Monthly Archives: July 2026

It was about eleven o’clock in the morning, mid October, with the sun not shining and a look of hard rain in the clearness of the foothills. I was wearing my powder-blue suit, with dark blue shirt, tie and display … Continue reading →

« Learn to alert your reader as soon as possible in a sentence to any change in mood from the previous sentence….Always make sure your readers are oriented. » No, this post isn’t about mind-altering drugs — it’s about mood-altering prose! On … Continue reading →

« Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know. » Ernest Hemingway Today, July 21, is Ernest Hemingway’s birthday. He … Continue reading →

« If there is no struggle, there is no progress. » Frederick Douglass Who wants to struggle, if they can help it? So much easier to take it easy, to give things up when they become a struggle — when they resist … Continue reading →

If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain: If I can ease one life the aching, Or cool one pain Or help one fainting robin unto his nest again, I shall not live in … Continue reading →

Reading aloud is so important that I’ve gathered some writing quotes about it to inspire us all to take advantage of this helpful writing tool: “The ear is the only true writer and the only true reader.”Robert Frost “Always write … Continue reading →

Sometimes in the midst of an intensive push forward on a project, it helps to take a restorative break. The trick is to give yourself a breather without losing momentum. I’ve found that the best way to deal with the … Continue reading →

“A good writer is basically a storyteller, not a scholar or a redeemer of mankind.” Isaac Bashevis SingerGreat stories leave the starting gate flying — they have a momentum that carries us forward right away. They plunge us into a … Continue reading →

Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day? William Shakespeare Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?Thou art more lovely and more temperate:Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:Sometime … Continue reading →

« The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes but in having new eyes. » Marcel Proust What wonderful words of wisdom from one writer to another! And how beautifully Proust proved his point in his own masterwork, Remembrance … Continue reading →