Plot Ponderings, Again

(photo: sxc.hu)
"There is only one plot--things are not what they seem." --Jim Thompson

Wandering the avenues of plot this weekend. Hope to make a few inroads!

How about you, any adventures planned?

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Description: Looking Through a Different Lens

"You can take for granted that people know more or less what a street, a shop, a beach, a sky, an oak tree look like. Tell them what makes this one different." --Neil Gaiman

Just dropping in with a quote and a writing link with great advice that I came across this week: 5 Ways into a Story, by Quinn Dalton at Writer Magazine. Quinn writes about, among other things, finding the character, listening to voice, and following the image. Lots of good stuff to think about.

Enjoy!

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On Beauty, October-Style

as seen on an October walk 2012

"In every man's heart there is a secret nerve that answers to the 

vibration of beauty."--from "A Slice of Sunlight" by Christopher Morley, 1928

How's the autumn color in your neck of the woods?

Hope you're getting some great snapshots :-)
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All in a Day's Work

Photo: Microsoft Office Clipart

"I turn sentences around. That's my life. I write a sentence and then I turn it around. Then I look at it and I turn it around again. Then I have lunch. Then I come back in and write another sentence. Then I have tea and turn the new sentence around. Then I read the two sentences over and turn them both around. Then I lie down on my sofa and think. Then I get up and throw them out and start from the beginning." --Philip Roth

Sound familiar? Don't we all have days (weeks) like this? Maybe the upcoming week will be better. Hope so. Good luck!

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Gems of Writerly Wisdom, Richard Peck-Style

Found this gem from one of my favorite authors. Thought I'd pass it along:


"I write from beginning to end, as if I'm reading the book, not writing it. I revise endlessly, rewriting each page at least six times. To show me how to shape my story, I keep other people's books on my desk to dip into when I'm growing lost in my own story--new books by my colleagues in the young-adult field and of course, always, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Writing is too hard to do alone; you need all the help other writers can give you.


"When I finish the book, I take the first chapter and, without rereading it, throw it away. Then I write the first chapter last, now that I know how the story ends. It means I write the first chapter with confidence because the first chapter is the last chapter in disguise." --Richard Peck, "A Conversation with Richard Peck," in his book Fair Weather, Puffin Books edition, 2001.

I especially like "the first chapter is the last chapter in disguise." Wow. Any thoughts? Has Mr. Peck, Newbery Award-winning author, inspired you, too?

photo: sxc.hu/

September Morning Snapshot

"One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words." --Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Dropping in to share a September snapshot, taken along the neighborhood walking route this morning--along with wishes for a happy rest-of-the weekend. Hope it's filled with song, poetry, beauty and a few good words!

Smile Break

Ah, desk is piled up from yesterday. Scraps and notes and research abound. Books. Camera. Files. Junk. Need to organize. Need to prioritize. Need...a break. A smile break. Maybe you do, too! Here's one of my favorite quotes that usually generates a bit of a chuckle. Funny thing is, there's some truth in it...

"Many people hear voices when no one is there.

Some of them are called mad and are shut up in

rooms where they stare at the walls all day.

Others are called writers and they do
pretty much the same thing."

                                                                      --Meg Chittenden

Whoops, voices are calling. Back to the madness! And the messy desk.

At the end of the day, is your desk cleared off and ready for a fresh start, or still lost under the pile?

*photo courtesy of photobucket.com