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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My dear readers and fellow creative writers, don’t forget about the wonderful journals that I have created just for you.
250+ lined, blank pages for your writings, musings, and ideas. Each blank page is embedded with an inspirational quote from a famous author, writer, actor or director. Some ‘how to’ sections (from me) to help and inspire you to get started; either writing your first short story or beginning that new novel you’ve been prevaricating about.
How To Begin That All Important First Sentence How to Choose theSubject of your Story or Play Formatting your Play How to write Dialogue How to Create Rich, Exciting Characters for your Novel Story Arc
“I wanna write!” “I’ve got a story.” “I’ve always wanted to write.” Writers write! Full stop. Period.
MY BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! February: Rick Lenz, March: Patrick Canning, April: Poet, Joe Albanese and May: Boo Walker, June: Anne D. LeClaire, July: Catherine Ryan Hyde To receive my posts sign up for my
Book #1 (of 10)
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Newest in the collection of ten minute plays for teens and the classroom.
What would happen if you put down your phone for a half an hour and had a real conversation with another human being? Now lets mix it up further; sit down and talk to someone in your class who you don’t really know that well or at all. Are they who you thought they were? Were they surprised about who you are? This one act play, styled for the classroom (no sets, no costumes, no props), has a group of teens who do not tweet, email, Facetime or chat on their mobile devices for one half hour. They must TALK to each other, face to (real) face. What did you learn about the person? What did you learn about yourself?
MY BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! February: Film Maker, Rick Lenz, March: Patrick Canning and April: Poet, Joe Albanese To receive my posts sign up for my On the home page, enter your email address. Thanks!
Euphoria!! My full length children’s play, The Exciting Exploits of an Effervescent Elf is being produced in Ontario, Canada!
In this stand alone sequel to “Emma and the Lost Unicorn”, Emma is held captive in Patsy, the Banana Spider’s web. No one can see her except the irrepressible elf, Cheets. Everyone in the forest has been searching for Emma to no avail and given his reputation, no one believes Cheets when he claims to have found her. Cheets can see Emma but not hear her through Patsy’s web. Emma must “act out” vital news concerning the enchanted forest. Hazard, the Lord of the Underworld is selling the forest to developers. Emma must not stand in his way! This fable tells of greed, ecology, friendship, enduring love and justice.
Most of the characters from “Emma and the Lost Unicorn” [Published by Samuel French] return to this new fable. New characters include: Thomas, the sea turtle, pedantic but loveable. Laughter erupts when the audience realizes that he speaks only in nautical expressions and sayings. Patsy, the spider represents greed. Rose, Emma’s mother emphasizes maternal devotion and the ability to believe when the magical creatures of the forest reveal themselves to her. Hazard, Lord of the Underworld reunites with a lost love. Roles for every child who auditions!
Returning characters:
Emma, the earthling girl
Cheets, the elf
Stare, the rhetorical owl
Donald, Emma’s faerie best friend
Cleo, Queen of the Faeries
Handmaidens of the Queen
Assorted faeries and woodland creatures
New characters: Patsy, the spider
Hazard, Lord of the underworld
Thomas, the sea faring turtle
Rose, Emma’s mother
MY BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! December: Jayne Ann Krentz (Amanda Quick) January: Molly Gloss. February: Rick Lenz, March: Patrick Canning and April: Poet, Joe Albanese To receive my posts sign up for my On the home page, enter your email address. Thanks!
Children’s Play (#5 in the Fabled Forest Series) has been released! Children’s story book by the same name.
The story is in play form. A one hour children’s play, by the same title, offers a part for every child who auditions.
New characters are introduce: Barcode and Fiona the two cats. Reginald the Raccoon and his merry band of baby raccoons. And lots of others.
Synopsis: Cheets is looking for an adventure! The elf had heard about ‘town’. Emma and her mother went all the time but no one from the fabled forest had been there. Cheets was certain it was a magical place and he decided that he must head for Troublesville. He stows away in the car one day and finds himself in busy, noisy streets all alone. He begins his adventure by befriending two cats who live in a house with two humans. Then because of his obsession with carrots, he is captured in a trap and that’s when his adventure no longer is any fun. 6f. 15m. (many roles non-gender)
Recurring characters from the series return to help find Cheets. Don’t miss Cheets’ escapade and daring rescue! Full color illustrations by Jefferson O’Neal.
MY features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! Did you miss the past few months? March: Mystery (and Western) writer, Larry D. Sweazy. April: World Traveler, Tal Gur. June: mystery author, Manning Wolfe. Check out more Motivational Moments…for Writers!
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Martin Short, (famous actor on SNL, career included dozens of movies) was recently interviewed where he told a charming story. He, Gilda Radner, Paul Shaffer were born (as actors) at ‘Second City’, Toronto. In the early days, Martin was in a community theatre production of Fortune & Men’s Eyes. The director told the actors that, as the audience came in and took their seats, the actors would be pacing on stage, in a prison setting. In character, wearing only their underwear.
Paul Shaffer, most famous for years with Letterman
Fortune & Men’s Eyes
Gilda (whom Martin was dating at the time 1972), Paul and some other pals all planned to go see Martin one night. But, as the story goes, the thing Paul Shaffer was really excited about was they would all go for dinner after at the Shakespeare Steakhouse.
So on the night of the performance, Martin’s friends arrived and Paul, upon seeing Martin pacing, moved up the lip the of the stage and whispered, “Martin, Shakespeare Steakhouse is closed, wink once if Bavarian Seafood makes sense.”
John Sugarek, actor
This type of crazy thing happens all the time in live theatre. Short’s story brought to mind the time that my husband played Dr. Miranda, (a murderous ex-Nazi) in Death and the Maiden (a part that Ben Kingsley is famous for). Our theatre was so small that it didn’t have a curtain. Since Dr. Miranda is held hostage and tied up for most of the play, it meant that my husband, John, remained on stage, in character and tied up during intermission. With audience members coming and going. Actually, he volunteered as there was no logical way to get him untied and offstage.
During intermission, a trio of white-haired senior ladies came tripping down the aisle and neared the edge of the stage. John (said later) prayed that they were not
Death and the MaidenBen Kingsley & Sigourney Weaver
going to speak to him. They moved as close to him as they could and one of the dear old things winked and said to him, in a stage-whisper, “Psst! Psst! Mister! Do you want us to untie you?” Giggling and twittering they turned and found their seats again. John stayed in character but it was hard not to burst out laughing.
MY features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! Did you miss the past few months? March: Mystery (and Western) writer, Larry D. Sweazy. April: World Traveler, Tal Gur. June: mystery author, Manning Wolfe. Check out more Motivational Moments…for Writers!
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Ethnic groups have polarized and bullied each other for years, out on the street. Recently, teens have taken to their cell phones and computers to do the same. Blacks against whites against browns. All good kids at their core, but divided by the color of their skin.
This series has been very popular, over the years, with teachers and students. Sets, costumes, props are not needed. Most pertain to real life issues for teens so these plays are meant to open a dialogue between teens and their teachers. Or, at the very least, to experience live theatre.
All ‘G’ rated so no adult content. When profanities are used, as teens do in real life, they are optional and can be easily eliminated.
Available at www.amazon.com and all other fine book stores.
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MY BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! March: Mystery (and Western) writer, Larry D. Sweazy ~~ April: International adventurer, writer, Tal Gur. Check out more Motivational Moments…for Writers!
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What is a cultural imperative? ‘Peoples living within the encompasses of cultures associated with very different ethnicities often imbue radically different moral imperatives, through identification processes carrying across generations. Such cultural imperatives prevalent within one culture may not have any direct equivalent within another culture…’ *
Glaring examples of this are the ethnic groups who, putting themselves at risk for censor or abuse, have insisted on keeping their native language, rituals, and religions alive. ‘one culture may not have any direct equivalent within another culture…’ But the one imperative that has crossed all ethnic and cultural groups is storytelling.
What is this imperative that most people feel….totell stories? It seems, to me, to be hardwired into our DNA.
We begin at an early age: making up stories (to ourselves) as we play with our dolls or cars. A child has no inhibitions when it comes to weaving a fantastical tale, frequently out loud, as they play.
A mother or father sits at their child’s bedside and makes up stories until they fall asleep.
A comic book writer tells his stories with a few words, facial expressions, and action illustrations.
A poet tells their stories through rhyme, lyric or free verse.
A playwright creates their story so that others can tell it.
Another storyteller sees their stories happening in the far future.
Another goes to the dark side of human nature and writes stories about things that go bump in the night.
A teacher tells a story to enhance the lesson. (I miss you, Miss. O’Connor.)
The novelist weaves a longer tale; taking their characters on adventures, discovering love, suffering defeats, and usually conquering all in the end.
……even gossip could be considered storytelling.
I have worried out loud (and written about it here) that storytelling will die, be a thing of the past. But now I believe that many of us do have that cultural imperative to tell and write down our stories. After all the synonyms for imperative are: involuntary, necessary, nonelective, obligatory, peremptory, required. I don’t think storytellers can help themselves. We have to tell stories!
MY BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! Did you miss the past few months? January: Sue Grafton ~ In Memory March: Mystery (and Western) writer, Larry D. Sweazy. April: in60Learning ~ A unique, non-fiction mini-book read in 60 minutes. Check out more Motivational Moments…for Writers!
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“…and that’s why we all need stories.” John Lithgow said in a recent talk show interview. He was telling the story of his father reading, to he and his siblings, from a book of short stories. And then years later, as his father lay dying, John Lithgow said he read aloud to him from the very same book.
John tells another story, within his story about reading this book of shorts to his father. He has been on the road with this one-man show for years. Narrating these same stories from this same book. He calls it a trunk show; an old theatre expression. That is, pack up everything at night’s end and move, on down the road, to the next town where he presents this one-night-stand again. He says that he finally wound his way to Broadway and is now performing to sold-out, delighted audiences.
This is why I entreat, beg, admonish, and plead with my readers to tell someone your story (hopefully your children and grandchildren), or write it down in a journal or even publish it. With today’s technology we are losing our oral history. And when this set of grandparents pass away it will all be lost. We all need stories.
“Rarely have I spent so entertaining and touching a night at the theater. The predominant sentiment in Stories by Heart is love.” —Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal
“Superb, illuminating and uplifting. The imagination, Mr. Lithgow wants us to know, is powerful. What could feel more current, more worthwhile in the first days of 2018?” —Jesse Green, The New York Times
This is me telling a story about John Lithgow’s story.
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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
My newest Journal created for aspiring and established PLAYWRIGHTS has just been published and can be found in your favorite bookstore. 
our journaling pleasure: 
