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A Writer's Moment: 'Property of the imagination' : “The English language is nobody's special property. ...
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“Librarians and romance writers accomplish one mission better than anyone, including English teachers: we create readers for life - and w...
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“One of the great joys of life is creativity. Information goes in, gets shuffled about, and comes out in new and intere...
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A Writer's Moment: 'Be willing to fail' : “I'm always terrified when I'm writing.” – Mary Karr ...
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A Writer's Moment: 'Story ideas surround you' : “I always tell my students, 'If you walk around with your eyes and ears...
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A Writer's Moment: 'Information In; Creative Responses Out' : “One of the great joys of life is creativity....
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
A Writer's Moment: Achieving and Leading in the SciFi World
A Writer's Moment: Achieving and Leading in the SciFi World: “I have never written anything in one draft, not even a grocery list, although I have heard from friends that this is ...
Achieving and Leading in the SciFi World
“I have never written anything in one draft, not even a
grocery list, although I have heard from friends that this is actually
possible.” – Connie
Willis
Monday, December 30, 2019
A Writer's Moment: The Power of Suggestion
A Writer's Moment: The Power of Suggestion: “The best of a book is not the thought which it contains, but the thought which it suggests; just as the charm of musi...
The Power of Suggestion
“The
best of a book is not the thought which it contains, but the thought which it
suggests; just as the charm of music dwells not in the tones but in the echoes
of our hearts.” – John Greenleaf Whittier
Born in December 1807, Whittier was
renowned for both his writing and his support of a bevy of civil and equal rights
activities, including Abolition, Women’s Rights and Social Justice. A deeply religious man raised in the Quaker
faith, he was first introduced to poetry by an elementary teacher and began
writing his own verse while still in high school.
By the time of his death in 1892 he had published more than 30
books – 23 of them poetry collections. Since then, dozens more of his writings and books about him and his life also have been published.
So influential were Whittier’s
writings and leadership skills that he had three cities, two colleges, numerous
schools, parks, roads and bridges, and two mountain peaks named in his honor.
“You don’t always win your battles,”
he said, “but it’s good to know that you fought.”
Saturday, December 28, 2019
A Writer's Moment: 'Troubling A Star'
A Writer's Moment: 'Troubling A Star': “All things by immortal power, near or far, to each other linked are, that thou canst not stir a flower without troubl...
'Troubling A Star'
“All
things by immortal power, near or far, to each other linked are, that thou
canst not stir a flower without troubling of a star.”
– Francis Thompson
Thompson, born in Great Britain in December
of 1859, wrote three books of poetry, a number of short stories, and several
essays, including one of the best ever done on poet Percy Bysche Shelley. He was a key influence on writers like J.R.R.
Tolkien and Madeline L’Engle, and penned such famous phrases as “With all
deliberate speed” – used in the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Brown vs. Board
of Education – and “Love is a many-splendored thing,” used as the title for both
a popular movie and a popular hit song in the 1950s.
For Saturday’s Poem, here is
Thompson’s,
Go,
songs
Go,
songs, for ended is our brief, sweet play;
Go,
children of swift joy and tardy sorrow:
And some are sung, and that was
yesterday,
And
some are unsung, and that may be tomorrow.
Go forth; and if it be o'er stony way,
Old
joy can lend what newer grief must borrow:
And
it was sweet, and that was yesterday,
And
sweet is sweet, though purchased with sorrow.
Go, songs, and come not back from your far way:
And
if men ask you why ye smile and sorrow,
Tell
them ye grieve, for your hearts know Today,
Tell
them ye smile, for your eyes know Tomorrow.
Friday, December 27, 2019
A Writer's Moment: Words That 'Speak To The Spirit'
A Writer's Moment: Words That 'Speak To The Spirit': Robert Frost said poetry is what gets lost in translation. Those of us who are moved to put words to paper – whether the focus be on t...
Words That 'Speak To The Spirit'
Robert
Frost said poetry is what gets lost in translation.
Those of us who are moved to put words to paper – whether the
focus be on the creative or the erudite – have a bit of poet within. We have a vague hope that our poetic words
can someday be expressed, just waiting for the right time and form to come out
into the world. As Thomas Gray
said, “Poetry is thoughts that breathe and words that burn within us.”
And the fine poet and creative writer Richelle Goodrich noted:
Thursday, December 26, 2019
A Writer's Moment: Extending The Christmas Season
A Writer's Moment: Extending The Christmas Season: “I sometimes think we expect too much of Christmas Day. We try to crowd into it the long arrears o...
Extending The Christmas Season
“I sometimes think we expect too much of Christmas
Day. We try to crowd into it the long arrears of kindliness and humanity of the
whole year. As for me, I like to take my Christmas a little at a time, all
through the year. And thus I drift along into the holidays — let them overtake
me unexpectedly — waking up some fine morning and suddenly saying to myself:
‘Why, this is Christmas Day!’” ~ David Grayson (journalist and
biographer)
“As long as we know in our hearts
what Christmas ought to be, Christmas is.”~Eric Sevareid (longtime CBS News
reporter, novelist and essayist)
“Our
hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are
better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at
Christmas-time.” ~Laura Ingalls Wilder (written when
she was a magazine editor in Kansas before her Little House days)
And a few words from me: May
Peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through.
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
A Writer's Moment: Writing A Christmas Legend
A Writer's Moment: Writing A Christmas Legend: “’Twas the night before Christmas . . . “ – Clement Clarke Moore Moore was a straitlaced, no-nonsense academician who served as a profe...
Writing A Christmas Legend
“’Twas the night before Christmas . . . “ – Clement Clarke Moore
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A Writer’s Moment with a friend at http://writersmoment.blogspot.com
Moore was a
straitlaced, no-nonsense academician who served as a professor of classics at
the General Theological Seminary in New York City, focused on writing for “an
erudite readership” when he penned those famous words. Fortunately for the rest of us, the man had
children.
Legend has it that Moore composed A Visit from St. Nicholas for his kids on Christmas Eve, during a sleigh-ride home from Greenwich Village. He supposedly drew inspiration for St. Nick from a roly-poly Dutchman driving his family in that sleigh, although from what we know of Clement Moore, it's more likely that he drew his imagery from literary sources. Moore published his famous poem on Christmas Eve 1823.
Legend has it that Moore composed A Visit from St. Nicholas for his kids on Christmas Eve, during a sleigh-ride home from Greenwich Village. He supposedly drew inspiration for St. Nick from a roly-poly Dutchman driving his family in that sleigh, although from what we know of Clement Moore, it's more likely that he drew his imagery from literary sources. Moore published his famous poem on Christmas Eve 1823.
While the scholarly Moore was at
first hesitant to publicly acknowledge his association with such an
“unscholarly” verse, his kids – for whom he had composed the piece in the first
place – were proud of the tale and wanted children everywhere to know who to
thank for those magical words.
Moore’s poem is largely responsible for Santa Claus as we know him today,
including his physical appearance, the night of his visit, his mode of his
transportation, the number and names of his reindeer, and the tradition that he
brings toys to children. So, as St. Nick exclaimed ere he
drove out of sight: “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.”
Monday, December 23, 2019
A Writer's Moment: New Voices, New Techniques
A Writer's Moment: New Voices, New Techniques: “Print-on-demand publishing is the new farm system for new voices in fiction. Authors who have compelling things to say, who can market th...
Sunday, December 22, 2019
New Voices, New Techniques
“Print-on-demand
publishing is the new farm system for new voices in fiction. Authors who have
compelling things to say, who can market their stories in compelling ways, will
succeed.” - Daniel Suarez
More and more publishing houses are going to the "print on demand" technology and no one can speak more to how successful the technique is than Suarez, whose novels started in that fashion before being “mainstreamed” by Dutton, one of the Big Five publishers.
Suarez, who was born on this day in
1964, is an IT specialist whose career as an author began with a pair of
techno-thriller novels, Daemon, originally self-published under his own
company Verdugo Press, and then Freedom,
picked up by Dutton along with a re-release of the first one.
A former systems consultant to
Fortune 1000 companies, Suarez loves writing, but also stays involved with
technology, designing and developing mission-critical software for the defense,
finance, and entertainment industries. He
said he loves writing but sometimes pushes the wrong buttons with his topics.
“When you write a high-tech thriller
and then people in the defense establishment start calling you - people I can't
name - you feel maybe you've hit a nerve.
Oh well.”
Saturday, December 21, 2019
A Writer's Moment: Shaped By Our Stories
A Writer's Moment: Shaped By Our Stories: “As individuals, we are shaped by story from the time of birth; we are formed by what we are told by our parents, our ...
Shaped By Our Stories
“As individuals, we are shaped by story
from the time of birth; we are formed by what we are told by our parents, our
teachers, our intimates.”
– Helen Dunmore
Dunmore,
born in December 1952, grew up in a large British family, which she said was a
great influence on her writing. "In
a large family,” she explained, “you hear and observe a great many
stories." The writer of both award-winning
poetry and dozens of books (mostly for children), she said writing for kids has
given her a special grounding in her craft.
“Children
will not pretend to be enjoying books, and they will not read books because
they have been told that these books are good. They are looking for
delight.” Among her clever children’s
books are Aliens Don’t Eat Bacon
Sandwiches and Go Fox, just two
of her works taught in British elementary schools. For "Saturday's
Poem" here is Dunmore’s,
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Thursday, December 19, 2019
A Writer's Moment: Small World, Big Impact
A Writer's Moment: Small World, Big Impact: “It’s a world of laughter, a world of tears. It’s a world of hopes and a world of fears. There’s so much that we share, that it’s time w...
Small World, Big Impact
“It’s a world of laughter, a world of
tears. It’s a world of hopes and a world
of fears. There’s so much that we share, that it’s time we’re aware, it’s small
world after all.”
– Robert Sherman
If
you’ve ever been to Disneyland or Disneyworld, you’ve probably heard these
words by Sherman, born on this date in 1925.
It’s the lyrics from the theme song for the popular “Small World” ride and one of many Sherman songs featured throughout the theme parks.
“Small
World” was among dozens of successful songs he and brother Richard wrote
while working for Disney Studios as Staff Songwriters – a title created by Walt
to keep them writing for his films. Among their most famous was Mary Poppins, for which they won two Academy
Awards while convincing Mary’s creator, the cantankerous P.L. Travers, that a
song with a nonsensical title would be acceptable.
Thus, their word and song Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious was born.
Sherman
started writing at age 16, penning a fund-raising stage play Armistice and
Dedication Day – showing how Americans’ lives were changed following the attack
on Pearl Harbor. He also fought in WWII
– joining at age 17 – was wounded and won citations for bravery. Editor-in-chief of his college newspaper, he
authored 2 novels – both before graduating – then switched to writing lyrics
and the rest is history.
The Sherman brothers were awarded the National Medal for the Arts for their contribution to our nation’s culture, and Robert was recognized with dozens of major writing awards. But he said his best “reward” was recognition by children. Four of his musicals – The Jungle Book, Mary Poppins, The Aristocats and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – rank in the "Top 10 Favorite Children's Films of All Time.”
The Sherman brothers were awarded the National Medal for the Arts for their contribution to our nation’s culture, and Robert was recognized with dozens of major writing awards. But he said his best “reward” was recognition by children. Four of his musicals – The Jungle Book, Mary Poppins, The Aristocats and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – rank in the "Top 10 Favorite Children's Films of All Time.”
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
A Writer's Moment: There's No Wrong Way To Write Right
A Writer's Moment: There's No Wrong Way To Write Right: “There is no right or wrong way to write - there's only what works for you. I was taught to write every day, but ...
There's No Wrong Way To Write Right
“There
is no right or wrong way to write - there's only what works
for you. I was taught to write every day,
but I know a writer (a bestseller at that!) who only writes on weekends.” –
Tamora Pierce
A native
of Pennsylvania, Pierce -- born Dec. 14, 1954 -- is a writer of
fantasy fiction for teens and best known for stories featuring young heroines.
She first made a name for herself with series, The Song of
the Lioness, which followed the main character Alanna through the trials
and triumphs of training as a knight.
She's now authored dozens of books and several best-selling series. In 2013 she was the recipient of the American
Library Association’s “Margaret A. Edwards Award” for her significant and
lasting contributions to Young Adult literature.
Pierce draws on elements of people
and animals around her for inspiration. She said she gets most ideas from
things she stumbles upon and then “adapts.”
Her concept of magic as a tapestry of threads comes from her experiences
in crocheting, and in her world all images are somehow based on British
naturalist David Attenborough after watching his nature documentaries.
“What people tell me they take away
from my books is that they can shape their lives, they can achieve their own
dreams,” she said. “And certainly that's
what I want them to take away.”
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
A Writer's Moment: 'Leding' On A Great Writing Path
A Writer's Moment: 'Leding' On A Great Writing Path: “When I need to know the meaning of a word, I look it up in a dictionary.” – William Safire Born on this date in ...
'Leding' On A Great Writing Path
“When
I need to know the meaning of a word, I look it up in a dictionary.” – William
Safire
Born on this date in 1929, just days
after the Great Stockmarket Crash, Safire grew up in the turmoil of the 1930s
to become one of America’s best-known authors, columnists and journalists.
A stickler for language uses and
demands, he was perhaps best known as a long-time syndicated political
columnist for the New York Times.
He authored "On Language" in the Sunday New York Times
Magazine, a column on new or unusual usages, and other language-related
topics that he wrote right up until his death in 2009. He also wrote The Right Word in the Right
Place at the Right Time.
A two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, he
disdained writers who used what he termed “insiderisms” to try to attract or
dazzle readers. “Do not be taken in by
'insiderisms,’” he once noted.
“Fledgling columnists, eager to impress readers with their grasp of
journalistic jargon, are drawn to such arcane spellings as 'lede.' I say, ‘Where they lede, do not follow.’”
Lede, by the way, is the longtime
journalistic term for the “opening” of a story, supposedly containing all the
key or important information needed. Safire always delighted in adding a key
“nugget” of info. later in his stories – “just to keep the readers on their
toes.”
Sunday, December 15, 2019
A Writer's Moment: Striving For The Impossible
A Writer's Moment: Striving For The Impossible: “I don't pretend we have all the answers. But the questions are certainly worth thinking about.” – Arthur C. Clarke Born in Engla...
Striving For The Impossible
“I
don't pretend we have all the answers. But the questions are certainly worth
thinking about.” – Arthur C. Clarke
Born in England on this date in
1917, Clarke wrote dozens of best-selling science fiction books and short
stories but is perhaps best known for penning the screenplay for one of the top
100 movies of all time, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
A lifelong
proponent of space travel, he joined the British Interplanetary Society while
still a teenager and ultimately served for many years as its chairman. Not only a writer but also a gifted thinker
and planner, he proposed a prototype satellite communication system as early in
1945.
Clarke emigrated
from England to Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) in 1956, to pursue his interest in
scuba diving. There, he discovered the
underwater ruins of the ancient Koneswaram Temple off its coast. Clarke augmented his popularity as a writer by
hosting several international popular television shows, including the award
winning “Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World.”
The author of 21
novels, 15 nonfiction books, and 12 collections of short stories, Clarke was
knighted for his achievements by Queen Elizabeth, named a Grand Master by the
Science Fiction Writers of America, and awarded Sri Lanka’s highest civilian
honor for his service to science, culture and his adopted nation.
“The only way to discover the limits of the possible,”
Clarke once said, “is to go beyond them into the impossible.”
Saturday, December 14, 2019
A Writer's Moment: Songs of Black Life and Living
A Writer's Moment: Songs of Black Life and Living: “My mother, religious-negro, proud of / having waded through a storm, is very obviously, / a sturdy Black bridge that ...
Songs of Black Life and Living
“My
mother, religious-negro, proud of / having waded through a storm, is very
obviously, / a sturdy Black bridge that I / crossed over, on.”
– Carolyn M. Rodgers
Rodgers, born on this date in 1945,
wrote poetry, essays and short stories about Black identity, religion and
revolution while founding and operating one of America’s oldest Black presses,
Third World Press. She won wide acclaim
for Songs of a Blackbird and its powerful
poems addressing themes of survival, street life, conflicting mother-daughter
relationships, and a concern for the "black woman poet." Blackbird also won a National
Endowment of the Arts award. For
Saturday’s Poem, here is Rodgers’,
Some Me of Beauty
I took a good long look at myself in a full length mirror
Sometimes it’s good to look in a full length mirror
And what I saw was not some soul sister poetess of the moment
But I saw just a woman
Just a woman feeling
Just a woman human
And what I felt was
What I felt was a spiritual revelation
And what I felt was a root revival of some love coming on
Coming on strong
And I knew then, looking in a full length mirror,
That many things were over
And some me of beauty was about to begin
I took a good long look at myself in a full length mirror
Sometimes it’s good to look in a full length mirror
And what I saw was not some soul sister poetess of the moment
But I saw just a woman
Just a woman feeling
Just a woman human
And what I felt was
What I felt was a spiritual revelation
And what I felt was a root revival of some love coming on
Coming on strong
And I knew then, looking in a full length mirror,
That many things were over
And some me of beauty was about to begin
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