“We’re like books. Most people only see our cover, the minority only reads the introduction, a lot of people believe in critics. Few will know our content.” — Emile Zola
For writers
In the author’s introduction to Ray Bradbury Stories, I found this wonderful note to writers: “I’ve never been in charge of my stories, they’ve always been in charge of me. As each new one has called to me, ordering me to give it voice and form and life, I’ve followed the advice I’ve shared with other writers over the years: Jump off the cliff and build your wings on the way down.”
— Ray Bradbury, Aug. 22, 1920 – June 5, 2012
Great advice for writers from Lynne Truss, beloved author of Eats, Shoots, and Leaves. “The writer who neglects spelling and punctuation is quite arrogantly dumping a lot of avoidable work onto the reader, who deserves to be treated with more respect.” Talk to the Hand (p. 23), a book about the rudeness pandemic.
A wonderful quote that certainly applies to writers and the publishing industry: “You can have too much choice in this world. And when everyone has too much choice, it is also harder to get chosen. And we all want to be chosen.”–Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club
Fredrik Backman’s latest book, My Friends, may be my favorite of all of his, which is saying quite a lot. It’s heartbreaking and funny and real and transcendent, a book you will likely hug (after you stop crying and laughing). You’re bound to recognize these great kids; you probably grew up with them. Or maybe you were one … like them.
Here’s a quote, one of many, that I loved, that really speaks to us crazy people, the writers: “Art is what we leave of ourselves in other people.” p. 134 ¶ 12
Here’s another from Backman for writers to cherish : [Christian’s mom to Louisa]: “. . . art is a fragile magic, just like love, and that’s humanity’s only defense against death. That we create and paint and dance and love, that’s our rebellion against eternity. Everything beautiful is a shield. Vincent van Gogh wrote: ‘I always think that the best way to know God is to love many things.’ ”
Fredrik Backman, My Friends, p. 417 ¶ 9
A little humor for those writers suffering from “imposter syndrome” because they can’t bring themselves to write plotless misery (aka, “Literary fiction” with a capital “L” and its pinky out), however much it might delight publishers and their agents. God bless Edward Gorey for helping us take ourselves less seriously. May he rest in peace.
And may you all throw off the toe-pinching Galoshes of Remorse!
Image used with permission of The Edward Gorey Charitable Trust (For more things Gorey, see: www.edwardgorey.org)
Please excuse the expletives.
They are not mine . . . at this moment.
But I ask you, how could I possibly not post this!
The editor believes the term, “not-see,” is a euphemism for the four-letter name of the fascist party of the evil man with the really stupid moustache, used in order to throw off the idiotic and illiterate bots of META.
Ooh! Now there’s a title someone should use: The Bots of META! A Sci-Fi thriller from Uranus.
There are three types of writers:
1) those who plot their books;
2) those who discover their plots along the way; and
3) those who know what will happen, but their books are a bit feral still, need a bath, have bitten and will bite again.
I do too write tight! (When it suits . . . )
Some superbly helpful writing sites:
Jericho Writers – Based in the UK, they offer invaluable and free writing and publication advice, as well as editorial services, with wit and humanity. One of my absolute “favs.” They also offer intensive workshops and one-on-one mentoring at a discounted cost to members. Very accessible and responsive, both by email and on their Townhouse forum. No cost to subscribe. https://jerichowriters.com/
Query Tracker – A huge market database for writers searching for publishers and agents for their book manuscripts, filterable by genre, location, method of submission and much more. The free, basic membership comes with plenty of tools and allows you to track your submissions easily and suits most new writers. More options are available at the Premium level. An amazing and user-friendly “must have.” https://querytracker.net/
SFWA (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America) – whatever your genre, their column, “Writer Beware,” is a “must read” if you wish to avoid the scams, bad actors and publishing parasites that beset newbie (and even veteran writers). And if you do write in the SFF genres, paid membership could be a definite plus. https://www.sfwa.org/
Authors Publish – A Canadian group that publishes weekly submission calls, reviews of new publishers, and great, free writing & marketing advice, as well as free ebooks to subscribers. They offer workshops and webinars, some for a fee, and always let you know if a market pays its contributors. Personable, accessible and responsive. No cost to subscribe. https://authorspublish.com/
Submission Grinder (or Diabolical Plots) – is a great database for searching for a home for your book, your short story, or non-fiction piece, and is filterable by genre, open submission windows, payment, word count, submission method, and more. Links to each publisher are included and submissions are trackable, which allows them to offer constantly updated statistics on each publisher. Most other such sites, like Submittable’s “Discovery” page, don’t give information about paying markets (journals & magazines) without drilling down. You can even save your search parameters. Another “must have/must use.” No cost to subscribe. https://thegrinder.diabolicalplots.com/
Reedsy – A UK group offering free webinars on writing and marketing, online tools for writing and formatting your book, and contacts to editors, book designers and more. No cost to subscribe. https://reedsy.com/
Two of the winners in the 2023 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest! https://www.bulwer-lytton.com/2023
And, while not a winner (though it should be!) the one above is one of my favorites!
And this, just because it’s so lovely. Mole and Ratty on a winter’s night.
The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame; illustrator, Inga Moore
The wonderful art of Arthur T. Neimann
This is the artwork of a fantastic artist I met one summer at the Plymouth Waterfront Festival–Arthur T. Neimann III. He’s a super nice guy and is available for illustration work. You can see more of his work on his Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/The-Creations-of-Arthur-T-Neiman-III-303950039647669/), as well as Instagram: atniii, and Etsy: atn.iii.
For the helluvit
Favorite bumper stickers:
“Horn broken. Watch for finger.”
“Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change.”
“Sometimes I struggle with my demons and sometimes
we just snuggle.”
Quotes I’ve loved
“Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape.” — Terry Pratchett, Hogfather
“For according to the trollish philosopher Plateau, ‘If you want to understan’ an enemy, you gotta walk a mile in his shoes. Den, if he’s still your enemy, at least you’re a mile away and he’s got no shoes.’” — Terry Pratchett, Once More with Footnotes
“Some humans would do anything to see if it was possible to do it. If you put a large switch in some cave somewhere, with a sign on it saying ‘End-of-the-World Switch. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH,’ the paint wouldn’t even have time to dry.” — Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time
“Happiness is excitement that has found a settling down place, but there is always a little corner that keeps flapping around.” — E.L. Konigsburg, The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basel E. Frankweiler
“Every time a person goes to the mall, she loses a little piece of her soul.” — Tom Robbins, B Is for Beer
“If you are honest, people may deceive you. Be honest anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfishness. Be kind anyway. All the good you do today will be forgotten by others tomorrow. Do good anyway. What you create, others can destroy. Create anyway. Because in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and anyone else anyway.” — Fredrik Backman, Beartown (mottos pinned to Amat’s bedroom wall)
Lauren Stoker 