A Writer's Moment: Having that 'special kind of urgency'

A Writer's Moment: Having that 'special kind of urgency':   “ The books I like to read the most feel like they've been written by somebody who had to write them or go crazy. T...

Having that 'special kind of urgency'

 

“The books I like to read the most feel like they've been written by somebody who had to write them or go crazy. They had to get them out of their heads. I like that kind of urgency.” – Patrick Ness

Born in Virginia on this date in 1971, Ness is a British-American (dual citizenship) author, journalist, lecturer, and screenwriter.  He is best known for his Young Adult books, particularly the Chaos Walking trilogy, also made into a 2021 movie that he co-wrote. 

 

A one-time creative fiction teacher, corporate writer and magazine feature writer, he started writing YA fiction in 2008.  His first YA novel The Knife of Never Letting Go earned a Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and numerous other awards.  

 

He’s continued his YA writing successes – his most recent book is Burn – while also become a leading book reviewer for many of England’s top magazines and newspapers. “It's fun being paid to read stuff and air your opinion about it,” he said.  “Pretty much a dream job for a writer.”

 

As for his own writing philosophy, Ness said, “If you sing beautifully about nothing, no one will listen. If you sing badly about great stuff, no one will listen. Ideas are everywhere, but my theory is that a writer doesn't just think of an idea: they perform them.”

A Writer's Moment: 'The expression of ideas'

A Writer's Moment: 'The expression of ideas':   “Language is the expression of ideas, and if the people of one country cannot preserve an identity of ideas they cannot...

'The expression of ideas'

 

“Language is the expression of ideas, and if the people of one country cannot preserve an identity of ideas they cannot retain an identity of language.” – Noah Webster

 

Born in Hartford, CT on this date in 1758 Webster published a book in 1828 that would change America, if not the world.  But his American Dictionary of the English Language, with 70,000 “American English” words, was not met with unbridled enthusiasm.

 

Many Conservatives said it was “too radical, bordering on vulgar” while Liberals said it was “too conservative in nature.” But Webster said the American people were craving a book like his and he was right.  He self-published 100 thousand copies (a huge endeavor for the time), priced it at 15 cents and took it to everyday people looking for a publication that would “capture the language of a new nation.”  It took the country by storm and sold out in just a few months.

 

 

Despite a partnership with George and Charles Merriam for subsequent versions (creating the Merriam-Webster Dictionaries), Webster’s name became synonymous with the “American language” dictionary.  From the poet Emily Dickinson to schoolchildren across the country having a “Webster’s” was essential to writing success.

 

“Every child,” Webster said, “. . . should read books that furnish him with ideas that will be useful to him in life, practice (and) understanding the history of his own country.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Five hundred words a day'

A Writer's Moment: 'Five hundred words a day':   “An early editor characterized my books as 'romantic comedy for intelligent adults.' I think people see them as...

'Five hundred words a day'

 

“An early editor characterized my books as 'romantic comedy for intelligent adults.' I think people see them as funny but kind. I don't set out to write either funny or kind, but it's a voice they like, quirky like me... And you know, people like happy endings.” – Elinor Lipman

  

Born in Massachusetts on Oct. 16, 1950 Lipman studied journalism at Simmons College and began her writing career as a college intern with the Lowell (MA) Sun.   Right out of college she was hired to do press releases for Boston television station WGBH, a job she held throughout the 1970s before turning to a creative writing career, starting with short stories.

 

She started writing novels in the 1990s and has written 14 to go along with two nonfiction books and a short story collection.   Her first novel, Then She Found Me, was also made into a successful movie in 2008.  Her most recent best seller is 2023’s Ms. Demeanor, a finalist for the “Thurgood Prize for American Humor.”  

 

Known for her wit and “societal observations,” Lipman’s writing advice is simple:  “Five hundred words a day is what I aim for. And I don't go on to the next chapter until I've polished and polished and polished the one I'm working on.” 

A Writer's Moment: That 'familiar daily struggle'

A Writer's Moment: That 'familiar daily struggle':   “If someone is alone reading my poems, I hope it would be like reading someone's notebook. A record. Of a place, be...