Pearls of Wisdom

Some thoughts worth keeping in mind as we write...

~Add more emotion. When you think you've added enough, add more. ~Valerie Parv

~Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader. Not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon. E.L. Doctorow

~Imagination is more important than knowledge. ~Albert Einstein

~If you read good books, when you write, good books will come out of you. ~Natalie Goldberg

~It's hard for me to believe that people who read very little - or not at all in some cases - should presume to write and expect people to like what they have written. Can I be blunt on this subject? If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time - or the tools - to write. Simple as that. ~Stephen King

~Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say 'infinitely' when you mean 'very'. Otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. ~C. S. Lewis

~Resist the temptation to try to use dazzling style to conceal weakness of substance. ~Stanley Schmidt

~There are no rules in writing. There are useful principles. Throw them away when they're not useful. But always know what you're throwing away. ~Will Shetterly

~Stories have a beginning, a middle and an end. But not necessarily in that order. ~Robert Silverberg

~Be teachable and willing to learn, so that you grow as a writer. ~Me

Writing During Summer Vacation

Kids home and underfoot? Here are a few ideas for finding some time to write---for all working mothers---the stay at home type and the type who go to an office...

1. Earphones for your music. Drown 'em out.

2. Ear plugs, if you can't write with music playing.

3. Send 'em outside. The outside was invented so children could be sent there to get them out from underfoot. If there's "nobody to play with" or "nothing to do outside" or "it's too hot"---suggest that there are bathrooms to be cleaned inside. You'll see the backs of your children as they depart rapidly. Oh, and popsicles or ice cream sandwiches take care of the "it's too hot" issue, as does a ping pong table in the garage.

4. Stay up later or get up earlier to find some time to write.

5. Take the kids to the pool, and take your laptop or a notebook and pen so you can write as they swim.

6. Send 'em to the movies (if they're old enough to be there on their own).

7. Schedule writing time and make a deal with the family---"If you'll let me write from 8-10 am every morning, we'll ___."

8. Send them to summer camp.

9. Teach them a new hobby and set them up out in the garage or the backyard or wherever.

10. Have them walk the dogs.