“Writing is therapeutic. It saves lives. Your truths are eager to come out. Let them spill onto the page, and see what doors writing opens for you. Your story is buried treasure. One of the simplest, most private places to write is in a journal. It allows you to vent, delve into issues, and untangle messes. It lets you analyze or celebrate. It allows you to finish a thought without interruption. The journal validates your right to be who you are.” — B. Lynn Goodwin, “Celebrate Your Uniqueness” in Inspire Me Today. B. Lynn Goodwin is the owner of Writer Advice, which is currently holding its 10th Flash Prose Contest. She’s the author of You Want Me to Do WHAT? Journaling for Caregivers, and a YA called Talent, which Eternal Press will be publishing this year. Her short pieces have been published in local and regional publications. Lynn will be…
Category: Quotes
I write to understand . . . — Elie Wiesel
I write to understand as much as to be understood. Literature is an act of conscience. It is up to us to rebuild with memories, with ruins, and with moments of grace. — Elie Wiesel
Rescuing Your Past – Barbara Sher
Barbara Sher in Rescuing Your Past says: “People say we should let go of the past and move on. But you’ll never move into your future unless you take your beloved past with you. And that’s exactly as it should be.” “Rescuing Your Past,” from I Could Do Anything If Only I Knew What It Was by Barbara Sher
“We write to exert power. . . ” Nellie Hermann
“We write to exert power over something we can never control . . . The past.” —Nellie Hermann — excerpted from “Why We Write,” by Carolyn Roy-Bornstein, Jan/Feb 2015 Poets & Writers
Roseanne Cash—feeling alive when immersed in her work
” . . . [my] profession, like anyone’s, requires constant innovation if it is to remain fresh. I feel alive when I’m immersed in my work—when I’m fully employed, as Leonard Cohen says, as a songwriter, ‘You have to keep cracking yourself open or you become a parody of yourself. ‘” —Roseanne Cash in an interview by Geoffrey Himes, “The Long Way Home, Smithsonian, November 2014 Note from Marlene: How about you? What keeps you immersed in your work? If your writing has hit the doldrums, how about mixing it up? If you usually write memoir, try fiction. If you are a fiction writer, try poetry. If you want ideas for freewrites, click here for writing prompts.
“The key to a good essay is conflict, and . . . Victoria Zackheim
“The key to a good essay is conflict, and the story’s (and character’s) arc. People have to change during the story, whether fiction or non-fiction. — Victoria Zackheim, interviewed by Chris Jane in JaneFriedman.com. Victoria Zackheim is the author of the novel The Bone Weaver and editor of six anthologies: He Said What? Women Write About Moments When Everything Changed The Other Woman Twenty-one Wives, Lovers, and Others Talk Openly About Sex, Deception, Love, and Betrayal For Keeps: Women Tell the Truth About Their Bodies, Growing Older, and Acceptance The Face in the Mirror Writers Reflect on Their Dreams of Youth and the Reality of Age Exit Laughing: How Humor Takes the Sting Out of Death and the upcoming FAITH: Essays from Believers, Agnostics, and Atheists (Feb. 2015). Victoria’s play, The Other Woman, based on her first anthology, will be featured in OneNight/OnePlay, and her play Entangled, an adaptation of the memoir Entangled:…
Make characters want something right away . . . Kurt Vonnegut
“Make characters want something right away — even if it’s only a glass of water. Characters paralyzed by the meaninglessness of modern life still have to drink water from time to time. … When you exclude plot, when you exclude anyone’s wanting anything, you exclude the reader, which is a mean-spirited thing to do.” — Kurt Vonnegut
Making a pronouncement, judgment or criticism about someone else . . .
“Making a pronouncement, judgment or criticism about someone else reveals little about them, but reveals much about you.” — Ted A. Moreno Note from Marlene: I agree with Ted. Watch what you say and how you act, because your words and your actions reflect more about you than about the other person. However. . . this can also be used as a way to reveal your character’s traits (fictional character or real person). I know this isn’t what Ted had in mind . . . but it’s such a profound idea. . . I thought sharing it here, on a writing blog . . . might also be helpful as a way to reveal characters’ personalities. Watch for tomorrow’s blog post, where we’ll explore this concept as a method for character development. Ted A. Moreno, C.Ht. Creator of the Moreno Method for Life Transformation™ Hypnotherapist and Success Performance Coach Check…
Listen honey . . . — Ellen Britt
Listen honey, stop complaining about what you don’t have and start being grateful for what you DO. Then take action to make the most of it! — Ellen Britt Dr. Ellen Britt is an award-winning online marketing strategist, Amazon best-selling author and founder of PinkCoatTails.com, featuring Fabulous Finds and Delicious Deals for women online entrepreneurs. She has produced and hosted more than a dozen telesummits and has interviewed some of today’s most well-known and respected names in marketing and self-development. Connect with Ellen and her Pink Coattails community on Facebook by clicking here.
“First thoughts have tremendous energy.” Natalie Goldberg
Natalie Goldberg says . . . “First thoughts have tremendous energy. It is the way the mind first flashes on something.” Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones. Nat’s quote perfectly describes what a free write can do . . . opens us up to ideas and thoughts that lie within us. Try it. Go to the prompts category here or here and choose a prompt. Then write . . . freely. Just Write!