Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Summertime Writing: Inspiration, Humor, and Camaraderie


It's hard to find writerly inspiration with all the distractions of swimming, hiking, biking, water skiing, vacationing, or just lazing in the sunshine. Try to persevere and remember. . .

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."  Thomas A. Edison


          "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better." Samuel Beckett




And my personal favorite to give me solace through the submission process.


"Opportunity does not knock,
 it presents itself 
when you beat down the door."
Kyle Chandler











All the writing rules getting you down? Take heart and enjoy this humorous passage from Anne R. Allen's December 22nd, 2013 Blog Post. Anne writes. . ."Here is a little verse I stole from Dorothy Parker wrote about those rules, based on Dorothy Parker's hilarious poem, "The Lady's Reward"."


Rules for the Beginning Novelist
…with apologies to Dorothy Parker

Newbie author, never pen
Background story till page ten.
Use no flashbacks—no, nor prologue.
Never start your book with di’logue.
Set the hero’s hair on fire.
Keep the situation dire.
Write in genres tried and true
From a single point of view.
Tell your tale in linear time.
Avoid a plot that strains the mind.
No dead kids, bad priests, abuse
Or politics in your debuts.
Copy last year's biggest hit.
No one wants to read new @#%*
Make it light but never funny.
(Humor’s too subjective, honey.)

And if that gets you published kid,
You’ll be the first it ever did.


Because summer is the perfect time to read on good book, at the beach, by the lake, on the river...
I'm enjoying John Green's works: An Abundance of Katherines, Alaska, and The Fault in the Stars (recently released as a movie)

                             For some shared writerly camaraderie with this hugely successful author, 


                                           here are a couple of John Green quotes on writing.



"I know that books seem like the ultimate thing that’s made by one person, but that’s not true. Every reading of a book is a collaboration between the reader and the writer who are making the story up together."

"Read a lot. Read broadly. . .Tell stories to your friends, and pay attention to when they get bored. . . Write a lot."

So try to carve out some writing time in your summer schedule or barring that listen to John Green and read a lot. Preferably by a beach, a lake or river. Enjoy your summer.

As always feel free to comment.


8 comments:

  1. The summer definitely tempts us to turn from what we KNOW we need to be doing. In my case, I'm having trouble applying fingers to keys. But I am storing ideas in those little compartments inside my head--and on sticky notes.
    Love the door. Keep on submitting. The right one will bring that door down!
    Great post. Always love your pictures and your perspective.

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    1. Thanks so much for stopping by, Sandy. Thanks for sharing how you cope with summer's distractions. Love the sticky notes ideas. :)

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  2. For me, the challenge isn't inspiration, it's making time in a schedule crowded with grandkids, meetings, and other obligations. Have to make writing a priority.

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  3. Thanks so much for stopping by, Bonnie. Ah yes, the elusive scheduling of writing time. You are so right, we need to make it a priority to schedule in time for our writing, just like we would a meeting. Good luck and thanks for sharing.

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  4. I enjoyed your post. I am new with Prism and will try to join in more often.

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    1. Thanks so much for stopping by, Jewell and welcome to Prism. Such a great group of authors.

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  5. THIS WAS REALLY GOOD! I ENJOYED READING THIS TREMENDOUSLY! (I suppose it isn't very flattering that I'm saying that like I'm shocked to have liked your writing)
    No, seriously, I hadn't read you before but I really liked your post : )

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  6. Thanks so much for stopping by, Sia and for all your kind words. Your comments make posting a blog so much more worthwhile. :)

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