I'm sure you've heard me say from time-to-time that I am very compulsive. Once I set my mind to do something, I have to go all the way. Reading is one of those somethings. I signed up on Goodreads to read at least twenty-five books this year. That's really not a lot, but with my writing regimen, it's not easy. I did it in 2018, and so far this year, I've read eleven book - two ahead of schedule according to Goodreads. Right now I'm reading Jane Fonda's autobiography, My Life So Far. Please don't give me a hard time about Jane. Since she became my exercise guru way back in the day, she's been my hero. And she writes about and apologizes a lot about her visit to Vietnam during the war. Besides she's a great actor. So here's a bit about two books I've recently read. The Boston stories in Don’t Mess with Tanya, by Ken Tangvik, are beautifully and expertly portrayed. I liked every one – especially the story about Tanya, the young black woman, who gets back at a store keeper … [Read more...]
Hemingway on writing and revision
I've been reading Brain Pickings a couple of years now. It is full of wonderful information about authors, artists, and the whole world of creativity. This past week's issue was particularly interesting to me since I'm rigorously working on revising my novel. Arnold Samuelson, who spent a year with Ernest Hemingway in 1934, left a book called, With Hemingway: A Year in Key West and Cuba discovered by his daughter in 1981 after Samuelson's death. The book contains the very valuable writing advice that Hemingway related to him. I'll share some of Hemingway's writing advice here, but please go to Brain Pickings for the real meat or read the book: The most important thing I've learned about writing is never write too much at a time¦ Never pump yourself dry. Leave a little for the next day. "The main thing is to know when to stop... When you're still going good and you come to an interesting place and you know what's going to happen next, that's the time to stop. The … [Read more...]
Photos from our October and November travels
My husband Bob and I just returned from a three-week vacation. We started out in Miami, then embarked on the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship that took us on an eleven-day excursion to: Cartagena, Columbia: We took a walking tour of the old beautiful city Panama Canal/Gatun Lake, Panama: We took a ferry through the five locks. It was a long scenic ride. Puerto Limon, Costa Rica: We rode an aerial tramway through and over the rainforest - breathtaking, walking through a butterfly preserve first. Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras: Roatan is beautiful, but our excursion was a bit disappointing. We supposedly were to ride in a glass-bottomed boat; however the glass was on the sides. Also it was hot and stuffy down there. Note how murky the water is. Belize City, Belize: A noisy airboat in Belize took us through the Crocodile Trail. The water is covered with blooming water lilies and mangrove forests. We didn't see any crocodiles or … [Read more...]
More writing quotes
I've said before that I collect quotes, and I've posted writing quotes on Choices many times. Well, I just came across a list of seventy-two more that I have saved in my Documents Folder for the last couple of years. I'll share some with you now and more later in the year. I don't want to bore you if you're not into this as much as I am. By the way, some of these authors are unknown to me. I think it might be a good idea to get to know about them, so I've marked those with an asterisk (*). I'd love to know what you know about them. The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress. Philip Roth The road to hell is paved with adverbs. Stephen King Who wants to become a writer? And why? Because it's the answer to everything. ¦ It's the streaming reason for living. To note, to pin down, to build up, to create, to be astonished at nothing, to cherish the oddities, to let nothing go down the drain, to make something, to make a great flower out of life, even if it's a … [Read more...]
Writers’ inspirations
I love to collect quotes - especially by writers I admire. Here's a few I'd like to share with you - perhaps for a little inspiration - definitely something I need right now. … [Read more...]
