Dan Jorgensen's Blog, page 106

'The wish to create order out of disorder'

 

“Idon't think writers choose the genre, the genre chooses us. I wrote out of thewish to create order out of disorder, the liking of a pattern.”– P.D. James

 

James, author of more than two dozenbooks, was born in England in 1920.  The multipleaward-winning writer said once she "knew" her genre, setting each story was not a problembecause settings can be anywhere.  She said that since allfiction is largely autobiographical, the writer just has to draw upon settings from his or her own life.  "Write what you know," is an old writing guideline and it definitely holds true for the setting.

 

And while "setting" the book usually doesn’t happen overnight and often can be a messy process, it’sa key part of the creative process that has led to everything from ourneighbor’s “memoirs” to Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises.

 

“Don't just plan to write -- write," James said.   "It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we develop our own style.”

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A Writer's Moment: 'A well-cleaned piece of glass'

A Writer's Moment: 'A well-cleaned piece of glass':   One more post about Ralph Keyes, born in 1945 and often cited as THE key resource person by writers trying to build up ...

'A well-cleaned piece of glass'

 

Onemore post about Ralph Keyes, born in 1945 and often cited as THE key resource person by writerstrying to build up their courage or stamina to write.  If you ever findyourself struggling to put words on paper, his book The Courage To Writemight be the guidebook to turn to.

 

Andif you’re looking for information about the hows, whys and wheres of famousquotes, his book on the topic – Nice GuysFinish Seventh – has often been called “the best book on the origin ofquotations ever researched and compiled.” As the title implies, the old saying “Nice Guys Finish Last” neverstarted out that way at all.  And a couple other examples from its pages:

 

      “Any man who hates dogs and childrencan’t be all bad,” was said aboutW.C. Fields, not by him.

“Winning isn’t everything, it’s theonly thing,” was actually a slogan of UCLA coach Red Sanders, not the Green BayPackers’ Coach Vince Lombardi, who simply adapted it for himself.

  

AsKeyes immutable "Law of the Misquotation" implies, the original quoteoften is quite a bit off our common usage. 

 

"Thelonger I write," Keyes said, “the simpler I'd like my writing to be: awell cleaned piece of glass through which the reader can see clearly to the contentinside."

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'It's a magical experience'

 

“What is true for book publishing istrue for civilization: the books that survive the test of time are humanity'sbacklist, our collective memory.” – Jason Epstein
 When it comes to books and theirhistory, Epstein, who was born in 1928,led one of the most creative careers in book publishing in the last half of the20th century.   The creator of Anchor Books, which launched the so-called “paperback revolution,” he establishedwhat became known as “Trade” paperbacks (the larger format size).  Epstein also co-founded The New York Review of Books, the Library of America, prestigious publisher of American classics, and The Reader'sCatalog, precursor to online bookselling.
Heedited such well-known novelists like E. L. Doctorow, Philip Roth, and Gore Vidaland was a major contributor of essays to the writing world.
Author of the bestseller Eating: A Memoir, he was the first recipientof the National Book Award for Distinguished Service to American Letters,received The Curtis Benjamin Award of the Association of American Publishersfor "creative publishing," and was given the lifetime achievement award from the NationalBook Critic’s Circle before his death in 2022. 
Epstein was a Champion for local, independent bookstores.   "A civilization without retail bookstores is unimaginable. Like shrines and other sacred meeting places, bookstores are essential artifacts of human nature. The feel of a book taken from the shelf and held in the hand is a magical experience, linking writer to reader."

A Writer's Moment: 'It's a magical experience'

A Writer's Moment: 'It's a magical experience':   “What is true for book publishing is true for civilization: the books that survive the test of time are humanity's backlist, our coll...

A Writer's Moment: 'Written large in her works'

A Writer's Moment: 'Written large in her works':   “Fiction is like a spider’s web attached -- ever so slightly perhaps but still attached -- to life at all four corners .”   – Virginia Wo...

'Written large in her works'

 

“Fiction is like a spider’s web attached -- ever soslightly perhaps but still attached -- to life at all four corners.”  – Virginia Woolf  Born in England in January of 1882, Woolf has often been credited with developing the  “streamof consciousness” writing genre', alongside her contemporaries James Joyce and JosephConrad.  Both a feminist and a modernist, her novels often ignoredtraditional plots to follow the inner lives and musings of her characters.     Woolf's writing has attracted many admirers and perhaps an equal number of haters.  Inher own time (she died in 1941), her writing was banned by some countries, including Adolf Hitler's Germany.    Her most well known works are To The Lighthouse and A Room of One’s Own. 
A great essayist, too, she once noted “A good essay must have this permanent quality aboutit; it must draw its curtain round us, but it must be a curtain that shuts usin not out.”                                    But it was fiction writing whereWoolf made her lasting mark and for which she is still studied today.  She said she found herself intrigued by anddrawn into writing fiction because of how it so keenly wove together thoughtsand reality.    “Every secret of a writer’s soul,every experience of his life, every quality of his mind is written large in hisworks.”

A Writer's Moment: A wonderful form of therapy

A Writer's Moment: A wonderful form of therapy:   “Fear is felt by writers at every level. Anxiety accompanies the first word they put on paper and the last.” – Ralph Keyes  Keyes , ...

A wonderful form of therapy

 

“Fearis felt by writers at every level. Anxiety accompanies the first word they puton paper and the last.” – Ralph Keyes 
Keyes, born in Ohio in January of 1945, is a lecturer and author of some 20 books including Is There Life After High School?,  adapted as a Broadway musical and often-produced by theater groups across the United States. His book The Courage to Write has become astandard for aspiring writers and in college coursework.    A graduate of Antioch College he now makes his home in Oregon.
“I’m often asked why I write so oftenabout ‘negative’ subjects: tensions between fathers and sons, adolescent angst,time pressure, etc.?" Keyes noted in The Courage to Write.  
 "My answer is that exploring such topics on paper helps me getrid of them. Writing can be wonderful therapy, and cheap at the price. At thevery least, you eventually get bored by thinking about anxious topics and wantto move on.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Hearing the soul's suffering'

A Writer's Moment: 'Hearing the soul's suffering':   “There's a reason poets often say, 'Poetry saved my life,' for often the blank page is the only one listeni...