To sum it all up, if you want to write, if you want to create, you must be the most sublime fool that God ever turned out and sent rambling.
You must write every single day of your life.
You must read dreadful dumb books and glorious books, and let them wrestle in beautiful fights inside your head, vulgar one moment, brilliant the next. Read the rest of this entry »
“Writing is not like dancing or modeling; it’s not something where, if you missed it by age 19, you’re finished. It’s never too late. Your writing will only get better as you get older and wiser. If you write something beautiful and important, and the right person somehow discovers it, they will clear room for you on the bookshelves of the world—at any age. At least try.”
-Elizabeth Gilbert
via siliconangle.com
“Open your mind to new experiences, particularly to the study of other people. Nothing that happens to a writer – however happy, however tragic – is ever wasted. Write what you need to write, not what is currently popular or what you think will sell.”
P.D. James
A writer’s brain is full of little gifts, like a piñata at a birthday party. It’s also full of demons, like a piñata at a birthday party in a mental hospital. The truth is, it’s demons that keep a tortured writer’s spirit alive, not Tootsie Rolls. Sure they’ll give you a tiny burst of energy, but they won’t do squat for your writing. So treat your demons with the respect they deserve, and with enough prescriptions to keep you wearing pants.
– Colin Nissan
I hated group projects in college and always tended to be very private with my work, never letting anyone see it before the final product was ready.
For that reason, I hardly let anyone see Eastbound Sailing until I was ready to publish, or even let them know that I was working on a novel. It had to be “just right.”
Oh, how things change. Read the rest of this entry »
Thought of the day.
Via Steven Mitchell “Misty Pathway”
“Writing, like life itself, is a voyage of discovery. The adventure is a metaphysical one; it is a way of approaching life indirectly, of acquiring a total rather than a partial view of the universe. The writer lives between the upper and lower worlds: he takes the path in order eventually to become that path himself.”
― Henry Miller
The Oxford Dictionary defines “creative” as “of or involving the skillful and imaginative use of something to produce e.g. a work of art.” This is often thought of as limited to the realm of art. Thankfully, our world is blessed with individuals who strive to implement their creativity into everyday life.
Andrew Zahn
Several months back, Twitter kindly suggested that I follow Andrew Zahn, an actor-turned-businessman who blogs at Zahndrew.com. He describes his site – aptly titled Creatives – as a “highway for creative growth by providing food, water, and shelter for those wishing to live, work, and play with creative zest.”
Andrew lives with his wife in Pennsylvania, where he currently uses his creativity as a corporate sales trainer for a multi-million dollar company.
I’ve become a big fan of Andrew’s witty and insightful work and am honored to share some of his story. Read the rest of this entry »
As exhausting and time-consuming as this whole self-publishing journey has been so far, I’m getting more and more excited about releasing the final project. So here’s a [sort of] preview…more so a preview of the context.
While getting to know the characters, learning how the story should unfold and then struggling to write it all down, I did so with a particular album playing in the back of my head – an album that I like to imagine as the novel’s soundtrack. You’ve probably heard of it: “Sign No More” by Mumford & Sons. Not to compare this first-time indie book with a widely acclaimed album at all. However, I believe the album was praised so highly because of the way it speaks to listeners. Read the rest of this entry »
scribbled revisions 