23 Mar 2013
4 Comments

A Quiver of Quotes


perusing through a recently acquired preview AP textbook, I couldn’t help but appreciate the assortment of writerly quotes sprinkled throughout the book.  A collector of words, I knew I had to gather them, and words, like arrows, fly straight, cleaving the mark true and fair when the marksman is skilled and the aim is practiced.  (ooh, maybe that will end up in a textbook someday…)

Never mistake motion for action–Ernest Hemingway

 

 It is not necessary to portray many characters. The center of gravity should be in two persons:  him and her. —Anton Chekov

Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov (Photo credit: blue_paper_cranium)

To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme.–Herman Melville

It is the writer’s privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart.–William Faulkner

For me, fiction is life transformed and fueled by imagination.–Dagoberto Gilb

A ration of failures is built into the process of writing. The wastebasket has evolved for a reason.–Margaret Atwood

When I’m asked what made me into a writer, I point to the watershed experience of coming to this country. Not understanding the language, I had to pay close attention to each word–great training for a writer. —Julia Alvarez

English: Photo of Julia Alvarez from Interview...

English: Photo of Julia Alvarez from Interview with LaBloga. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Not all things are to be discovered; many are better concealed.–Sophocles

Great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree.–Ezra Pound

You must write.  It’s not enough to start by thinking. You become a writer by writing.–R.K. Narayan

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I’ll dig with it.
—Seamus Heaney

 

 

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Posted in creativity, Literature, Uncategorized, writers, Writing and tagged , , , , , , , ,
09 Feb 2013
3 Comments

The Library Times Are Changing


Bob Dylan could very well be singing the theme song for today’s library.

image: travelgoat.com

Are you old enough to remember when libraries only contained books?  I can’t remember back exactly when I noticed that the library went into BB  [beyond books] mode, and I am not sure if it’s a problem or not.

Long time ago when I worked in a middling sized library we held off on offering VHS movies for check out.  Yes, that was a long time ago, wasn’t it?  Our director deliberated for nearly six months whether or not we would incorporate them into our collection because, after all, the library is all about reading, isn’t it?

Counter arguments included: Well then, what about the cassettes we offer?  Not all are  audio books, many are music.

Hmm, that is a good point.

Long story short is VHS movies moved in on the shelves and *Surprise!*–people kept checking out books. People aren’t going to stop reading books.  Even when given options. Yes, I do believe this

As much as I would like to be a purist and spout: Books Only! I realized today’s libraries, like any smart enterprise, has learned to diversify in order to serve the changing public needs and tastes.

Go into any library today and you will find computer labs, video games, DVD collections, and other options among the shelves.  It hasn’t gone so far as this one cartoon portrays though:

I admittedly check out DVDs, audio books, music, magazines, and even video games (for others I know).  Of course, I rarely leave without at least one book in my bag.

Are the times a-changing too drastically? I figure the library is a reflection of current society.  Right now we are currently into media which translates into both entertainment and information. The library folk are savvy enough to know it’s best to provide in order to survive.

So, Bob D–sing through those lyrics one more time, wouldja?

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Posted in Books, Libraries, Reflections, technology, Uncategorized and tagged , , , ,

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