Tag Archives: Charles Dickens

Joyful Year!

As we enter a New Year fresh with opportunities, may these writerly reflections inspire us and spur us to new heights: “Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, ‘It will be happier.’”   Alfred Lord Tennyson “I … Continue reading

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Simplicity Soars

“Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.”   Frederic Chopin As soon as I read this, I knew I … Continue reading

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Another Approach

“Almost every advance in art, science, technology, business, marketing, cooking, medicine, agriculture, and design has occurred when someone challenged the rules and tried another approach.”    Roger von Oech, creativity expert Every day, we’re encouraged to live by the rules, to … Continue reading

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With Heart

“If we do our job correctly, the reader will feel what we feel. If we cry, they will cry. If we laugh, they will laugh. If we get our hearts on the page, the reader’s heart will link with ours.” … Continue reading

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Style Search

“Jack Spratt could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean, but betwixt them both, they licked the platter clean!” “I got a sense of the power of restraint from Hemingway, which is the smallest way to put it, … Continue reading

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Odd Jobs

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” Jack London As an author, however much you long to, you may not have the opportunity right now to devote your days to writing and courting … Continue reading

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Harper Hoopla

OK, OK, I’m sure some of you are upset. If you’ve been reading all the press about Harper Lee’s just-published novel, Go Set a Watchman, then you probably know that it’s already sparked a lot of controversy already and hardly … Continue reading

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Five Books

When a call went out from my Write Group buddies for five books that I really enjoyed and wanted to recommend for a group reading list, I decided to jot down a quick selection. Off the top of my head, … Continue reading

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Better Unsaid

“It took me my whole life to learn what not to play.” Dizzy Gillespie “A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a … Continue reading

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Daily Doses

“A small task, if it be really daily, will beat the labors of a spasmodic Hercules.” Anthony Trollope Our boy Anthony was no spasmodic Hercules! Once he decided to become a writer, he embraced his newfound calling with vigor and … Continue reading

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