Karinwritesdangerously

“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.”   Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde is a favorite of mine and today. October 16, is his birthday. I love and admire his amazing range: He could go from 0 to 60 in a heartbeat, from the wicked humor of The Importance of Being Earnest to the heavenly wisdom of De Profundis. In his honor, I’m sharing a handful of his sparkling gems on writing to inspire us all:

“The play was a success, but the audience was a failure.”

“What seem to us bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.”

“Experience in the name everyone gives their mistakes.”

“Moderation is a fatal thing; nothing succeeds like excess.”

“Constancy is the last refuge of the unimaginative.”

“With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?”

“All that I desire to point out is the general principle that life
imitates art far more than art imitates life.”

“One’s real life is so often the life that one does not lead.”

“To live is the rarest thing of all. Most people exist, that is all.”

“The true artist is a man who believes absolutely in himself, because
he is absolutely  himself.”

“To reveal art and conceal the artist is art’s aim.”

“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something
sensational to read on the train.”

“There is no such thing as a moral or immoral book. Books are well
written or badly written.”

“Yes, I am a dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can only find the way
by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the
rest of the world.”

“The Artist is the creator of beautiful things.”

What a way with words! Write on!

Share this:

•  Print
•  Facebook
•  LinkedIn
•  X
•  Reddit
• More

Share this:

•  Print
•  Facebook
•  LinkedIn
•  X
•  Reddit
• More

Robert Louis Stevenson came up with the plot for the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde during a dream.

Paul McCartney discovered the tune foe his hit song “Yesterday” in a dream. 

Mary Shelley’s dream at Lord Byron’s villa inspired her gothic tale, Frankenstein.

Dreams have always been a powerful creative tool in artist’s arsenal. And studies confirming the importance of sleep to our long-term health continue to pour out: They’ve determined that our neurons fire almost as often when we’re sleeping as they do when we’re awake. But here are a few findings about sleep and creativity that may surprise and stimulate you:

There’s growing evidence that our minds tend to be most creative just as we are emerging from sleep: During the half-waking, half-dreaming state known as “sleep inertia,” our creativity seems to surge. This is why coming up with ideas and writing them down as soon as we wake is a proven technique for enhancing creativity that’s been used by everyone from writers and poets to Ben Franklin.

The theory behind this: When we’re in a post-sleep, dream-like mental state, we can bridge the gap between sleep and wakefulness, and bring insights and inspiration from our sleep state into our consciousness. Once we’re fully alert, our waking consciousness assumes total control, making plans and doing things — and we pass out of the more fluid, expansive state we enjoy when we’re just emerging from our rest.

Sleep can also be a powerful creativity booster because the mind, in an unconscious resting state, can forge surprising and innovative new connections. In fact, research shows that sleep can foster “remote associates” or unusual connections in the brain. And these connections can lead to exciting “a-Ha” moments upon waking.

Why not test this all out and give your creativity a helping hand by having a paper and pen by your bedside, so you can jot down any hot ideas before they slip away? Write on! 

Share this:

•  Print
•  Facebook
•  LinkedIn
•  X
•  Reddit
• More

« There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. «  W. Somerset Maugham

Ah, the adverb! Why among all the parts of speech is it so criticized? Why have writers from Nathaniel Hawthorne to Stephen King urged us to take an ax to the adverbs sprinkled across our pages? I don’t have the answer to this mystery.

Fortunately, I’ve found an zealous advocate for the adverb, a teacher and writer who takes a generous approach to adverbs, which I’m happy to share with you:

An adverb is far more than just a word ending in -ly: Along with nouns, verbs, and adjectives, it is one of the four content parts of speech used to construct sentences.

Each part performs a key function: Nouns name things, verbs specify action, and adverbs and adjectives add to, limit, or clarify nouns and verbs. 

Adverbs are a valuable tool in every writer’s kit-bag and excising them from your writing will impoverish it. Adverbs play several important roles in a sentence — they make more specific and add information to verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. 

Adverbs are versatile: The role an adverb plays in a sentence can show up in our writing as one word: sadly. Or as a phrase: “I’ll call you in the morning.” Or as a dependent clause: “We’ll eat whenever he gets here.” 

Bravo! Let’s dump the “dump adverbs” idea and focus instead on using them with precision and gusto as we all write on!

Share this:

•  Print
•  Facebook
•  LinkedIn
•  X
•  Reddit
• More

Customize buttons

Writers tend to be a wandering bunch of souls — we often seem to find inspiration and relaxation in places that have drinks instead of desks, cocktail hours instead of club chairs.

A fun round-up of some of the places that famous writers enjoyed hanging out in to inspire you to get out and mix it up a bit:

The Hotel Monteleone: New Orleans — Among the writers who stayed, wrote, and drank there are: Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Ann Rice, Eudora Welty, and John Grisham. 

The White Horse Tavern: NYC, opened in 1880 — I actually had a drink here! So did Dylan Thomas, James Baldwin, Norman Mailer, Hunter Thompson, and Jack Kerouac.*

The Eagle and Child: Oxford, opened in 17th century — this storied pub once hosted the Inklings — whose members included C.S. Lewis and J.R. Tolkien. Wow, this is one pub I’d like to hoist a glass in!

Les Deux Magots: Paris, opened in 1812 (the year that Napoleon invaded Russia). This spot attracted James Joyce, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Bertolt Brecht, and Ernest Hemingway.

Old Town Bar: NYC, opened in 1892 — A mahogany-and-marble throwback, this conversation-friendly spot hosted Frank McCourt, Seamus Heaney, and Billy Collins — one of my favorite poets.

Literary Café: St. Petersburg: opened in 1816 — Love that name! A popular meeting spot for some of the greats, including Dostoevsky and Pushkin, who had a last drink at this café before his fatal duel. 

Who’s the most mobile of these literati? Our boy Ernest. He is known for imbibing in New York, Paris, Havana, and Madrid — to mention a few hot spots! Write on!

Share this:

•  Print
•  Facebook
•  LinkedIn
•  X
•  Reddit
• More

In the spirit of Columbus Day, words of wisdom about discovery and adventure:

“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” Sir Edmund Hillary

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes but in having new eyes.” Marcel Proust

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters in the end.” Ursula K. Le Guin

“We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Writing, like life itself, is a voyage of discovery….I had to learn to think, feel, and see in a totally new fashion, in an uneducated way, in my own way, which is the hardest thing in the world.” Henry Miller

“It is not necessary that you leave the house. Remain at your table and listen. Do not even listen, only wait. Do not even wait, be wholly still and alone. The world will present itself to you for its unmasking, it can do no other, in ecstasy it will writhe at your feet.” Franz Kafka

“The true adventurer goes forth aimless and uncalculating to meet and greet unknown fate.” O’Henry

“If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try.” Seth Godin

And now, inspired and emboldened, let’s all write on!

Delicious autumn!
My very soul is wedded to it,
and I were a bird I would fly
about the earth seeking the
successive autumns.

George Eliot

Autumn

The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry’s cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.

The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I’ll put a trinket on.

Emily Dickinson

In the Library

The library always smells like this:
an ancient stew of vinegar and wood.
It’s autumn again,
and I can do anything.

Dorothea Grossman

“Yet somehow I did get my act together and, although I can’t explain how or why, slowly and imperceptibly a sort of magic began to happen. Change took a little time and I must admit, at first I struggled to stay on board. My grief would surface and tears would blind me as I tried to write, yet the words kept flowing and it didn’t matter that I repeated myself as I filled those waiting, listening empty pages.”
Maggie Jeffery, on her journaling practice — CreateWriteNow.com

“Those waiting, listening empty pages” — what a lovely phrase and how apt! Many great writers, from Virginia Woolf to John Steinbeck, kept journals to play with ideas, keep track of their writing progress, and puzzle out thorny plot or character issues. 

While many writers use journaling fuel specific writing projects, today more and more people are embracing this powerful writing tool as a form of self-discovery and self-care. Whether they are coping with grief, confronting major life changes, struggling to manage stress, or reconnecting with long-hidden emotions, both adults and children are finding that putting their thoughts and feelings on paper can be both restorative and illuminating. Growing research supports this. Regularly expressing thoughts in writing allows people to:

Identify unproductive behavioral patterns and areas where they are “stuck” so that they can take action to address them.

Focus scattered thoughts so they can begin to discover what they really value and want — and how to accomplish their goals.

Release fears, resentments, regrets, and old wounds so they can begin to move forward and shape a more positive, fulfilling life.

Find strength and renewed sense of purpose in the face of grief and overpowering loss. 

For many aspiring authors and journaling enthusiasts, using the “Morning Pages” approach described in Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way has helped tap their creativity and brush away mental cobwebs. Online resources also provide specific tools and prompts to give those new to journaling a helping hand. Check out the wonderful site CreateWritenow.com for inspiration as we all write on!

Share this:

•  Print
•  Facebook
•  LinkedIn
•  X
•  Reddit
• More

“Never, never, never give up.”
Winston Churchill

Some time soon all of us are going face some tough challenge in our writing life. We’re going to be feeling frustrated, fearful, and faint-hearted. We’re going to feel like throwing in the towel or taking the easy way out or holding back instead of stepping on the gas.

But here’s something else I know: To get to the next level and achieve our goals, we’re going to need to push ourselves past the self-imposed limitations that are holding us back. 

Can we do this? Sure we can. But will we do it? That’s our choice: We can fight through the pain or we can stay in our comfort zones. If we fight, the possibilities are endless. If we stay in our comfort zones, we’ll keep getting what we’ve always gotten. 

No pain, no gain: That pretty much sums up the situation. None of this is easy: Discomfort is…well, uncomfortable. The only way I’ve found to handle it is to accept it and then just dive in. When I do this I find that the pain and the discomfort fade away. 

So, where’s your pain point right now? Are you facing a major revision and feeling overwhelmed? Are you stalled and confused about a piece of writing you’ve been struggling with? Are you feeling like you need to tackle a sensitive issue but afraid that it’s too dangerous, too close to home? Or, like me, are you hitting the submission stage?

Wherever we find ourselves, let’s remember what my friend and mentor Dr. Rob Gilbert says on his Success Hotline (973.743.4690):”The pain of discipline weighs ounces; the pain of regret weighs tons.” Let’s fight through the challenge we face and all write on!

Share this:

•  Print
•  Facebook
•  LinkedIn
•  X
•  Reddit
• More

Remember

Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more, day by day,
You tell me of our future that you planned:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.

Christina Rossetti

“Persistence beats brains any day. Nothing is more important than persistence. The best idea in the world is useless unless someone pursues it.” Ed Smith

When you hit a rough patch in your writing life, how do you handle it? Right now, I’m going through one myself. I’m moving from revision mode to submission mode and finding the transition a bit rocky.

One way I weather this shift is simple but powerful: I stick to my daily start-up strategy—a simple set of rituals that primes me for the day. For example, I always begin my day by reading passages in a handful of inspiring books. One is a devotional with daily quotes I like to savor and reflect on. Then I have a little exercise routine that gets my adrenalin pumping. These start-up activities don’t take long, but they give me a mental and emotional boost and help me launch into my day.

Here’s why having a simple start-up strategy can help you as well:

It anchors you: Consistency can be calming—especially when you are moving out of your comfort zone and into a new phase of writing.

It offers a safe haven: Whatever else is happening in your writing life, you can find solace and pleasure in soothing rituals you can rely on.

They inspire gratitude: A set of rituals remind us to take pleasure in the day ahead and to be grateful to be pursuing work we love.

They help us stay focused: The simple act of completing daily activities can start the day off well and arm us for whatever comes our way.

How about you? Are there any daily routines or rituals that you find soothing and uplifting? I’d love to hear about them. Write on!

Share this:

•  Print
•  Facebook
•  LinkedIn
•  X
•  Reddit
• More