A Writer's Moment: 'Reflecting the beauty that surround us'

A Writer's Moment: 'Reflecting the beauty that surround us':   “Let's put it this way: if you are a novelist, I think you start out with a 20 word idea, and you work at it and yo...

'Reflecting the beauty that surround us'

 

“Let's put it this way: if you are a novelist, I think you start out with a 20 word idea, and you work at it and you wind up with a 200,000 word novel. We, picture-book people, or at least I, start out with 200,000 words and reduce it to 20.” – Eric Carle

As a journalist I was told time and again to “write tight.”  In other words, say everything you can about a topic so that it is crystal clear in as few words as possible, because publication space is always at a premium.  Writing as journalists might be good training for children’s book writers.  But if I were an editor I’d be asking someone like Carle about the best way to write tight, because he was an expert at it for over 50 years.  Of course his wonderful artwork didn’t hurt either.

 

Born in Syracuse, NY on June 25, 1929 Carle was the author of mega-sellers like The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?   Carle said he always attempted to make his books both entertaining and educational – offering young readers (and often their parents) opportunities to learn something about the world.  He also advised writers wanting to work in the children’s literary genre’ to “recognize children’s feelings, inquisitiveness and creativity.”   

 

 Carle, who was named for the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his career contribution to American children’s literature shortly before his death in 2021, said,  “We have eyes, and we're looking at stuff all the time, all day long.   I just think that whatever our eyes touch should be beautiful, tasteful, appealing, and important.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Revitalizing and remembering'

A Writer's Moment: 'Revitalizing and remembering':   “Reason is a fine thing, but it is not the only thing available to a writer. It's just part of the arsenal of many...

'Revitalizing and remembering'

 

“Reason is a fine thing, but it is not the only thing available to a writer. It's just part of the arsenal of many things available to a storyteller.” – Mark Helprin

 

Born on this date in 1947, Helprin is a novelist, journalist, scholar and conservative commentator stating that he "belongs to no literary school, movement, tendency, or trend.”

 

The child of two artists – his father was a well-known film industry leader and his mother a stage actress – Helprin was born in Manhattan, studied at Harvard and Princeton, and simultaneously became a statesman and writer with his non-fiction conservative commentary often called "biting."   On the “creative” side, he has won numerous awards, particularly for his novel Winter’s Tale.  

 

  About writing, he has said, “We create nothing new—no one has ever imagined a new color—so what you are doing is revitalizing.   You are remembering, then combining, altering. Artists who think they're creating new worlds are simply creating tiny versions of this world."

 

A Writer's Moment: 'Dreams: nourishment for the soul'

A Writer's Moment: 'Dreams: nourishment for the soul':   “People need dreams, there's as much nourishment in 'em as food.” – Dorothy Gilman Born in New Jersey on June 25, 1923 Gilma...

'Dreams: nourishment for the soul'

 

“People need dreams, there's as much nourishment in 'em as food.” – Dorothy Gilman

Born in New Jersey on June 25, 1923 Gilman began writing her "Mrs. Polifax" mystery/thrillers at a time when women in mystery were represented by Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, and spies by characters like "James Bond."  Instead, her heroine was a woman in her late 60s who might be the only spy in literature to simultaneously be a member of the CIA     and a local garden club.

Gilman started her writing career at age 9 and won a story-writing contest (against much older contestants) at age 11.   She wrote children’s stories for more than a decade (using the name Dorothy Gilman Butters) and then created Mrs. Pollifax, a retired grandmother who becomes a CIA agent.

Most of her books feature strong women having adventures around the world, reflective of her own international travel background.  But they also feature small town life and puttering in the garden, something she enjoyed doing – cultivating vegetables and herbs and again using that skill and knowledge in her writing.

Named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America, she died in 2012 after authoring dozens of books and myriad short stories and pieces for magazines and newspapers.  Her advice to writers was always be on schedule in everything you do.   “If something anticipated arrives too late it finds us numb, wrung out from waiting, and we feel - nothing at all. The best things arrive on time.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Search yesterday to understand today'

A Writer's Moment: 'Search yesterday to understand today':   “If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday.” – Pearl Buck   Buck, born on this date in 1892, saw the world unfo...

'Search yesterday to understand today'

 

“If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday.” – Pearl Buck

 

Buck, born on this date in 1892, saw the world unfolding around her and chronicled it in a writing style that melded the past and present with clarity and intensity.  Over her lifetime she penned nearly 40 novels and numerous short stories and non-fiction works. 

 

 

Born in the backwoods of West Virginia, she spent much of her growing up years in rural areas of China where her parents were missionaries.  Throughout her adult life, she was a staunch supporter of multiple humanitarian causes, particularly in support of overcoming poverty faced by children. 

 

 

After winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938 (the first American woman to win the award), she utilized her prize money to establish the East and West Association, and the Pearl S. Buck Foundation to address humanitarian issues around the globe.  For more than 50 years she spoke out and wrote against injustice whenever and wherever she saw it.

 

  “The truth is always important and exciting,” she said. “Speak it, then. Life is dull without it.”

A Writer's Moment: 'A matter of language, and life'

A Writer's Moment: 'A matter of language, and life':   “Poetry is a matter of life, not just a matter of language.” – Lucille Clifton Born near Buffalo, NY, on June 27, 1936 Clifton studi...

'A matter of language, and life'

 

“Poetry is a matter of life, not just a matter of language.” – Lucille Clifton

Born near Buffalo, NY, on June 27, 1936 Clifton studied and lived in Washington, DC, before settling in her adopted Maryland where from 1979–1985 she was the state’s Poet Laureate. Common topics in her poetry include the celebration of her African American heritage and feminist themes as well as  daily life in the city and the home.

Her writing began as a hobby, but when a friend who also was a friend of the poet Langston Hughes passed along some of her work to him, he encouraged her to stop her job and concentrate on writing. 

 

 

    “People wish to be poets more than they wish to write poetry, and that’s a mistake,” she said.  “One should wish to celebrate more than one wishes to be celebrated.”  For Saturday's Poem, here is Clifton's,

            I am accused

 

i am accused of tending to the past
as if i made it,
as if i sculpted it
with my own hands. i did not.
this past was waiting for me
when i came,
a monstrous unnamed baby,
and i with my mother's itch
took it to breast
and named it
History.
she is more human now,
learning languages everyday,
remembering faces, names and dates.
when she is strong enough to travel
on her own, beware, she will.

A Writer's Moment: 'Language is a living thing'

A Writer's Moment: 'Language is a living thing':   “Language is a living thing. We can feel it changing. Parts of it become old: they drop off and are forgotten. New piec...

'Language is a living thing'

 

“Language is a living thing. We can feel it changing. Parts of it become old: they drop off and are forgotten. New pieces bud out, spread into leaves, and become big branches, proliferating.” – Gilbert Highet

 

A classicist and literary historian, Highet was born in Scotland in June of 1912 and emigrated to the U.S. with his wife – the great writer Helen MacInnes – in 1938. 

 

The longtime head of the Greek and Latin Department at Columbia University, he wrote numerous essays and books, hosted a radio program, and served as a judge for the Book-of-the-Month Club and on the editorial board of Horizon magazine.               

 

But he liked teaching best, and won numerous awards and accolades for his classroom work.  "The chief aim of education is to show you, after you make a livelihood, how to enjoy living,” he said.   “You can live longest and best and most rewardingly by attaining and preserving the happiness of learning."   His 1976 book The Immortal Profession: The Joys of Teaching and Learning provides an amazing look at this great teacher’s style.

 

 “(Books) are not just lumps of lifeless paper,” he said, “but minds alive on the shelves.”

A Writer's Moment: Being 'the hero' of your own story

A Writer's Moment: Being 'the hero' of your own story:   “We all live in suspense from day to day; in other words, you are the hero of your own story.” –   Mary McCarthy Author, critic and ...

Being 'the hero' of your own story

 

“We all live in suspense from day to day; in other words, you are the hero of your own story.” –  Mary McCarthy

Author, critic and political activist McCarthy was born in Seattle on this date in 1912 and built her reputation as a satirist.  Her satirical novel The Group, in fact, was on the New York Times Bestseller list for almost two years.

Noted for her precise prose and its complex mixture of autobiography and fiction, she was considered a rather “scandalous” writer in her younger years, especially with her first novel The Company She Keeps, which “told it like it was” in 1930s New York Society.

Winner of two Guggenheim Fellowships and a number of other major “funding” awards, she was named for the National Medal for Literature and

 the Edward MacDowell Medal, both in 1984.       Also a respected critic, she was presented with 8 honorary degrees for her groundbreaking work. 
 

  “The suspense of a novel,” she said,  “is not only for the reader, but in the novelist, who is usually intensely curious about what will happen to her hero.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Collaborating with the readers'

A Writer's Moment: 'Collaborating with the readers':   “I love the fact that you collaborate with your readers when you write a book.” – Robert Crais Born in Louisiana on this date in 19...

'Collaborating with the readers'

 

“I love the fact that you collaborate with your readers when you write a book.” – Robert Crais

Born in Louisiana on this date in 1953, Crais is one of America’s bestselling authors of crime fiction, but he didn’t start to create novels in the genre until long after he already had made a name for himself as the writer of scripts for television shows.   After graduating from LSU, he moved to Hollywood and jumped right into writing for shows like Hill Street Blues and Cagney and Lacey. 

But in the late 1980s he tested the waters with his first novel, The Monkey’s Raincoat, an instant hit with readers and critics alike – earning everything from “best first novel” to “best mystery.”  Since then, he’s had 23 novels, all worldwide bestsellers.   He has received the Ross Macdonald Literary Award (for crime fiction) and been named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America.                 

“My books come to me in images,” he said.  “Sometimes the image is at the beginning of the book, and sometimes it's simply a flash somewhere in the middle.”  His stories are built around his two memorable main characters – Elvis Cole and Joe Pike.

Perhaps his best-known novel, also made into a movie, is Hostage, cited for the great character development throughout.   “I write characters and stories that move me,” he said, “and I write from the heart.”

A Writer's Moment: 'The activity of writing changes everything'

A Writer's Moment: 'The activity of writing changes everything':   “My theory is that literature is essential to society in the way that dreams are essential to our lives. We can't live without dreami...

'The activity of writing changes everything'

 

“My theory is that literature is essential to society in the way that dreams are essential to our lives. We can't live without dreaming - as we can't live without sleep. We are 'conscious' beings for only a limited period of time, then we sink back into sleep - the 'unconscious.' It is nourishing, in ways we can't fully understand.” – Joyce Carol Oates

Oates, born in Lockport, NY on June 16, 1938, said she loves the process of writing - she writes in longhand - and she does so almost every day.   The product of a one-room country school (something I share with her) she had her first novel, With Shuddering Fall, published by Vanguard Press in 1963.

That novel’s success opened her writing floodgates resulting in the publication of some 60 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction.   For those efforts she’s won numerous awards, including a National Book Award for Them.   

 

A terrific writer in all genres, she’s also won two O. Henry Awards and the National Humanities Medal.   Three of her novels – Black Water, What I Lived For, and Blonde – along with two of her short story collections have been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

 

  

Joyce Carol Oates

“I have forced myself to begin writing when I've been utterly exhausted," she said,  "when I've felt my soul as thin as a playing card…and somehow the activity of writing changes everything.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Stories just need to be told'

A Writer's Moment: 'Stories just need to be told':   “Fans are always asking me where I get my ideas from. The answer is that I'm very curious, and I get inspiration from everywhere. I r...

'Stories just need to be told'

 

“Fans are always asking me where I get my ideas from. The answer is that I'm very curious, and I get inspiration from everywhere. I read the newspapers voraciously, so I know what's going on in real crime. I pay attention to the strange stories people tell me, and I also read a lot of scientific and forensic journals.” – Tess Gerritsen

Born on June 12, 1953 Gerritsen is the best-selling author of the Rizzoli & Isles series, which also was made into the very popular TV series.  A native of San Diego, she is the child of a Chinese immigrant and a Chinese-American seafood chef, who grew up wanting to write her own Nancy Drew type novels. “I'd been writing stories since I was a child,” she said.   “I wrote little books for my mom and bound them myself with needle and thread. Mostly, they were about my pets.”

Although she longed to be a full-time writer, her family had reservations about the sustainability of a writing career, prompting Gerritsen to choose medicine instead.  Ultimately, of course, that knowledge of medical procedures proved invaluable in her writing, especially when writing about the Maura Isles character, who is a medical examiner.  Although she didn’t start writing until her mid-30s, Gerritsen’s books have been published in 40 countries and have sold 25 million copies.

In addition to her detective and mystery books, she

 has contributed essays in volumes published by   

Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers.  

 

“Even if I never sold another book, I'd keep writing, because the stories are here, in my head.  Stories that just need to be told,” she said.  “I love watching a plot unfold, and feeling the surprise when the unexpected happens.”

A Writer's Moment: 'The book. Good invention'

A Writer's Moment: 'The book. Good invention':   “Man was very fortunate to have invented the book. Without it, the past would completely vanish, and we would be left with nothing, we wo...

'The book. Good invention'

 

“Man was very fortunate to have invented the book. Without it, the past would completely vanish, and we would be left with nothing, we would be naked on earth.” –  James Salter

Born on this date in 1925, Salter was the pen name for James Arnold Horowitz.   He later adopted Salter as his legal name.  A writing “craftsman” of the highest order, Salter wrote both novels and short stories and was renowned for his ability to write beautiful prose.         

Also known as a great “selector” of character names, Salter once noted, “There are writers for whom names mean nothing; everybody could be called John and Elizabeth, and the writing would be just as good.  But, to me, a name is like a piece of clothing.   It gives you an impression right away.”

The son of a career military officer, Salter followed his father to West Point and moved to the Air Force when it became a separate military branch in the late 1940s.  He flew over 100 combat missions in the Korean War and wrote about it in his first novel, the best-selling The Hunters, made into a highly acclaimed movie.  It also made actor Robert Mitchum a star.

Salter, who died at age 90, wrote 20 best-sellers, including All That Is, at age 88, and the screenplay for Downhill Racer, but he preferred writing books.  “The writers of books are companions in one's life and, as such, are often more interesting than any other companions.”  

A Writer's Moment: 'Understanding Everyday Multiculturalism'

A Writer's Moment: 'Understanding Everyday Multiculturalism':   “I've always loved writing, and the impulse for me is storytelling. I don't sit down and think: 'What political message can I...

'Understanding Everyday Multiculturalism'

 

“I've always loved writing, and the impulse for me is storytelling. I don't sit down and think: 'What political message can I sell?' I love the creativity of it.” – Randa Abdel-Fattah

Born in June 1979, Abdel-Fattah is a native Australian of Palestinian-Egyptian heritage, bringing an interesting cultural mix to her writing.  She started writing and had her first published work as a 6^th grader.  “I’ve been writing stories since I was a kid,” she said.   “I love writing stories.”

She wrote numerous short stories as a teenager and by age 18 produced the first draft of Does My Head Look Big in This? later to become her debut novel.  The tale of a 16-year-old Muslim girl who decides to wear the hijab full-time, it’s a story of life choices, bias and abiding friendships.  The book and a play based on it have won numerous awards and accolades.

A champion for social justice and human rights, she is a frequent speaker and writer on and regular broadcast commentator on those topics.  She also is a regular guest at schools around Australia addressing students about her books and the social justice issues they raise.   And she loves celebratory events           from all cultures and religions. 

 

 “Religious celebrations, and the good will, high spirits and generosity that mark them, are wonderful occasions for understanding the potential of 'everyday multiculturalism,’ and how people from diverse faiths can connect and show they care, rather than go down parallel, sometimes hostile, roads.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Someday? Why not today?'

A Writer's Moment: 'Someday? Why not today?': “Someday is not a day of the week.” -- Janet Dailey   Born in May 1944, Dailey said “waiting for someday” was not an option if she was goin...

'Someday? Why not today?'

“Someday is not a day of the week.” -- Janet Dailey

 

Born in May 1944, Dailey said “waiting for someday” was not an option if she was going to fulfill her lifelong dream to actually BE a writer.

And so she did, and was, completing more than 90 novels in just 25 years until her death in December of 2014.   Her books, primarily romances, are widely loved and have sold over 300 million copies in 19 different languages, making her one of the most popular writers throughout the world. 

Many writers tend to procrastinate and usually need a challenge to finally get the ball rolling.  For Dailey it was a challenge to “prove it,” when she said she was disgusted with a lot of romance writing and thought she could do better.   

 

“A challenge is a challenge,” she said, “and while writing is a challenge it’s also a fulfillment.” 

  

Janet Dailey