Writers! Jump-start your day with more Monday Motivations!
Build up to writing the great American novel. Maybe that’s what is stopping you…the idea is so daunting. Remember there is no one great American novel. There are just writers trying to tell great stories. Start with a short story. Or a piece of poetry. I find ‘story-telling’ much less intimidating that way.
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” Ernest Hemingway
“what matters most is how well you walk through the fire” Charles Bukowski
“I always try to be a learner.” Nikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer-prize winning writer, Professor UNC, contributing writer for the NY Times.
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‘As a writer, I marinate, speculate and hibernate.’ Trisha Sugarek
I’ve been doing a lot of writing lately. Another self-help book for my readers and fans. Trying to share the practical, no-nonsense tips that others forget or don’t think to share. My approach being down-to-earth, pragmatic, and helpful (I hope). That which has grown out of my years…no… decades of creating books. Starting from scratch, like you, not knowing the first thing.
So I find myself weary after putting the final touches on this book, just newly released on Amazon.
I frequently go to Charles Bukowski for renewal, for refilling my tanks. Strange but true. So thumbing through my much read copy of The Flash of Lightning Behind the Mountain I came across this:
Did you miss my Interview with Bukowski?
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My weekly BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! October: Life Coach, shaman, author, Jennifer Monahan, November: Susanne O’Leary, December: Mimi Mathews, February: Jennie Goutet To receive my weekly posts sign up for my
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It’s that time of year….Auld Lang Syne and as the poet, Robbie Burns wrote, “old long since”. And I’m in the mood to tell a story.
Mother, Violet, on right, circa 1922?
In a very ‘Auld Lang Syne’ kind of mood, I remembered things from my long ago youth at holiday time. Especially my mother’s traditions in the kitchen. Christmas dinner was a big stuffed turkey with all, and I do mean all, the trimmings. Dinner began with a ‘shrimp cocktail’. If there was fresh shrimp (there had to have been; we lived in the Pacific Northwest for goodness sakes); my mother had never heard of them. Canned shrimp filled two third’s of a martini glass, topped with her homemade cocktail sauce. A sprig of parsley on top and the glass was then placed on a paper doily covered saucer. On the saucer was ONE, (never two or three) Ritz cracker.
The sage, giblet stuffing, made from scratch and that means my mother saved the heels of bread loaves for weeks. I’ve never tasted dressing as good since. She would make the usual trimmings, gravy from the turkey drippings, green beans (out of a can, of course) flavored with bits of boiled bacon, baked sweet potatoes, and jellied cranberry sauce. She considered whole berry cranberry sauce savage. Home made biscuits and mashed potatoes. And then the pièce de résistance………..her oyster dressing. (Fresh oysters) Heaven in a bite!
Mom & me
Not being a particularly religious family the blessing was be short. If my Dad could get away with it, he would add: “Pass the spuds, pass the meat, for
Godssakes, let’s eat.” We would toast each other with Manischewitz wine. A wine connoisseur Mom was not! And I never knew why a Kosher red wine was part of her tradition.
As dishes were passed around the table, someone would always mention my mother’s off colored joke about a “boarding house reach“. A stickler for good manners, she would instruct us that a ‘boarding house reach’ was when you could ‘reach’ for something on the table and at least one butt cheek remained on your chair. That was an acceptable ‘reach’ and not bad manners. Otherwise, you must ask politely for someone to pass down the dish you wanted.
the flapper days
I was never certain whether she had run a boarding house or had just lived in one sometime during her 1920’s flapper*bar owner*professional bowler* speckled younger days. If she had run a bordello it would not have surprised me! Miss you, Mom!
My weekly BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! August: Veronica Henry, October: Life Coach, shaman, author, Jennifer Monahan, November: Susanne O’Leary, December: Mimi Mathews To receive my weekly posts sign up for my
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Spread your writing for people to comment. That’s called feedback.
Don’t worry about rejection or publication; that’s being a writer.
When not writing, read. Read from writers better than you. Read and Perceive.
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(Courtesy of Ajay Ohri. Bio: Ajay Ohri, Manager Data Science comes from a rich background in data science and technology and is passionate about consumer insights, research and strategy. Ajay has – created meaningful impact with data science projects by leading and mentoring data scientists. )
My weekly BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! December: Lauren Willig, January: Madeline Hunter, February: Mike Lupica, March: Lee Matthew Goldberg, May: Jenny Colgan To receive my weekly posts sign up for my
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These two new journals are revised. The Creative Writer’s Journal looked a little stale to me (its author) so I added more pages, more quotes, and more writing tips. Over 300 lined, blank pages for your ideas, writing, and thoughts. I hope you enjoy !
Procrastination is just a word. Write one new word, one new sentence. Breath! That sentence should make you want to write another.
What? Why? When? How? Where does that sentence lead you? Breathe. It doesn’t have to be perfect…it’s the first draft. That’s what re-writes are for.
‘Writers aren’t exactly people, they’re a whole lot of people trying to be one person.’
– F. Scott Fitzgerald
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‘As a writer, I marinate, speculate and hibernate.’ Trisha Sugarek
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MY BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! December: Dervla McTiernan – January: David Poyer To receive my posts sign up for my
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TS. I am currently developing a new journal for creative writers who are or want to be writing plays. If my fans and readers are familiar with my journals, it is traditional for me to embed quotes from other writers, authors, actors, directors, etc., into the blank pages of the journal. These are meant to inspire the owner of the journal with their own story writing.
Louis L’Amour
So I am always looking for new quotes as I hand pick every one when considering them for my journals. Here are what other writers have said about the joys (and heartbreak) of being a writer.
“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” Louis L’Amour
“Write hard and clear about what hurts.” Ernest Hemingway
Mary Y-Arr
“What would you write if you weren’t afraid?” Mary Y-Arr
“The thing all writers do best is find ways to avoid writing.” Alan Dean Foster
Alan Dean Foster
“You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” Jodi Picoult
“The desire to write grows with writing.” Desiderius Erasmus
“I must write it all out at any cost. Writing is thinking. It is more than living, for it is being conscious of living.” Anne Morrow Lindbergh
“As a writer you try to listen to what others aren’t saying…and write about the silence.” N.R. Hart
MJ Bush
“Step into a scene and let it drip from your fingertips.” MJ Bush
“We write to taste life twice. In the moment and in retrospect.” Anais Nin
Anais Nin
“I think new writers are too worried that it has all been said before. Sure it has but not by you.” Asha Dornfest
“An opening line should invite the reader to begin the story. It should say: Listen. Come in here. You want to know about this.” Stephen King
Stephen King
“Be courageous and try to write in a way that scares you a little.” Holley Gerth
MY BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! May: Boo Walker, June: Anne D. LeClaire and July — Catherine Ryan Hyde. August: My interview with Susan Wiggs and in September: Alan Dean Foster (sci-fi)
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A good writer knows what repetitive words he or she uses unconsciously. A few years ago I published a novel. This week I had an opportunity to send it to a traditional publisher of some repute. I thought: ‘I want the manuscript to be as close to perfect as I can make it, so I’ll take another look at it’. Knowing my go-to words are ‘that’ and ‘just‘, the first thing I did was find out how many times I’d used the word ‘that’. 807!! With editing, I happily reduced that number to 197.
How does that happen?? Well, we all have idiosyncrasies with our language. Yes, I had an editor and she missed it too. Then I checked the other devil word, ‘just‘. 234 times when only 5-6 were used appropriately. Yikes!
Be self-aware as a writer. Know your strengths, yes, but also your weaknesses. Know your eccentricities with language.
“The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity.”~~ Walt Whitman
“Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality.
But, of course, only those who have personality and emotions know what it means to want to escape from these things.“~~ T. S. Eliot
MY BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! Did you miss the past few months? December: British writer, J.G. Dow. January: Sue Grafton ~ In Memory
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Purchase
The first thing that makes a buyer reach for your book is the COVER! Is it professional? Does it convey a visual story?
The second thing that keeps the book in their hand is the BACK COVER and what it says about your story!
The third thing that keeps them from putting it back on the rack (or swiping their tablet for more choices) is that all important, FIRST SENTENCE!
For example:
‘Swamp sludge dripped off the massive head while the cold, murderous, purple eye watched them.’
‘As I stepped into the street I didn’t notice the bus bearing down on me.’
‘I sat in the prison waiting room about to interview a convicted killer.’
‘Slow down, Al,” Vi screamed and laughed from the back seat of the car that was plummeting down the mountain side. “You’re gonna kill us.’
‘My first audition since I had arrived in Hollywood and what if I fail?’
‘The teacher grabbed my math work book and marched to the front of the room. He began to read my poetry aloud.’
‘As the saloon doors creaked back and forth, the trail weary cowboys backed away when they saw him saunter in.’
“Mother must be spinning in her grave. Not in her wildest dreams, or mine for that matter, would she imagine her daughter in a prison.” Kitty muttered, as her chauffeur drove up the long driveway to the main entrance of the State Prison.
Since the buyer hasn’t put your book down yet, you have to ‘hook’ them with your first sentence.Make them ask, ‘what happens next’?
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“No one is free, even the birds are chained to the sky.” ~~Bob Dylan
“I never could have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time.” ~~ Charles Dickens
“None but ourselves can free our minds.” ~~Bob Marley
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MY BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! Did you miss the past few months? September: Dylan Callens. October’s author was Donna Kauffman. In November we say hello to Rita Avaud a Najm. In December we will be saying hello to English mystery writer, J.G. Dow.
To receive my posts sign up for my On the home page, enter your email address. Thanks! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
‘From how ideas begin to how they are nurtured and written down, there to be refined until they see the light of day, this journal offers support, insight, and ideas for jump-starting the creative process.’ ~~Midwest Book Review
Journals/Handbooks for women with more instruction and quotes. For new and experienced writers alike, this Journal offers more instruction,tips and more hand-picked quotes by other authors, actors, playwrights, philosophers, and poets. Meant to inspire the creative mind. A handy size that will fit in a backpack or tote.
‘Sugarek gives you “permission” to scribble down ideas and not have to write the great American novel every time you put pen to paper. In the first couple of pages, she gets you going with examples and encouragement and she makes you realize that while writing is work, it’s not impossible work.’ D. Johnson
WHAT TO EXPECT:
How To Begin
How To Develop Exciting Characters
How To Tell A Story
How To Write a Stage Play
How To Write Poetry
How To Write Haiku Poetry
To purchase: click here
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MY BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! Did you miss the past few months? September: Dylan Callens. October’s author was Donna Kauffman. In November we say hello to Rita Avaud a Najm. In December we will be saying hello to English mystery writer, J.G. Dow.
To receive my posts sign up for my
On the home page, enter your email address. Thanks! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writers! Jump-start your day with more Monday Motivations!
and receive your ‘Monday Motivations‘ each week! Simple: type your email address in the box on my Home page (top/right). Click on ‘subscribe’.
To purchase