I'm constantly looking for quotes on Perseverence as I've needed a lot of it. I've seen this said a number of ways but I do particularly like equating perseverence with glory. :)
Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Don't give up!!!
Showing posts with label writer's life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writer's life. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
writer girls and grog fun
There is something so supremely satisfying about hanging out with writers. I can't even put my finger on why writer gatherings are so much fun but they are. On Sunday I had the priviledge of spending some quality time with my future groggers. We had a blast taking group pictures in the local cemetary...possibly a little gruesome but with a name like www.pensfatales.com a completely appropriate picture setting. :)
Check it out....
Do we look like we could have an album coming out in the Fall?
Check it out....
Do we look like we could have an album coming out in the Fall?
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
feeling official
I hate preparing for taxes (I mean, really, does anyone love them?). Going through money in and money out is so depressing. There's always so much going OUT. And that is only the money we can deduct according to the IRS. (Everyone please pray to the tax gods that we don't owe any more money....)
Until now, I've been moseying along, writing and using the family account for my expenses. After doing my taxes and having to dig through paper statements to find any deductible expenses from the three months that my computer refused to download my bank information (I'm assuming it was mad at me :)), I decided to finally set up a separate designated 'writing' account.
Yesterday in the mail, I got my checkbook and my 'writing only' credit card! I remember being sixteen and getting my first bank account. I was all grown up! :)
I've got that same feeling--it's official--I'm a writer. :)
Until now, I've been moseying along, writing and using the family account for my expenses. After doing my taxes and having to dig through paper statements to find any deductible expenses from the three months that my computer refused to download my bank information (I'm assuming it was mad at me :)), I decided to finally set up a separate designated 'writing' account.
Yesterday in the mail, I got my checkbook and my 'writing only' credit card! I remember being sixteen and getting my first bank account. I was all grown up! :)
I've got that same feeling--it's official--I'm a writer. :)
Monday, March 16, 2009
Websites, Blogs, and Grogs, oh my!
Apparently continuing in the Wizard of Oz theme :)
I love the internet. I love technology. I love the new terminology. New words...what writer doesn't LOVE new words?
Blogs, grogs, twitter. New words spring up overnight like mushrooms in the loamy winter soil. One day underneath the tree a whole colony is just...there.
We were lucky enough to listen to the very popular, prolific and talented, Maya Banks (http://www.mayabanks.com/) speak this past weekend. I'm sure she would be thrilled to know her words inspired action among us.
Pumped up on excitement from her speech, a group of like-minded writers decided to take the plunge into the world of grogging. What is grogging? Group blogging.
So, Juliette Blackwell/Hailey Lind, Martha Flynn, Rachael Herron, Sophie Littlefield, Adrienne Miller, Gig Pandian, LGC Smith, and myself are coming to a blogosphere near you! Just as soon as we figure out our name....
I love the internet. I love technology. I love the new terminology. New words...what writer doesn't LOVE new words?
Blogs, grogs, twitter. New words spring up overnight like mushrooms in the loamy winter soil. One day underneath the tree a whole colony is just...there.
We were lucky enough to listen to the very popular, prolific and talented, Maya Banks (http://www.mayabanks.com/) speak this past weekend. I'm sure she would be thrilled to know her words inspired action among us.
Pumped up on excitement from her speech, a group of like-minded writers decided to take the plunge into the world of grogging. What is grogging? Group blogging.
So, Juliette Blackwell/Hailey Lind, Martha Flynn, Rachael Herron, Sophie Littlefield, Adrienne Miller, Gig Pandian, LGC Smith, and myself are coming to a blogosphere near you! Just as soon as we figure out our name....
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Lessons from Other Writers
California has always been a Mecca for writers. Throughout the last century, many writers lived, wrote, and made their mark on literature here.
With such rich writing history in my backyard, I undertook a quest to learn more about two writers who lived and worked here, Eugene O’Neill and Jack London: what inspired them, what compelled them to write, what convinced them to keep writing.
Eugene O’Neill lived in the Las Trampas foothills with his wife and wrote many works by hand. One of his most famous plays, "Long Day’s Journey Into Night", is an autobiographical account of his early life and the dysfunctional dynamics of his family. He was reclusive, alcoholic, moody, depressed, and compulsive. His personal life was a mess; his relationship with his wife was uneasy, he was estranged from his daughter, and his son committed suicide.
And he wrote every day.
O’Neill locked himself away in his office and let no one disturb him until he felt he had finished work for the day. There were three doors leading to his office and if any of the doors were closed, his wife and staff went no further. (Wouldn’t that be nice...my kids never let a closed door keep them from interrupting!)
Jack London lived on a farm in Sonoma. His novel, "Call of the Wild", has never been out of print, and is required reading in middle schools all over the United States. He was a gregarious and frequent host, a frustrated organic farmer, and partied constantly, drinking and eating fattening food to excess. He had friends from all walks of life, a loving wife who managed the farm and household, and an excellent relationship with his step-son. He also had a disease that eventually killed him at the age of forty.
And he wrote every day.
Jack London had a rule: he wrote 1000 words a day before he was allowed any contact with friends, family, whoever. He worked everywhere...his office, outside on a tree stump, the swimming pond on his property, and even when he traveled. No matter where he was or how late he stayed up the previous night, he wrote one thousand words every morning.
On the surface these two men were diametrically different. Yet, they both wrote works that continue to endure.
And they both wrote every day.
I came away from my mini-quest committed to using their inspiration for my own writing process. Since visiting their homes, I strive to write every day. Is it hard? Sometimes. We all have other responsibilities: jobs, children, parents, bills. But it’s imperative we practice responsibility to ourselves--to our creativity--as well.
Sometimes writing merely means searching the web for research articles. Sometimes it’s reading a how-to article or book. Sometimes it’s only a few words, maybe an emotion or feeling I’m trying to capture. Sometimes, it’s an outpouring of scenes and scenes and scenes. Sometimes, it’s editing a page, sometimes it’s layering in details for a chapter.
Whatever I do, I write every day.
Am I destined to be the next O’Neill or London? No. Nor do I want to be. I want to be me. A writer who reveres the beauty and the mystery and sheer giddiness of two people falling and being in love. A writer who lauds the commitment and dedication of celebrating life with a partner. A writer who believes in the power of being happy.
Because of the example of these two very different writers, I began to honor my writing and my process every day. You can too. One day at a time.
For further information on visiting either of these National Park sites:
http://www.eugeneoneill.org/
http://www.jacklondonstatepark.org/
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=478
With such rich writing history in my backyard, I undertook a quest to learn more about two writers who lived and worked here, Eugene O’Neill and Jack London: what inspired them, what compelled them to write, what convinced them to keep writing.
Eugene O’Neill lived in the Las Trampas foothills with his wife and wrote many works by hand. One of his most famous plays, "Long Day’s Journey Into Night", is an autobiographical account of his early life and the dysfunctional dynamics of his family. He was reclusive, alcoholic, moody, depressed, and compulsive. His personal life was a mess; his relationship with his wife was uneasy, he was estranged from his daughter, and his son committed suicide.
And he wrote every day.
O’Neill locked himself away in his office and let no one disturb him until he felt he had finished work for the day. There were three doors leading to his office and if any of the doors were closed, his wife and staff went no further. (Wouldn’t that be nice...my kids never let a closed door keep them from interrupting!)
Jack London lived on a farm in Sonoma. His novel, "Call of the Wild", has never been out of print, and is required reading in middle schools all over the United States. He was a gregarious and frequent host, a frustrated organic farmer, and partied constantly, drinking and eating fattening food to excess. He had friends from all walks of life, a loving wife who managed the farm and household, and an excellent relationship with his step-son. He also had a disease that eventually killed him at the age of forty.
And he wrote every day.
Jack London had a rule: he wrote 1000 words a day before he was allowed any contact with friends, family, whoever. He worked everywhere...his office, outside on a tree stump, the swimming pond on his property, and even when he traveled. No matter where he was or how late he stayed up the previous night, he wrote one thousand words every morning.
On the surface these two men were diametrically different. Yet, they both wrote works that continue to endure.
And they both wrote every day.
I came away from my mini-quest committed to using their inspiration for my own writing process. Since visiting their homes, I strive to write every day. Is it hard? Sometimes. We all have other responsibilities: jobs, children, parents, bills. But it’s imperative we practice responsibility to ourselves--to our creativity--as well.
Sometimes writing merely means searching the web for research articles. Sometimes it’s reading a how-to article or book. Sometimes it’s only a few words, maybe an emotion or feeling I’m trying to capture. Sometimes, it’s an outpouring of scenes and scenes and scenes. Sometimes, it’s editing a page, sometimes it’s layering in details for a chapter.
Whatever I do, I write every day.
Am I destined to be the next O’Neill or London? No. Nor do I want to be. I want to be me. A writer who reveres the beauty and the mystery and sheer giddiness of two people falling and being in love. A writer who lauds the commitment and dedication of celebrating life with a partner. A writer who believes in the power of being happy.
Because of the example of these two very different writers, I began to honor my writing and my process every day. You can too. One day at a time.
For further information on visiting either of these National Park sites:
http://www.eugeneoneill.org/
http://www.jacklondonstatepark.org/
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=478
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Artists and Writers
So for Mother's Day I dragged my family to the Museum of Modern Art. I'll confess straight off that all modern art is not to my taste, but I absolutely love photographs. The MOMA had a exhibit of Lee Friedlander's work and I wanted to see it.
The exhibit was huge. Four or five big rooms of photographs spanning four decades. His body of work is so large the curator made the decision to display the photos by subject rather than by date, giving the viewer the chance to see how the same subject was treated at different points in his life and career. As I meandered through the white-walled rooms it occured to me that artists have the right idea. I'm sure that Lee Friedlander didn't think to himself, "Oh, I shouldn't spend time on this subject, I already covered this." Or, "Maybe I shouldn't use up this roll of film today. I already shot four."
Every time they choose a subject and execute their art, they are creating. I think as writers we have a tendency (or at least I do) to think that any work, any writing that isn't strictly attached to a project or going to be part of a finished work should not be written. That I should "save" my words for that project.
The truth is that every experience we have informs our work. Every thing that happens to us on any given day is going to influence our words, our creation in some way. This is neither good or bad. It just is. And writing is writing, whether the words ultimately make their way into a story or not isn't the point. The point is to just...write.
The exhibit was huge. Four or five big rooms of photographs spanning four decades. His body of work is so large the curator made the decision to display the photos by subject rather than by date, giving the viewer the chance to see how the same subject was treated at different points in his life and career. As I meandered through the white-walled rooms it occured to me that artists have the right idea. I'm sure that Lee Friedlander didn't think to himself, "Oh, I shouldn't spend time on this subject, I already covered this." Or, "Maybe I shouldn't use up this roll of film today. I already shot four."
Every time they choose a subject and execute their art, they are creating. I think as writers we have a tendency (or at least I do) to think that any work, any writing that isn't strictly attached to a project or going to be part of a finished work should not be written. That I should "save" my words for that project.
The truth is that every experience we have informs our work. Every thing that happens to us on any given day is going to influence our words, our creation in some way. This is neither good or bad. It just is. And writing is writing, whether the words ultimately make their way into a story or not isn't the point. The point is to just...write.
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