About Writing
In the very act of writing I felt pleased with what I did. There was the pleasure of having words come to me, and the pleasure of ordering them, re-ordering them, weighing one against another. Pleasure also in the imagination of the story, the feeling that it could mean something. Mostly I was glad to find out that I could write at all. In writing you work toward a result you won’t see for years, and can’t be sure you’ll ever see. It takes stamina and self-mastery and faith. It demands those things of you, then gives them back with a little extra, a surprise to keep you coming. It toughens you and clears your head. I could feel it happening. I was saving my life with every word I wrote, and I knew it.
Tobias Wolff
The heart of a man…
“If you would tell me the heart of a man, tell me not what he reads, but what he rereads.”
– Francois Mauriac
Writing teaches writing…
“What is the best way to write? Each of us has to discover her own way by writing. Writing teaches writing. No one can tell you your own secret.”
– Gail Sher
A little update
I suppose it’s time for a little update about what I’ve been doing lately.
First the bad news: I’ve spent the last couple of days more or less in bed, sleeping, trying to get rid of the worst cold I can remember having at least for the past ten years or so. Ugh. I’m getting better now (except for the dreaded cough), fortunately, because I have plans for the next couple of days, but more about that later.
All this summer I’ve been indulging in a bit of shopping. Mostly clothes, but also a backpack that I really love. Not that I really needed it but still…
I’ve probably mentioned this before a couple of times, but we also spent at least the early part of the summer trying to get workers up to our cottage in the woods, to get us indoor plumbing and a few other things that needing doing. Apparently they were all on vacation… So we missed our chance to spend the summer in the countryside. Sob. It would have been alright, if I’d only been happy living here, but as most of you know, I’m not. Oh, well… Maybe our luck will change this year.
Anyway, last week, my mom and I went to an outdoor musical show. It’s a sort of ‘preview’ of the Gothenburg Opera House’s program for the autumn/fall. There were hundreds of people. I had no idea this town had so many music lovers. At least people who love this type of music.
There was a bit of Benjamin Britten, which I, quite surprisingly, liked a lot better than I had expected (normally, I’m a fan of much older music). I also loved the Gluck pieces, especially Dance of the Blessed Spirits. Finally, I also liked a piece by one of our Swedish composers, Alice Tegnér, mostly known for her children’s songs, but this was a different kind of work. I didn’t expect to find it very cheerful because it was named for Goethe, but it was.
There was also a little preview of a Swedish opera about a notorious con artist who made people believe she was a diplomat and scientist, related to the Rockefeller family and the Japanese emperor… In reality she was a Swedish hairdresser, with a lot of imagination. Too modern for me, too much jazz, but interesting all the same.
Improving the mind…
“And of course she must improve her mind by extensive reading.”
– Pride & Prejudice (2005)
A transmitted disease…
“Literature is a textually transmitted disease, normally contracted in childhood.”
– Jane Yolen
7 Deadly Sins of Novel Writing
Read about them here.
33 Writing terms you should know
As with all activities, writing fiction involves getting to grips with professional jargon. The following are some of the more common terms you may come across as you learn your craft and market your writing.
Read more here.
Successful writers…
“Successful writers are not the ones who write the best sentences. They are the ones who keep writing. They are the ones who discover what is most important and strangest and most pleasurable in themselves, and keep believing in the value of their work, despite the difficulties.”
– Bonnie Friedman
Eating and reading…
“Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably.”
– C.S. Lewis
