Dan Jorgensen's Blog, page 103

'Like a very complex game'

 

"Ina crazy way, writing is a lot like any kind of very complex game - like chess,where you have the knowledge as you're composing all of the ramifications ofeach move, of each choice you make." – Adam Ross

 

Born in New York City this date in1967, Ross is a novelist, short story writer and magazine editor whose novel Mr. Peanut was named both a New YorkTimes Notable Book and one of the best books of 2010  by The NewYorker, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New Republic, and TheEconomist.   An intricate murdermystery, the book has been translated into 16 languages.

 

A gifted athlete who won a highschool state wrtestling championship, Ross also grew up interested in actingand appeared in several movies and numerous television commercials.  He is working on a semi-autobiographical novel on those youth acting experiencs.

 

Now the editor of the historicliterary magazine The Sewanee Review (since2016), he and his family live in Nashville, where his writing includes frequent contributions to such newspapers andmagazines as The Wall Street Journal, TheDaily Beast and The Nashville Scene.  His short stories have appeared in The Carolina Quarterly.

“I think that if you have a knack for storytelling, and you work really hard atit, you'll have a chance to tap into something deep,” he said.   “But the fact remains that good sentencesare hard won. Any writer worth a lick knows constructing a sentence, aparagraph, or a chapter is hard work.”

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'A smile is the beginning of love'

 

"Letus always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning oflove."— Mother Teresa

 

Thereare varying opinions as to the origin of Valentine's Day, but some expertsbelieve it originated from a Roman martyred as St. Valentine who refused to giveup Christianity and died for his faith on February 14, 269 AD.  Legend also says Valentine left a farewellnote for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, signed,"From Your Valentine.”

 

Thedate of his death was just a day before the feast of Lupercalia, celebrated onFebruary 15 to honor the god Lupercus, protector of people and their herds fromwolves.     Dances were held for all the single young men and women as part ofthis Lupercalian feast and as a sort-of “spinthe bottle” variation, a man would draw his dance partner's name from a pieceof papyrus placed in a bowl. 

 

The man not only danced with that partner butwas obligated to protect her throughout the next year. In many cases, thepartners became sweethearts and were soon married.   Gradually, St. Valentinebecame the patron saint of lovers and the Lupercalian celebration also shifted toFebruary 14 – the two combined into a day marked by sending poems and gifts like flowers. 

 

And as card companies and poets both know itnot only became a day for showing love, but also one of the great days forcreating “writers’ moments.”   HappyValentine’s Day!

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A Writer's Moment: 'A smile is the beginning of love'

A Writer's Moment: 'A smile is the beginning of love':   "Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love." — Mother Teresa   The...

A Writer's Moment: Putting his audience focus first

A Writer's Moment: Putting his audience focus first:   “I think about my audience when I write, to some extent. Thinking of writing for young adults, I try to keep the stories moving, never a ...

Putting his audience focus first

 

“Ithink about my audience when I write, to some extent. Thinking of writing foryoung adults, I try to keep the stories moving, never a dull moment, to holdtheir interest.” – William Sleator
Born onthis date in 1945, William Warner Sleator III wrote sciencefiction for young adults and children.  His highly entertaining books typically follow a“rapid fire” style – a technique that most young readers love but his criticshave sometimes blasted.    Born in Maryland andraised in Missouri, Sleator (pronounced Slay-tor) was the son of a scientist and a doctor.   He often liked to intertwine          elementsof theoretical science into his works, pitting his young heroes and heroinesagainst some sort of peculiar phenomenon in the process. 
One of 4children, he often portrayed family relationships and closefriendships in his writing.  “My stories,”he said, “develop from both things I read and from my own experiences; and the experiencesof people I know.”

A Writer's Moment: Why writers write

A Writer's Moment: Why writers write: “Once you've read Anna Karenina, Bleak House, The Sound and the Fury, To Kill a Mockingbird or A Wrinkle in Time, you understand t...

Why writers write

“Once you've read Anna Karenina, Bleak House, The Sound andthe Fury, To Kill a Mockingbird or AWrinkle in Time, you understand that there is really no reason to everwrite another novel.  Except that eachwriter brings to the table, if she will let herself, something that no one elsein the history of time has ever had.”—Anna Quindlen  And so –  as Sonny & Cher once so famously sang – thebeat goes on.
  If you're intrigued by why writers sit down each day with pen in hand,or at a typewriter or computer, and begin the creative process, that's probably the reason why.   While the process not only can be immensely challenging it also can be immensely rewarding.   I was thinking about that when I awoke today and wondered why the first thing I was thinking was I needed to do was get back to writing my latest novel.  Then I realized that first I should write words for  A Writer's Moment so why not this as a topic?    Seeking inspiration, I first looked for other writer's quotes, finding Quindlen's and then this one by John Steinbeck.  

“Writers write," Steinbeck said,  "simply to tell thetruth about things as we see them."   And the beat goes on.

'Have something to say . . .and say it'

 

“Havesomething to say and say it as clearly as you can.  That is the only secret of style.”  - Matthew Arnold

 

Born in England in 1822, Arnold has been called the thirdgreat Victorian poet, along with Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Robert Browning.

 

“Poetry is simply the mostbeautiful, impressive and widely effective mode of saying things,” Arnoldsaid.    For Saturday’s poem, here is Arnold’s,

 

Longing

 

Come to me in my dreams, and then
By day I shall be well again!
For so the night will more than pay
The hopeless longing of the day.

Come, as thou cam'st a thousand times,
A messenger from radiant climes,
And smile on thy new world, and be
As kind to others as to me!

Or, as thou never cam'st in sooth,
Come now, and let me dream it truth,
And part my hair, and kiss my brow,
And say, My love why sufferest thou?

Come to me in my dreams, and then
By day I shall be well again!
For so the night will more than pay
The hopeless longing of the day.

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A Writer's Moment: 'Have something to say . . .and say it'

A Writer's Moment: 'Have something to say . . .and say it':   “Have something to say and say it as clearly as you can.   That is the only secret of style.”   - Matthew Arnold   ...

A Writer's Moment: 'Wrapping a good story around it'

A Writer's Moment: 'Wrapping a good story around it':   “I always try to tell a good story, one with a compelling plot that will keep the pages turning. That is my first and primary goal. Som...