Best Lines: Writers Who Say It Way Better Than Me

“Deliver me from writers who say the way they live doesn’t matter. I’m not sure a bad person can write a good book. If art doesn’t make us better, then what on earth is it for.” – Alice Walker

Best Lines: On Writing

I keep six honest serving men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
and How and Where and Who.

- Rudyard Kipling

A Rose By Any Other Name

Name Generators

Cool link for writers, time-wasters and writers wasting time.

Carpe Diem Y’all, Michele

Don’t Pay the Ransom

I try to leave out the parts that people skip.  ~Elmore Leonard

Don’t pay the ransom, I got away and have just enough time to say: 

:::pause for effect:::

1.  I finished the YA novel

:::dance in circle::::

2.  I said I FINISHED the YA NOVEL

:::pump arm in air and repeat after me, “Woot Woot”:::

How to Make Small Talk with the Writer in the Family

 Or not.  – Carpe Diem Y’all, Michele

Stewie: You know, that novel you’ve been writing?

NaNo NaNo

There’s nothing to writing.  All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.  ~Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith

I neglect my blog I know.  I apologize.  But I am within spitting distance of another finish line.  The YA novel is almost complete. 

With the end in sight, I work each day with a new energy.  I experience the writer’s version of a runner’s high.   It doesn’t hurt anymore to think.  I sit back, I type,  the characters tell their story. I’ve heard of this phenom from others who’ve gone before me.  I nod as I realize this truth. 

November is National Novel Writing Month.  As I type, I smile.  Writers across the land do the same.

Carpe Diem Y’all, Michele     

Post Writing Day

Find a job you like and you add five days to every week.  ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Have I mentioned I love my job?  Probably.  I still can’t believe I waited so long to take the plunge into freelance writing.  There’s rarely a dull moment. 

When writing an article, I’ve developed a routine that works for me.  On the front side I spend a significant amount of time researching, interviewing,  gathering background information and creating outlines about the subject at hand.  If I do this well, it makes the actual writing process that much easier.  When I do this well, I look forward to Writing Day.

On Writing Day I rise early and stay in my jammies till I’ve knocked the article out.  On a good Writing Day, this can be accomplished at around the same time I pour my final cup of coffee.   On a not-so-good day Writing Day, it’s not unheard of for my hubby to return from work to find me sitting in my jammies staring blankly at the computer screen.  On those days, dinner conversation can get a little stilted.

“What did you do today?” he’ll ask.

“I worked,” I say.

So far, even on the not-so-good Writing Days,  by the grace of God, the work gets cranked out.  I don’t question this when it happens, I just say something along the lines of “thank God!” as I hit the send button and shoot my submission  into cyberspace, with an added prayer that it will be to the liking of the editor receiving it.

Today is Post Writing Day.  Sometimes on Post Writing Day I feel elated and energized, while other times, I feel hungover, or as if I have a major case of brain drain.  Today I feel something in between.  Probably because technically, I still have more work to do.  I am curious to know if other writers feel this way after completing projects.  Let me know.  I’d love to hear more about your experiences. 

Best Lines After Spinning Wheels

No yesterdays are ever wasted for those who give themselves to today.  ~Brendan Francis 

Even though it felt as if I chased my tail yesterday, because I did most of yesterday on hold with the telephone company,  at the end of business I achieved the following:

• Details added to storyboard
• 3/4 scene written
• Blog updated
• Found cool quotes to comfort me re: being on hold with the telephone company

Finish each day and be done with it.  You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can.  Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Carpe Diem Y’all, Michele

A Novel Thought

“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!” – Dr. Seuss

Best line read today while working on novel.  Carpe Diem Y’all, Michele

Currently Reading

                                                  

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving:  I am loving this book.  How did I miss this the first time around?  Agree with Mr. Irving:  it’s a great first sentence.

Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsover: Reading Buddy Rick dropped this one off last week.  Having a hard time getting into it.  This speaks more to my inability to locate my reading glasses/frame of mind than to Kingsolver’s ability to weave a tale.  Enjoyed Poisonwood Bible so I’ll stick with it .  I found Poisonwood hard to get into as well, but compelling enough to bring me back, thinking about it long after I put the book down.

Why my Wife Thinks I’m An Idiot The Life and Times of a Sportscaster Dad by Mike Greenberg:Hey Greeny, I tend to agree with your wife, mostly because I too, am female.  You are an idiot.  I’m laughing out loud one minute, squirming the next.  It’s a fun read if you’re a sports fan/parent, so I’m granting you an idiot exemption for being brave enough to publish the journal your therapist encouraged you to keep.  I can’t wait to finish this book and pass it on to Reading Buddy Rick.  Being a male/sports fan/parent/therapist he’ll really get a kick out of it.

Next in Line:

How to Get Things Done by David Allen.  My husband bought this book a couple of weeks ago.  As fate would have it, it’s a reference in the Blueprinting your Novel class taught by Patricia Burroughs.  Just love happy coincidences.

How to Write a Damn Good Novel by James N. Frey  A writer buddy loaned this book to me.  Am looking forward to digging in later this week.

Grace (Eventually) Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott.  This book is the carrot dangling in the B&N window.  It’s  keeping me on task.  On completion of current freelance assignments, this will be my bonus check.  Gosh, I have a great boss!

 Carpe diem y’all, Michele