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WritersNotes.Net: Helping Writers Follow Their Dreams Through Information, Inspiration, and Encouragement!
Wise Words from Author Othello Bach
"Before you begin to write a sentence, imagine the scene you want to paint with your words. Imagine that you are the character and feel what the character feels. Smell what the character smells, and hear with that character’s ears. For an instant, before you begin to write, see and feel what you want the reader to see and feel." ~Othello Bach
I would add that entering fully into your writing in this way is crucial to creating powerful prose (whether fiction or non-fiction), or poetry, or drama, or web copy, or any other kind of writing.
I'd further say that engaging your imagination before you write is but one important part of an ongoing process. Try also pausing every now and then as you write. Simply envision each new idea, formulate each new image, and fully experience the ever-expanding range of emotions you will intricately weave into your writing -- eliciting the same and other complementary emotions from your reader through your carefully chosen words.
Embracing these creative practices will breathe life into your writing, helping you draw from somewhere deep within the very words that can make your writing sing.
Keep the song alive!
Jeanne
A Blueprint for Achieving Your Dreams
Shortly before his death at age 100, Chicago financier and philanthropist W. Clement Stone was asked the question, “How have you done so much in your lifetime?” His reply offers an inspiring glimpse into the inner workings of a visionary who first saw clearly what he hoped to accomplish and then set about to accomplish it:
I have dreamed. I have turned my mind loose to imagine what I wanted to do. Then I have gone to bed and thought about my dreams. In the night, I have dreamed about them. And when I have arisen in the morning, I have seen the way to get to my dreams. While other people were saying, 'You can't do that, it isn't possible,' I was well on my way to achieving what I wanted.
Take a moment to let Stone’s words sink in. Read them again, if necessary.
This deceptively simple formula worked for Stone (who achieved phenomenal success in his lifetime), and it can also become our “blueprint for success” – if we make each step a natural part of our daily lives. (Notice, I didn’t say “our daily routines.” That’s because dreaming – and creatively making our dreams come true – transcends routine and in fact makes our lives anything but!)
Follow Stone's Formula for Success
Let’s examine Stone’s formula and see how we can apply each part to our own lives:
Dream – as in daydream. Just as Stone did, set your imagination free to explore the things you love, enjoy, and value – the things that spark your passion. You’ll recognize them right away because they will capture your imagination, creating a strange sense of excitement and anticipation each time you think about them and bringing with them a unique creative energy that can propel you forward in pursuing them. (And everyone always told you that daydreaming is a waste of time!) As you visualize the possibilities, the “what ifs,” you’ll begin to feel a strong motivation to turn those dreams into reality. Don’t ignore it! That urge can provide the power you need to get where you want to go!
Think about your dreams. Take time to ponder and reflect on the aspirations that are beginning to blossom during your daydreams. You won’t be making formal plans at this point, though you will often resolve to accomplish something specific. Even if your dreams don’t seem very practical – or even possible – think about them anyway. You’ll gradually – or maybe even suddenly – begin discovering ways to start accomplishing your goals. Think about the positive, reinforcing aspects of your dreams before you fall asleep each night. (Skip the negatives and the detailed planning, as these could just keep you awake, defeating your purpose.)
Dream – as in night dream. Pondering your daydreams before falling asleep, as Stone did, will not only give you many conscious insights but will also trigger your subconscious to begin working while you sleep. This often means you will dream about your goal. But, even if you don’t, rest assured that your subconscious will be at work. As Dr. Ellen Weber points out in Brain-Powering Your Dream, your brain will begin building new neural pathways as you sleep – pathways that will help reinforce your determination, fuel your desire, and increase your ability to reach your goals.
Plan to fulfill your dream. The subconscious insights gained during sleep will help you more clearly envision the path that will ultimately lead to your dreams. Use these insights and intuitions to create a plan to get you there. Do any research you may need to make an intelligent and workable plan. Whether your plan is highly structured or a bit more flexible and intuitive is entirely up to you. But, check back in every now and then to see whether your plan needs adjusting (as it likely will). Does it need a little more structure – or a little more freedom? Has your situation (or your market) changed since you made your plan? Have you acquired new information that would demand a slight detour on the path to your goals? Adjust your plan accordingly, using the same dream-driven creativity that went into the original plan.
Ignore the naysayers. Refuse to listen to the people who don’t believe that what you hope to accomplish is possible or who aren’t convinced that you can do it. Surround yourself with positive, encouraging, empowering people – or if need be, act as your own cheerleader. (You are perfectly capable of giving yourself a pep talk anytime you need one. Just recall your hopes, your dreams, your passion, your talent, your faith in yourself and your abilities, and your prior successes, however small. Those should be more than enough to get you back on track!) Whatever you do, stay focused on the prize rather than the obstacles that stand in your way, and you will be irresistibly drawn toward that prize – even though you may have to take a temporary detour around the obstacles first. Creative solutions powered by your dream-inspired determination and drive can help you maneuver smoothly around those obstacles.
Get moving! Just as acting without insight, vision, and focus are counterproductive and will never help us reach our goals, possessing all the vision in the world will never produce results unless we’re willing to do whatever it takes to make the dream a reality. Even a journey of 1,000 miles starts with a single step. Decide what that first step should be and take it. Then, move on to the next step. Before you know it, like Stone, you’ll be well on your way to achieving your dreams!
You can do it!
Jeanne
What are your thoughts on Stone's method for achieving his dreams? In your own experience, have you found any of the above steps particularly easy -- or hard -- to implement? Are any unnecessary? Would you add any?
An Inspiring Artistic "Discovery"
While away on a church women's retreat last weekend, I visited a quaint little tea shop, where a framed print of a serene yet sturdy oak tree hung on one wall. I was attracted to the text displayed at the bottom of the print and began to read. After only a brief sentence or two, I was hooked. I knew that this artist's musings would resonate with me and decided to stand there as long as it took to read the entire verse.
I liked the writer's sentiments so much, in fact, that I determined right then and there to commit her name to memory so that when I got home I would be able to locate the verse on the Internet and pass it on to others (like you), who I hope will benefit as much as I have from reading it.
I've since discovered that this print and verse combination is available in numerous online venues and also adorns a set of note cards and no doubt various other items, as well.
The Story Behind Both Verse and Painting
Here's what the artist, Bonnie Mohr, has to say about this work on her website, Bonnie Mohr Studio:
When we completed building the studio showroom for Bonnie Mohr Studio on our farm, I decided to stencil the high sidewalls with something decorative. I wrote and stenciled a verse of the things I believe in and hope to teach my children before they leave home. Visiting customers liked it as well, and after many requests for a copy of the verse....I painted an image to go with it, and "Living Life" was born.
Link to the Verse
I hope this verse will inspire you to embrace your dreams and live life to the fullest, using your God-given creative talent to bring beauty into the world.
Here's a link to the Living Life Notecards page on the Bonnie Mohr Studios website. On this web page, you will be able to read the verse in its entirety and also see the oak tree picture Ms. Mohr painted to accompany her verse when the verse first became popular. Enjoy!
Here's to sharing the inspiration!
Jeanne
Please Note: This is not a sponsored post. My purpose in linking to the Bonnie Mohr Studio web page above is not to sell her note cards but simply to give you the opportunity to read her inspiring verse.
Which lines or phrases of "Living Life" speak to you most strongly? How has this verse influenced or resonated with your own thoughts, beliefs, values, or creativity? How has it helped build your resolve to get the most from each day, from your art, your career, and your life?
Update: Just noticed that the link I posted to Pat Schneider's book on Questia was mysteriously transformed into a link that took one elsewhere on the Questia site. Tried posting another link, but apparently links at Questia must either be time-dependent or based on the number of visits the link receives: In other words, after a period of time, they expire. My apologies!
I've decided, instead to post a link to the Questia home page, where you'll be able to locate the book by typing or pasting the book's title into the search bar (in quotes) or by using the following category info: Under Subject Categories, click Education > Arts and Humanities Education (under Curriculum and Instruction) > Creative Writing > Writing Alone and With Others. Sorry for the convoluted way you'll have to access the book! That's entirely Questia's doing. I think you'll find it well worth the effort, though! Thanks for your patience!
A Wealth of Wisdom for Writers
In her book, Writing Alone and With Others (Oxford University Press, 2003), author and speaker Pat Schneider offers a great deal of wisdom to writers. The following are a few quotes that I hope will resonate with you, touching areas of fear or doubt, insecurity or confusion that you may be experiencing in your own writing journey. We all experience these moments of uncertainty now and then, whether we write professionally, share our musings with others for free, or pour our hearts and souls into written works intended for our eyes alone.
Sample the Book at Questia
You'll be able to read a generous sampling of pages from Schneider's book for free right on the Questia website, by visiting the following link: Questia and typing (or pasting) the book's title into the search bar (in quotes). (To search via Questia's categories, see my instructions in the Update at the beginning of this post.) You'll find a good selection of her words of wisdom for writers posted there, so that you can decide whether purchasing her book or e-book might prove worth your while. Even if you decide not to buy it (I'll be honest: I haven't bought it yet, though I'm considering doing so), at least you'll enjoy the benefit of the encouragement, inspiration, insight, and incredibly practical advice she offers in the excerpts available at Questia.
Where is the Book Available?
In case you'd like to purchase it, here are a few places the book is available (as of this writing):
Writer's Notes Writer's Resource Store (paperback)*
Amazon (paperback)
Amazon (Kindle edition)
Barnes & Noble (paperback)
Barnes & Noble (e-book)
The Quotes
Now, without further ado, a few sage Pat Schneider quotes that I hope you'll love as much as I do:
There are so many voices within us and outside us that discourage and undermine us, tempt us to abandon our own visions, our own voices, that a sense of duty, of 'ought and should' will not be sufficient to counter them. Each person must study him- or herself to understand the form that discipline needs to take. Surely the person who works well with a tight schedule of planned hours will want to work writing in the same way. The only way for me to lead a disciplined writing life, however, is to believe in myself as a writer and to love my work so much that nothing else—even 'those other commitments'—can take it away from me. (p.45)
Leading a disciplined writing life is not all about work. It is also about sleep. Entering and staying in the mysterious place where daydream meets night dream is important to the writing life. Our deepest writing, our genius, requires an engagement of the unconscious mind. (p.54)
I have come to understand, through my own writing and through working with other writers, that fear is a friend of the writer. Where there is fear, there is buried treasure. Something important lies hidden—something that matters—like the angel waiting in the stone that Michelangelo began to carve. (p.4)
The first step in becoming free of fear is to accept yourself as a writer. All writers deal with this problem. You are not alone. None of us creates ex nihilo (out of nothing). All writing involves self-revelation. Even if the actual facts of our lives are not revealed, we cannot escape the fact that writing reveals the ways our minds work. All writing is, at least, an auto-biography of the imagination. (p.11)
You are the landlord of your own soul. Let the words, the memories, the imaginings pour white-hot onto the page. You can decide later what they are, what they might become, and when it is time to show them to someone else. (p.13)
Whatever you do, don't stay in the never-never land of wanting and not doing. It will make your soul sick. If you want to write, claim for yourself what you need in order to learn, grow, practice. There is no other way to be an artist. (p.52)
Quotes Can Inspire Us to Achieve Our Dreams
Hopefully, this brief introduction to Pat Schneider's wise words will stir your writer's soul, planting a seed of passion that will compel you to develop your own unique voice, find your own special calling, niche, or purpose -- or further refine it until it truly expresses the essence of who you are as a writer, thinker, and person.
My hope is that these writing quotes will serve to spark your imagination, broadening your mind to new possibilities, inspiring new hope, and prompting extravagant dreams that you may never have even entertained before today -- bringing with them the firm belief that you are perfectly capable of achieving them!
May all your writing dreams come true!
Jeanne
*You'll also find a link to my Writer's Resource Store in my left sidebar.
What are your thoughts on the topics Pat Schneider discusses in the above quotes? Does any of her advice especially resonate with you? In what way?
Wise Sayings for Writers, Round 2
Last time, I shared six fortune-cookie sayings that my mom had tucked away prior to her passing – partly as a small way of honoring her July 3rd birthday and partly to offer some great advice to my fellow writers. Today, I'll share the other six sayings. Hopefully they'll inspire you to nurture your talents, step out, and move toward achieving your writing goals.
Here are the other six:
Past inspirations and experiences will be helpful in your job.
While this can be true for anyone, the writer will find this particularly relevant to both the craft and the business of writing. As the writer nurtures the creative, intuitive spark and begins to draw parallels between the past and the current creative work taking shape within his imagination, something magical happens. Insight flows and new life is birthed into the work. Whether or not he writes for money, creativity is every writer's "job" – and everything that's gone before can provide insight that helps him do it well.
Your heart is pure, and your mind is clear.
During your most creative moments, you draw pure inspiration from deep within, giving your thoughts a singular clarity that's clearly not present at other times. These are the moments all writers live for. Give yourself the opportunity to experience these moments as often as possible. Allow yourself some time for contemplation. Provide an atmosphere that's conducive to inspiration. Let yourself sense and feel and visualize. It will bring new power to your work. Relax, refresh, recharge, and renew in whatever ways you most enjoy and respond to best. Read for relaxation, entertainment, and inspiration and not simply for research, study, or self-improvement. Chat with a friend and bounce ideas off him or her to broaden your perspective and provide fresh new insight. These will help inspire and bring you to that pure, clear place.
Now is the time to try something new.
Have you been feeling as if you'd like to work on something you've never tried before – perhaps attempting a new style, form, or genre? Perhaps you've considered an entirely different creative outlet than you're used to, such as art, photography, or Web design. If you've been blessed with multiple talents, interests, and passions, nurture them. Each one is there for a purpose, and you'll never achieve that purpose unless you use all your talents.
Some people are natural born specialists. They focus on one major area of endeavor and are happy doing so. Others have far too many interests to settle for a single one, and they are only happy when encouraged and supported in their efforts to indulge them all, thereby building a multi-faceted creative existence. Both types are good, the world needs both types, and both types can adapt the concept of trying something new to their own natural style. The specialist can try a new project or new method for creatively carrying out her area of specialization, and the non-specialist can focus on an entirely different interest area.
Someone is interested in you. Keep your eyes open.
Somewhere, someone – an editor, an agent, a client, a fellow blogger – is interested in you and your talent and seeking precisely what you have to offer. You may not have found this individual yet, but he or she is out there just waiting for the moment of meeting and discovery. Believe and trust that that's the case and then seek out this person for all you're worth. As you go about the daily business of writing and researching and promoting and connecting, watch for new opportunities – opportunities that may turn out to be tailor made for you.
Take that chance you've been considering.
Every time you put yourself and your work out there for others to judge and evaluate, you're taking a risk – and risk can be unsettling. But, if writing is your calling and you know deep inside that you have what it takes – or you know you're willing to do whatever it takes to get to that point – don't sit on the sidelines watching others earn the recognition, enjoy the exposure, or reap the monetary rewards. If you have your eye on a market in which you'd love see your work, if you'd like to approach a certain client, try a new creative collaboration, or work on a different type of project than you have up to this point – do your homework and then go for it. You'll never now how successful you might have been if you never try.
Where there's a will, there's a way.
If you're having trouble finding inspiration, motivation, ideas, time, quiet, or – you fill in the blank – you'll have to be creative in finding ways around these obstacles. You are a creative, after all. This is what you do. The same creativity you apply to your writing can be applied to your life to make it more conducive to your craft. If you want it badly enough, you can make it happen.
I've delved a little more deeply into these six fortune-cookie sayings than I did into most of the first six. Perhaps that's because these sayings are more philosophical than the others. Or perhaps I'm simply in a more philosophical mood today or feeling more inspired. Whatever it is, I hope you've received some benefit from my musings and that they'll help you – in some way big or small – to achieve your writing goals.
Write on!
Jeanne
Fortune-Cookie Wisdom
I don't generally take fortune-cookie fortunes very seriously. But, one day recently, as I went through some of those slender slips of paper that I'd found among my late mom's papers, I realized how often they consist more of good, sound advice than predictions about the future. And that started me thinking about how many of them might be applied to writing. (Most, it turns out!) So, in honor of Mom's July 3rd birthday, I thought I'd share some of them, along with a few of my own thoughts about each.
I'll share six of them in this post and the other six in my next one.
Here's the first group:
It is quality rather than quantity that matters. Do a good job.
While we certainly need a balance between quality and quantity to earn a living as writers, it's important to be reminded every now and then how much more important quality is than quantity--that is, if we'd like to derive any real satisfaction from our work.
Rely on long time friends to give you advice.
This is such a necessity in the writing--and especially the blogging--world. How often do we savor the support, encouragement, and wise advice of long-time writing and blogging friends?
Others appreciate your good sense of humor.
This is so true for us as writers. When we add a touch of humor to our work, it can lighten heavy topics and provide a moment of pleasure for our readers that makes them enjoy our work even more than they would have without it.
We can learn from everyone, even our adversaries.
For the writer, this can be looked at in more than one way. We can recall people and/or life experiences that have challenged us, recognizing their potential for teaching us lessons that can make our writing richer. We might also think in terms of our critics, who can teach us much about our writing, ourselves, and human nature--providing another rich reservoir from which to create our written works.
It is proper to speak the truth.
As we express ourselves in our writing, authenticity is so important. "Authenticity" may be an overused word in writing circles today, yet I believe it's a concept that will never go out of style. When we speak the truth, transparently sharing our hearts through our writing, we have greater credibility with our reader, which develops a trust that enables the reader to truly enter into our work.
Keep your idealism practical.
I love this one, because, while its emphasis is on practicality over idealism, the first part says, "Keep your idealism," which I believe is step one. While writing for a living involves the necessity to be practical by balancing creativity with pragmatism, we still want to stay true to our ideals, since these are part of the wisdom we impart to our readers. Our goal is to develop a healthy balance, sacrificing neither of these two vital factors in favor of the other.
I hope you've enjoyed these first six examples of fortune-cookie words of wisdom for writers and that you'll tune in next time for the other six.
Keep writing!
Jeanne
For the past few weeks, I've been battling a bad case of bronchitis, which is part of the reason I haven't updated lately. So, partly to remedy my recent lack of content and partly to indulge my own desire to blog again, I've decided to present a list of wonderful quotes on writing. The following 20 quotes should give you plenty to think about where your writing is concerned and will hopefully motivate, encourage, and inspire you to keep on keeping on!
The Quotes
"The chief glory of every people arises from its writers." ~Samuel Johnson~
"The good writer seems to be writing about himself, but has his eye always on that thread of the Universe which runs through himself and all things." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson~
"It is by sitting down to write every morning that one becomes a writer." ~Gerald Brenan~
"The best antidote to writer's block is ... to write." ~Henriette Anne Klauser~
"One writes out of one thing only--one's own experience. Everything depends on how relentlessly one forces from the experience the last drop, sweet or bitter, it can possibly give." ~James Baldwin~
“Be yourself. Above all, let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.” ~John Jakes~
“Writing eases my suffering ... writing is my way of reaffirming my own existence.” ~Gao Xingjian~
"One writes to make a home for oneself, on paper, in time and in others' minds.” ~Alfred Kazin~
“I must write it all out, at any cost. Writing is thinking. It is more than living, for it is being conscious of living.” ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh~
"A classic is classic not because it conforms to certain structural rules, or fits certain definitions (of which its author had quite probably never heard). It is classic because of a certain eternal and irrepressible freshness." ~Edith Wharton~
"The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think." ~Edwin Schlossberg~
"A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus: 1. What am I trying to say? 2. What words will express it? 3. What image or idiom will make it clearer? 4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?" ~George Orwell~
"Keep writing. Keep doing it and doing it. Even in the moments when it's so hurtful to think about writing." ~Heather Armstrong~
"You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success - but only if you persist." ~Isaac Asimov~
"The first step in blogging is not writing them but reading them." ~Jeff Jarvis~
"The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn't behave that way you would never do anything." ~John Irving~
"A writer is a writer not because she writes well and easily, because she has amazing talent, because everything she does is golden. In my view, a writer is a writer because even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyway." ~Junot Diaz~
"Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time ... The wait is simply too long." ~Leonard Bernstein~
"Learn as much by writing as by reading." ~Lord Acton~
"There's always something to write about. If there's not then you need to live life more aggressively." ~Min Kim~
So, get out and live--and then sit down and write!
To your success!
Jeanne
Sources:
Love Quotes and Quotations
ThinkExist.com
The Quotations Page
Do you enjoy reading quotes on writing? How do they help motivate and inspire you? Which of the above quotes are your favorites?
"Life can be pulled by goals just as surely as it can be pushed by drives." (Viktor Frankl)
Some of the wisest observations about life have an uncanny way of applying not just to life in general but to specific, narrow segments of it. For example, if we substitute "writing" for "life" in the above quote, we'll see just how true this statement is.
Inspiration: Driven to Write
Many of us write because we feel driven to write, because writing is such an integral part of our intellectual makeup that we can hardly imagine not writing. In fact, putting pen to paper—or hands to keyboard—comes as naturally to us as breathing. And in one sense at least, for us writing is breathing, because when we write, we freely inhale the crisp, clear air of expansive thought before exhaling a stream of ideas, fully formed, to the world. That's why the highest form of this unbounded inflow of ideas is called Inspiration.
Planning and Goals: When Inspiration Tarries
Our inner drive to express ourselves through the written word does much to motivate us in our quest to have our ideas heard, to influence others, to make our mark on society, to earn recognition, and yes, even to change the world. Yet, the Inspiration that fuels that drive often eludes us—particularly in the early stages of the creative process. And this is where the pull of goals can spur us on, drawing us forward and giving us the impetus to begin writing and to stay with the task until Inspiration deigns to visit us.
Bridging the Gap Between Goals and Inspiration
This is such an important lesson for writers to learn. Though Inspiration is certainly the ideal for which we continually strive, it may sometimes be a luxury for which we simply cannot wait. When deadlines loom or personal projects seem stalled, we often must depend on the conscious goals we've previously set for our work to keep us on track and prevent us from giving up. Then, as we allow the magnetic attraction of our personal or professional plans to lure us forward, we so often find our project suddenly picking up speed—gaining forward thrust, if you will—as the subconscious motivator called Inspiration gradually kicks in and begins actively propelling us toward our deliberately orchestrated outcome.
Recognizing the Value of Planning
Our favorite writing times, of course, are those where Inspiration is our early visitor, coming upon us unannounced and uninvited—and particularly when this well-loved yet often fickle visitor's influence precedes, or even initiates, a project. Yet, it's wonderful to know that even when Inspiration tarries, we always have our old friend Planning to get us on our way!
While Inspiration may be our closest friend, let's not ignore our loyal sidekick Planning, who will always be there, standing quietly in the wings, patiently waiting to help us achieve our literary goals.
To goals and inspiration!
Jeanne
What have you discovered about goals and drives, planning and inspiration, as you've traveled your own writing path?
Quotations: A Writer's Best Friend
We writers just love a good quote -- whether we use it to enhance our own writing or simply read it for the sheer pleasure we experience as we drink in the inspiration ... or relish the wit ... or perhaps revel in the humor ... or marvel at the wisdom inherent in an insightful turn of phrase. In whatever way we may decide to use them, quotations can enrich our lives -- and our writing -- immensely.
That's why I'd like to share a website that offers a plethora of famous quotes, arranged by topic, type of author, specific author, favorite authors, and nationality, to make your search for the quotes that will pique your personal interest that much easier. The ability to browse by author's last name, along with the availability of a quick list of popular authors, adds to the convenience and applicability of the site to a variety of reader -- and writer -- needs. The site even offers quotes for the iPhone and features a Quote of the Moment (which changes every time you revisit or refresh the page), as well as over a hundred quotation trivia quizzes to help keep your mental agility in top form. The site is called BrainyQuote -- a deceptively simple yet highly appropriate title for such a rich repository of intellectual fare.
Quotations for Every Area of Interest and/or Occasion
The BrainyQuote website provides quotations on numerous topics, such as business, education, imagination, intelligence, success, and wisdom, to name but a few which might appeal to the writer's creative side. Some of the author types quoted in the type-of-author category are artist, author, journalist, musician, philosopher, and yes -- even writer. My only disappointment is that the site doesn't offer a collection of quotes on the topic of writing, rather than simply providing quotes that originated with writers -- since we all know there's a vast difference between the two.
How About a Regular (Daily) Dose of Brainy Quotes?
One added dimension of this site is that you may also pick up a string of code which allows you to display a Quote of the Day from one of several selected types of daily quote generators on your own website or blog. This is a great way to share the wit and wisdom of some of the better-known -- and some of the not-so-well-recognized -- personages of our times. Displaying a quote a day gives readers more time to ponder each quotation more fully, gaining maximum value from its insights, rather than overwhelming our visitors with too many intellectual gems to assimilate at a single sitting.
The Quote of the Day Widget Here at Writer's Notes
You may have noticed the quotes currently displayed each day in my left sidebar. (If you haven't, why not take a look.) The quotes displayed here come from the general Quote of the Day category of the BrainyQuote website (though at some point, I may decide to try a different daily quote type). Other Quote of the Day types include Art Quotes, Funny Quotes, Love Quotes, and Nature Quotes.
BrainyQuote: A Fount of Wisdom to Visit or Take "Home"
The fact that the site doesn't offer quotes about writing is really a rather minor imperfection. Aside from that, it has a great deal to offer -- both to those who simply want to visit and peruse (and definitely bookmark) the site and those who prefer to give their blog's or website's readers a daily dose of verbal wisdom by posting the automated Quote-of-the-Day widget in their sidebars.
So, why not visit the BrainyQuote site and get your daily dose of wisdom and inspiration? You might even decide to bring some brainy quotes back to your own home page and give your readers some daily food for thought -- aside from the tempting intellectual fare you already provide, that is.
Happy quoting!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? What are your personal thoughts on quotations? How do you prefer to have your quotations served up: all at once, one at a time, in limited groups of related remarks, more than one of the above, or ? What do you think of today's Quote of the Day? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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Still 10 More Quotes to Round Out the Series
Since we're exploring inspiration this month at Writer's Notes, I though this the perfect time for the third and final installment of my "10 Quotes on Writing" series. Some of the following quotes reveal the ironies of the writing life, some explore its subtleties, and some shout its realities. A few evoke a chuckle, while others make us ponder the mysteries of the writer's creativity.
Whatever responses they may elicit from you, may these quotes from those who've shared your passion for the written word provide the inspiration you need to take your innate talent, hone it to razor sharpness, and use it to cut to the heart of your topic, creating a piece of writing that's not just uniquely you, but also uniquely true. Enjoy!
The Quotes
1. The shelf life of the modern hardback writer is somewhere between the milk and the yogurt. ~ John Mortimer ~
2. Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them. ~ Flannery O'Connor ~
3. Really, in the end, the only thing that can make you a writer is the person that you are, the intensity of your feeling, the honesty of your vision, the unsentimental acknowledgment of the endless interest of the life around and within you. Virtually nobody can help you deliberately--many people will help you unintentionally. ~ Santha Rama Rau ~
4. A writer writes not because he is educated but because he is driven by the need to communicate. Behind the need to communicate is the need to share. Behind the need to share is the need to be understood. The writer wants to be understood much more than he wants to be respected or praised or even loved. And that perhaps, is what makes him different from others. ~ Leo Rosten ~
5. What I like in a good author isn't what he says, but what he whispers. ~ Logan Pearsall Smith ~
6. Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for. ~ Socrates ~
7. A writer is dear and necessary for us only in the measure of which he reveals to us the inner workings of his very soul. ~ Count Leo Tolstoy ~
8. I love being a writer, what I can't stand is the paperwork. ~ Peter De Vries ~
9. Good writing is clear thinking made visible. ~ Bill Wheeler ~
10. Writing is thinking on paper. ~ William Zinsser ~
May these words of "writerly" wit and wisdom light the spark of creativity in you!
Literarily yours,
Jeanne
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Words of Wit and Wisdom from Literary Minds
The following is another collection of writing quotes for us writers to enjoy. They come straight from the minds of a few of the well-known writers who have gone before. Without a doubt, these literary personalities have a great deal of collective knowledge and experience to share with us. So, fellow writers, sit back, read, learn, and enjoy--and perhaps you'll receive a spark of inspiration from their words, as well.
The Quotes
1. A writer and nothing else; a man alone in a room with the English language, trying to get human feelings right. ~ John K. Hutchens ~
2. The greatest part of a writer's time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book. ~ Samuel Johnson ~
3. Never write anything that does not give you great pleasure. Emotion is easily transferred from the writer to the reader. ~ Joseph Joubert ~
4. Writing is the incurable itch that possesses many. ~ (Decimus Junius Juvenalis) Juvenal ~
5. The cure for writers cramp is writer's block. ~ Inigo de Leon ~
6. As I take up my pen I feel myself so full, so equal to my subject, and see my book so clearly before me in embryo, I would almost like to try to say it all in a single word. ~ Georg C. Lichtenberg ~
7. Writing crystallizes thought and thought produces action. ~ Paul J. Meyer ~
8. I am always interested in why young people become writers, and from talking with many I have concluded that most do not want to be writers working eight and ten hours a day and accomplishing little; they want to have been writers, garnering the rewards of having completed a best-seller. They aspire to the rewards of writing but not to the travail. ~ James A. Michener ~
9. Writing is the hardest way of earning a living, with the possible exception of wrestling alligators. ~ Olin Miller ~
10. Like stones, words are laborious and unforgiving, and the fitting of them together, like the fitting of stones, demands great patience and strength of purpose and particular skill. ~ Edmund Morrison ~
The Effect of these Quotes on the Writer
Hope these quotes have spoken to you in one way or another. Perhaps they've struck a chord that brought a truth home to you in an especially poignant way. Perhaps you were able to relate a quoted thought to your own experience. Or possibly one of these sayings taught you a truth you never understood before. Even if your only reaction to reading them was a smile, a nod, or a few moments of entertainment, they will have served their purpose.
Yet, the best result that could come from these sayings would be that they send you to your keyboard with a renewed desire...to write!
Happy writing!
Jeanne
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Some Thoughts by Writers on Writing
Perhaps some of these quotes will inspire you. Some may cause you to shake your head. Maybe others will bring a smile to your lips. Some might even make you want to prove the writer wrong. But, whatever else they do, I hope these quotes will get you thinking about the wonderful vocation--or avocation, as the case may be for you--of writing. Hopefully they will plant some ideas that will spring up and bear fruit in your own writing in one way or another.
The Quotes
1. The free-lance writer is a man who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps. ~ Robert Benchley ~
2. To write what is worth publishing, to find honest people to publish it, and get sensible people to read it, are the three great difficulties in being an author. ~ Charles Caleb Colton ~
3. Writing isn't hard. It isn't any harder than ditch-digging.
~ Patrick Dennis ~
4. The writer isn't made in a vacuum. Writers are witnesses. The reason we need writers is because we need witnesses to this terrifying century. ~ E. L. Doctorow ~
5. I never know what I think about something until I read what I've written on it. ~ William Faulkner ~
6. He who does not expect a million readers should not write a line. ~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe ~
7. The writer probably knows what he meant when he wrote a book, but he should immediately forget what he meant when he's written it. ~ William Golding ~
8. A writer should be a joyous optimist. Anything that implies rejection of life is wrong for a writer. ~ George Gribbon ~
9. The characteristic of Chaucer is intensity: of Spencer, remoteness: of Milton elevation and of Shakespeare everything.
~ William Hazlitt ~
10. You must often make erasures if you mean to write what is worthy of being read a second time; and don't labor for the admiration of the crowd, but be content with a few choice readers. ~ Horace ~
Happy contemplating!
Jeanne
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Part Two of My Albert Einstein Quotation-Sharing Project
Here's the second group of Albert Einstein quotes I've collected to share with you, so you can join me in plumbing the depths of the incredible wisdom of a most prolific scientific genius and intellectual giant.
Einstein's Definitions, Explanations, Perspectives, and Clarifications
Einstein had very definite ideas about many things--ideas that were incisive, frank, opinionated, yet totally lacking in arrogance, and incredibly altruistic for a man of science. A list of these follows:
1. “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
2. “Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.”
3. “Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted in large ones either.”
4. “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”
5. “I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right.”
6. “In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.”
7. “It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.”
8. “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”
9. “All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual.”
10. “The high destiny of the individual is to serve rather than to rule.”
Einstein's Views on Teaching and Education
A man of learning, to be sure, Einstein was, nevertheless, not a believer in education for its own sake and was obviously of the opinion that education should open realms of interest and wonder for the student, rather than representing a duty which should be fulfilled or a burden to be borne, as can so often be the case in educational institutions. Here are a few of his quotes on the topic:
1. "Teaching should be such that what is offered is perceived as a valuable gift and not as a hard duty."
2. “Most teachers waste their time by asking questions which are intended to discover what a pupil does not know, whereas the true art of questioning has for its purpose to discover what the pupil knows or is capable of knowing.”
3. “The aim (of education) must be the training of independently acting and thinking individuals who, however, can see in the service to the community their highest life achievement.”
4. "The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education."
Einstein's More Enigmatic, Profound, or Clever Sayings
Albert Einstein was certainly a man of great depth and multiple dimensions, as can be readily seen by the following group of his deeper, wittier, and often more-ironic quotes:
1. "Now he has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion."
2. “If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts.”
3. “No amount of experimentation can ever prove me right; a single experiment can prove me wrong.”
4. “Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them.”
5. “The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.”
6. “When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity.”
7. "If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut."
8. "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."
9. “The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”
10. "Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence."
11. “I believe that the horrifying deterioration in the ethical conduct of people today stems from the mechanization and dehumanization of our lives - the disastrous by-product of the scientific and technical mentality. Nostra culpa. Man grows cold faster than the planet he inhabits.”
A Final Word from One Who Deciphered Many Mysteries of the Universe
As we consider the many wise words of this great man of science, we can benefit from yet one more declaration from one of the greatest geniuses who ever lived--a declaration which can encourage us in our feelings of ineptitude as we prepare for a certain inevitable season of our working lives:
“The hardest thing to understand in the world is the income tax.”
If even Albert Einstein believed that, we writers can certainly breathe a sigh of relief!
Hope you've enjoyed Round Two of the quotes of Albert Einstein!
Thanks for reading!
Jeanne
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My Inspiration for this Post
While checking the current value of my blog over at Dane Carlson’s Business Opportunities Weblog (the results of which I'll report in another post), I came across Dane's latest blog entry, posted earlier, which I found highly appropriate for writers/bloggers as we head into a new year. In his post, Dane shares 10 Golden Lessons from Albert Einstein. Check out the words of wisdom that Dane has chosen to share from the great store of sayings which originated in the mind of this great scientist and creative thinker.
Additional Gems of Einsteinian Wisdom
After reading Dane's post, I became inspired to search for additional Einstein quotes and was by no means disappointed. The following are some of the incredible words spoken by a man of great intelligence, a dedicated scientist and thinker, prolific in articulating his insights about life.
Albert's Advice for Writers to Take to Heart
The first group of five Einstein quotes offers excellent advice which, though not directed specifically at writers, is nonetheless applicable to our creative literary pursuits and every bit as much to our attempts to achieve success in our chosen discipline. Read and reap the benefits of some of the potent life lessons learned by Einstein during his many years of intellectual inquiry:
1. "A person starts to live when he can live outside himself."
2. “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”
3. “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”
4. “We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality.”
5. “Never regard your study as a duty, but as the enviable opportunity to learn to know the liberating influence of beauty in the realm of the spirit for your own personal joy and to the profit of the community to which your later work belongs.”
More Einsteinian Truths to Inspire Us
The additional 21 Einsteinian gems of wisdom which follow can further inspire us to reach the heights of our own personal creativity, imagination, idealism, and intellect. No doubt certain of these sayings will resonate with each of us more than others will; but all seem to me to have great significance for those of us who seek to express ourselves through our literary endeavors. Which of them have special meaning for you?
1. “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”
2. “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
3. “Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift.”
4. “Information is not knowledge.”
5. “Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.”
6. “If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.”
7. “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions.”
8. “The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.”
9. “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.”
10. “The only real valuable thing is intuition.”
11. “The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives.”
12. “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”
13. “There comes a time when the mind takes a higher plane of knowledge but can never prove how it got there.”
14. “To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.”
15. “True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist.”
16. “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
17. "It would be possible to describe everything scientifically, but it would make no sense; it would be without meaning, as if you described a Beethoven symphony as a variation of wave pressure."
18. “If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?”
19. “Most people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character.”
20. “People do not grow old no matter how long we live. We never cease to stand like curious children before the great Mystery into which we were born.”
21. “Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.”
Not All, But Enough for Now
The above are by no means all the Einstein quotes I've collected during my fascinating foray into the mind of this intellectual giant; yet, they are enough, I think, to stimulate our minds, hearts, and imaginations for the moment. Even these are quite a lot to absorb at one sitting and will likely require rereading a time or two for lasting impact; so I'll stop here to allow them sufficient time to sink in and save the rest for a later post.
Hopefully, these quotes have been a source of inspiration to you and will continue to resonate with you as you look forward to another year of reading, thinking, learning, feeling, and sharing with your readers all that you discover and absorb in the year ahead.
Happy learning--and writing!
Jeanne
Did you enjoy this post? Have anything to share about the above quotes or the creative process or any additional words of wisdom you've come across in your own intellectual travels? We'd love to hear from you!
Quotes that Inspire Thought
While you won't find thousands or tens of thousands of quotes at Inspirational Quotes Café, you will find hundreds of clever, inspiring, and thought-provoking philosophical gems culled from the sayings of the well-known thinkers of the ages.
Quotes that Both Generate and Support Ideas
If you're stumped for an idea for your next writing project or simply seeking an apt quotation to support the premise of your current literary masterpiece, you'll find plenty to work with at Inspirational Quotes Cafe. In this collection of delightfully insightful sayings, spoken by some of history's--not to mention today's--most prominent personages, you'll uncover such priceless jewels as those that follow:
A Few Scintillating Samples
"Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right." - Henry Ford
"Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
"If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster." - Isaac Asimov
Quotes that Are Conveniently Categorized
This wealth of word-ly wisdom might be just what you need to get your creative juices flowing. Conveniently listed by category and sub-category, these remarkable sayings can be easily found and applied to any current or anticipated writing topic. Among the main quotation categories you'll find on this website are Families, Education, Success, and Life Quotes; and the site's sub-categories include Women's, Work, Positive Motivational, and Retirement Quotes.
A Wealth of Wit and Wisdom at Your Fingertips
While this site is a fascinating find for its inspirational, educational, and motivational value, the entertainment element should certainly not be overlooked. If you'd simply like to tantalize your mental tastebuds with a few delicious witticisms, this is the website for you. Check it out for yourself and see: It's like dinner and dessert all rolled into one.
Happy reading,
Jeanne
This is not a sponsored post.
Here they are--just in time for Mother's Day! Some more-or-less contemporary quotes about that great vocation (not to be confused with great vacation!): Motherhood!
Motherhood in all its guises and permutations is more art than science. ~Melinda M. Marshall~
Motherhood is the second oldest profession in the world. ~Erma Bombeck~
We honor motherhood with glowing sentimentality, but we don't rate it high on the scale of creative occupations. ~Leontine Young~
The art of motherhood involves much silent, unobtrusive self-denial, an hourly devotion which finds no detail too minute. ~Honore De Balzac~
The central paradox of motherhood is that while our children become the absolute center of our lives, they must also push us back out in the world.... But motherhood that can narrow our lives can also broaden them. It can make us focus intensely on the moment and invest heavily in the future. ~Ellen Goodman~
Combining paid employment with marriage and motherhood creates safeguards for emotional well-being. Nothing is certain in life, but generally the chances of happiness are greater if one has multiple areas of interest and involvement. To juggle is to diminish the risk of depression, anxiety, and unhappiness. ~Faye J. Crosby~
Of all the haunting moments of motherhood, few rank with hearing your own words come out of your daughter’s mouth. ~Victoria Secunda~
The most consistent gift and burden of motherhood is advice. ~Susan Chira~
The passion of love is essentially selfish, while motherhood widens the circle of our feelings. ~Honore De Balzac~
The world is full of women blindsided by the unceasing demands of motherhood, still flabbergasted by how a job can be terrific and torturous, involving and utterly tedious, all at the same time. The world is full of women made to feel strange because what everyone assumes comes naturally is so difficult to do—never mind to do well. ~Anna Quindlen~
The problem, thus, is not whether or not women are to combine marriage and motherhood with work or career but how they are to do so—concomitantly in a two-role continuous pattern or sequentially in a pattern involving job or career discontinuities. ~Jessie Bernard~
When you reach the end of your rope, don't add guilt to your frustration. No one said motherhood was going to be easy. ~Heather King~
Happy Mother's Day to Mothers Everywhere!
Your Creative Cohort,
Jeanne
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Here are a few more quotes by writers on writing. Some are thought-provoking, some brutally honest, some inspiring, and some simply clever--but whatever your thinking about the art or the craft, you should find something here that will catch your fancy!
Here goes:
There is only one trait that marks the writer. He is always watching. It's a kind of trick of mind and he is born with it. ~Morley Callaghan~
Nobody reads a mystery to get to the middle. They read it to get to the end. If it's a letdown, they won't buy anymore. The first page sells that book. The last page sells your next book. ~Mickey Spillane~
Autobiography is an obituary in serial form with the last installment missing. ~Quentin Crisp~
A poet's autobiography is his poetry. Anything else can only be a footnote. ~Yevgeny Yevtushenko~
Books are...funny little portable pieces of thought. ~Susan Sontag~
I never desire to converse with a man who has written more books than he has read. ~Samuel Johnson~
Journalism is literature in a hurry. ~Matthew Arnold~
Literature is the question minus the answer. ~Roland Barthes~
Literature is recognizable through its capacity to evoke more than it says. ~Anthony Burgess~
A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author. ~G.K. Chesterton~
To be a poet is a condition rather than a profession. ~Robert Graves~
The poet marries the language, and out of this marriage the poem is born. ~W.H. Auden~
A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom. ~Robert Frost~
It's easier to write a mediocre poem than to understand a good one. ~Montaigne~
In a poem the words should be as pleasing to the ear as the meaning is to the mind. ~Marianne Moore~
Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings...in a man who has thought long and deeply. ~William Wordsworth~
You write by sitting down and writing. There's no particular time or place--you suit yourself, your nature. How one works, assuming he's disciplined, doesn't matter. ~Bernard Malamud~
I put a piece of paper under my pillow, and when I could not sleep I wrote in the dark. ~Henry David Thoreau~
When I stop (working), the rest of the day is posthumous. I'm only really alive when I'm working. ~Tennessee Williams~
Words are loaded pistols. ~Jean-Paul Sartre~
Words are like leaves, and where they most abound,
Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found. ~Alexander Pope~
All the fun's in how you say a thing. ~Robert Frost~
The greatest possible mint of style is to make the words absolutely disappear into the thought. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne~
I do not understand this chronic illness. I wish I had gone to law school. ~Darryl Pinckney~
The best time for planning a book is when you're doing the dishes. ~Agatha Christie~
I talk out the lines as I write. ~Tennessee Williams~
If I could, I would always work in silence and obscurity, and let my efforts be known by their results. ~Emily Bronte~
If writers were good businessmen, they'd have too much sense to be writers. ~Irvin S. Cobb~
Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go. ~E. L. Doctorow~
Hope a few of these provocative thoughts have set your own creative juices flowing!
Happy writing!
Jeanne
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Writers, as a rule, tend to have a great deal to say about many subjects--and writing is no exception. Here are a few pearls of wisdom on the writing craft from some of history's most prolific authors:
There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein. ~Red Smith~
Read over your compositions, and when you meet a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out. ~Samuel Johnson~
A good many young writers make the mistake of enclosing a stamped, self-addressed envelope, big enough for the manuscript to come back in. That is too much of a temptation to the editor. ~Ring Lardner~
Writing is a wholetime job: no professional writer can afford only to write when he feels like it. ~W. Somerset Maugham~
The secret of popular writing is never to put more on a given page than the common reader can lap off it with no strain WHATSOEVER on his habitually slack attention. ~Ezra Pound~
Better to write for yourself and have no public than write for the public and have no self. ~Cyril Connolly~
If you want to get rich from writing, write the sort of thing that's read by people who move their lips when they're reading to themselves. ~Don Marquis~
In composing, as a general rule, run your pen through every other word you have written; you have no idea what vigor it will give to your style. ~Sydney Smith~
Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short. ~Henry David Thoreau~
There are no dull subjects. There are only dull writers. ~H.L. Mencken~
You can write about anything, and if you write well enough, even the reader with no intrinsic interest in the subject will become involved. ~Tracy Kidder~
The wastepaper basket is the writer's best friend. ~Isaac Bashevis Singer~
When I sit at my table to write, I never know what it's going to be till I'm under way. I trust inspiration, which sometimes comes and sometimes doesn't. But I don't sit back waiting for it. I work every day. ~Alberto Moravia~
It's not wise to violate the rules until you know how to observe them. ~T. S. Eliot~
The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug. ~Mark Twain~
The secret of good writing is to say an old thing a new way or to say a new thing an old way. ~Richard Harding Davis~
Well, dear Aspiring Writer, now that you've read all this practical advice, all these clever witticisms, and all these words of inspiration penned by wordsmiths who have actually accomplished what you may only dream of, there's only one thing left for you to do if you'd like to join their ranks: WRITE!
Literarily Yours,
Jeanne
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