Thursday, August 23, 2012

Link love: 13 links and quotes on writing and writers

In my wanderings online and gathering of tidbits, themes at times arise. Of course, trending issues in the news help toward that end as well.

This week I'm sharing 13 tidbits--links and quotes both--related to writing and writers.

1. “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” -Ernest Hemingway

2. I adore this post. If you don't read anything else here today, please read it. Very human, and humorous, relative to the ego and envy between writers.

3. “The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them--words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they're brought out. But it's more than that, isn't it? The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure your enemies would love to steal away. And you may make revelations that cost you dearly only to have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you've said at all, or why you thought it was so important that you almost cried while you were saying it. That's the worst, I think. When the secret stays locked within not for want of a tellar but for want of an understanding ear.” -Stephen King, Different Seasons

4. Molly Ringwald wrote a book. It is on my must-read list, just because Molly is an old fave. Yes, I am from the Pretty In Pink generation, if you didn't already know!

5. Recently I enjoyed this post on semi-colons in The Opinionator section of The NYTimes. Me, I'm a semi-colon girl. Not overly, but certainly not to be avoided, a la Vonnegut.

6. Of course, this piece is ripped (insert loud ripping noise here) from the headlines relative to Joshua Leher's recent nosedive.

7. This quote made me laugh out loud! “I haven't any right to criticize books, and I don't do it except when I hate them. I often want to criticize Jane Austen, but her books madden me so that I can't conceal my frenzy from the reader; and therefore I have to stop every time I begin. Every time I read Pride and Prejudice I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone.” -Mark Twain

8. “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. You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads. I wish you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon you. May you live with hysteria, and out of it make fine stories--science fiction or otherwise. Which finally means, may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.” -Ray Bradbury

9. Some rules for writing.

10. One writer's quest to unseat 50 Shades of Grey. I wish him luck!

11. “All that I hope to say in books, all that I ever hope to say, is that I love the world.” -E.B. White

12. Some good tips about Copyblogger's success at writing blog posts. Now if I actually remembered them when I'm writing...

13. “I write to give myself strength. I write to be the characters that I am not. I write to explore all the things I'm afraid of. ” -Joss Whedon

I hope there's a nugget or two there to inspire your creative muse!

Happy Thursday, and for more Thursday 13s, go here.

14 comments:

  1. Thanks for the quotes. I'll check out copy bloggers.


    http://otherworlddiner.blogspot.com/2012/08/thirteen-scoops-from-magic-most-foul.html

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  2. Great quotes. Loved the blog post on Wild. Envy is a tough emotion!

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  3. I had no idea that Molly wrote a book.


    Have a great t-13
    http://harrietandfriends.com/2012/08/back-to-school-2012-2013/

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  4. What a great post! Loved every part of it...but have to say the lady from LA really is good. Does she hit it on the head, or what?

    Your quotes are great...I may have to steal one or two.

    After you all left I chugged on down to the cabin and dragged up a little table I could put in my office to draw/sketch/paint on and now, even though I have not put pen/pencil to paper I am so happy to have it there.

    Now I must be off to write that one true sentence! xo

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  5. Mark Twain makes me giggle :-) That man was a cut-up!

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  6. I loved this list. Lots of good stuff here. xoxo

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  7. I loves me a properly-placed semicolon; 'deed I do.

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  8. So glad you included EB White! Often he's dismissed as writing mere children's books, but they are books that have live on in our hearts and influence us forever. I often say I want to be remembered the way Wilbur eulogized Charlotte, as "a true friend and a good writer."

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  9. I can see that in Joss Whedon's work. And strength it gave him - in spades.

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  10. Several gold nuggets in there! Love the quote from Mark Twain! And I loved the "rules" link. Had to steal a quote from there to use with my students.

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  11. This is a great post. I had to save a couple of links for later. I did love #2 and was glad that #5 demonstrated his use of semi-colons in his last paragraph.

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  12. You have inspired me and your list is helpful. I loved all your quotes; I try to post one a day. Thank you for sharing.

    The Food Temptress

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  13. Molly Ringwald... ahh! I saw Pretty in Pink when I was 12 or so in the theater and it changed my life- seriously. I was so inspired by that movie. I'll never forget it!

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