To all the writers out there, keep writing!
Believe in yourself, and try to write everyday.
optimisim
Keep On Writing!
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To everyone who is working on various writing projects, believe in yourself and your work.
Most importantly though–keep on writing!
Remember: you are a writer, and you can do this!
Quotations on Success
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“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
Winston Churchill
“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”
Theodore Roosevelt
“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”
Robert F. Kennedy
What Is A Sentence From a Book (or two) You Love?
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I was thinking recently of a variety of aspects of books that I love, including plot, theme, and character. As I was considering these elements, I realized that some books have extraordinary sentences. These lines might not encapsulate the entirety of those books, but they are beautiful and powerful.
I will offer two such quotations:
The first is the closing sentence from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, one of the most important novels ever written:
“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known” (307).
The second offering is from A Soldier Of The Great War by Mark Helprin. This novel is, in my not too modest opinion, one of the absolute best novels ever written. With this book, Helprin takes his place among the pantheon of literary giants such as Shakespeare, Dickens, Cervantes, and Tolstoy.
“As a way to arrive at the truth, exactitude and methodology are, in the end, far inferior to vision and apotheosis” (30)
I am sure I will continue this idea as a series, but this little post will serve as a beginning.
So, now I ask everyone who reads this: what are some of the most beautiful and important sentences you have read in books?
Works Cited
Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. Wordworth Classics. 1993.
Helprin, Mark. A Soldier Of The Great War. Perennial. 2001.
Quotations from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
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“Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, benevolence, were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”(62)
“This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased.” (108)
“There are some upon this earth of yours,” returned the Spirit, “who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us and all our kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us.” (92)
“‘God bless us every one!’ said Tiny Tim, the last of all.” (97)
Works Cited
Dickens, Charles. A Christmas Carol. Charles Dickens: The Christmas Books Volume I.
Penguin Classics. New York. 1985.
Quotations on Service to Others
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“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Mahatma Gandhi
“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.”
Barack Obama
“Life is for service.”
Fred Rogers
“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
John F. Kennedy
The View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman
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A while ago, I gave a brief post about The View from the Cheap Seats by Neil Gaiman, and I said I would do another post when I finished the book. I had completed it a while ago, but I simply forgot to do this post. So, without further introduction, this is a wonderful read, and I recommend it highly!
Gaiman’s book is a collections of short pieces he has written for a variety of reasons, including people, films, books, writing, and life. If you love his books, then you should enjoy his book.
Here are a few quotations from this wonderful book:
“What speculative fiction is really good at is not the future, but the present. Taking an aspect of it that troubles or is dangerous, and extending or extrapolating that aspect into something that allows the people of that time to see what they are doing from a different angle and a different place. It’s cautionary.” (178)
“Ideas, written ideas are special. They are the way we transmit our stories and our ideas from one generation to the next. If we lose them, we lose our shared history. We lose much of what makes us human. And fiction gives us empathy: it puts us inside the minds of other people, gives us the gift of seeing the world through their eyes. Fiction is a lie that tells us true things, over and over. ” (181-182)
“And now go, and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here. Make good art.” (459)
I give this book five stars out of five!
Gaiman, Neil. The View from the Cheap Seats. HarperCollins. 2017.
Why Do I Write?
StandardI was asked this question several times over the last couple of years, often at writing conferences by other writers. I was thinking about it today, and my answer is deceptively simple: I write because I have stories to tell, characters to give life to, and because I love books.
I believe in the power of words to communicate between the author and the readers as I believe in the connection of human beings. All stories, no matter the genre, speak to that connection. I remain an eternal optimist and see writing as an expression of that hope. I see the journey into the imagination as creating not only places of wonder but possibilities for the growth of empathy and compassion. I see writing as a way to question society as well as to show its strengths. Mostly though, I am able to tell the stories I have within me.
So here is my question to anyone who might wish to answer: why do you write?
Please follow the following links to find my novel:
Thank you!
The book trailer:
Maledicus:Investigative Paranormal Society Book I
My radio interview:
3 Quotations in 3 Days Challenge: Day 3
StandardUnite Together in Peace https://utipblog.wordpress.com has nominated me to participate in the 3 Quotations in 3 Days Challenge. Thank you so much for including me!
The Rules for the Challenge:
- Three quotations for three days.
- Three nominees each day (no repetition).
- Thank the person who nominated you.
- Inform the nominees.
My Quotation:
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
Winston Churchill
My Nominees:
KC Redding-Gonzalez https://zombiesalmonthehorrorcontinues.wordpress.com
Tanya Cliff https://postprodigal.com
Kate M. Colby https://katemcolby.com
Please stop by, and visits their blogs!
And thank you once again to Unite Together in Peace https://utipblog.wordpress.com .
Charles F French author of Maledicus: The Investigative Paranormal Society Book I
The trailer for the book:
Maledicus:Investigative Paranormal Society Book I
3 Quotations in 3 Days Challenge: Day 1
StandardUnite Together in Peace https://utipblog.wordpress.com has nominated me to participate in the 3 Quotations in 3 Days Challenge. Thank you so much for including me!
The Rules for the Challenge:
- Three quotations for three days.
- Three nominees each day (no repetition).
- Thank the person who nominated you.
- Inform the nominees.
My Quotation for Day 1:
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
My Nominees:
JDFisher https://jfisher8404.wordpress.com
crazykatya https://ifmomscouldwrite.wordpress.com
Yinglan https://yzhengblog.wordpress.com
Please stop by, and visits their blogs!
And thank you once again to Unite Together in Peace https://utipblog.wordpress.com .
