Dan Jorgensen's Blog, page 124

A Writer's Moment: Being 'aware' of your surroundings

A Writer's Moment: Being 'aware' of your surroundings:   “When you are interviewing someone, don't just write down what he says. Ask yourself: Does this guy remind you of s...

Being 'aware' of your surroundings

 

“Whenyou are interviewing someone, don't just write down what he says. Ask yourself:Does this guy remind you of someone? What does the room feel like? Noticesmells, voice inflection, neighborhoods you pass through. Be acinematographer.” – Gene Weingarten

  

For aspiring writers (whether it bein journalism or the creative genre), take note of Weingarten’s advice.  Being aware of your “surroundings” is crucialto the success of your stories.  Hiswriting – whether part of his humorous online chats orserious works like his Pulitzer Prize-winning features – isalways succinct, clear and distinct, putting the reader firmly and fully intoeach tale.

 

Born on this date in 1952,Weingarten is the only writer to win the Pulitzer Prize twice for feature writing.   Widely known for his humor writing he alsois co-author of the comic strip Barney & Clyde (along with his sonDan and artist David Clark).

 

 “The one thingan aspiring writer must understand (about writing) is that it's hard,”Weingarten said.   “If you think it's not hard, you're not doingit right.”

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A Writer's Moment: Reflecting on 'The Truly Great'

A Writer's Moment: Reflecting on 'The Truly Great':   “Great poetry is always written by somebody straining to go beyond what he can do.” – Stephen Spender Spender, bor...

Reflecting on 'The Truly Great'

 

“Greatpoetry is always written by somebody straining to go beyond what he can do.”– Stephen Spender

Spender, born on this date in 1909,was an English poet, novelist and essayist who concentrated on themes of social justice.  Afrequent lecturer and visiting professor at U.S. colleges and universities, hebecame the first non-U.S. poet (from 1965-68) to serve as Poet LaureateConsultant to the United States Library of Congress.  For Saturday’sPoem, here is Spender’s,

 

                                                TheTruly Great

 

I think continually of those whowere truly great.
Who, from the womb, remembered the soul's history
Through corridors of light where the hours are suns
Endless and singing. Whose lovely ambition
Was that their lips, still touched with fire,
Should tell of the Spirit clothed from head to foot in song.
And who hoarded from the Spring branches
The desires falling across their bodies like blossoms.

What is precious is never to forget
The essential delight of the blood drawn from ageless springs
Breaking through rocks in worlds before our earth.
Never to deny its pleasure in the morning simple light
Nor its grave evening demand for love.
Never to allow gradually the traffic to smother
With noise and fog the flowering of the spirit.

Near the snow, near the sun, in the highest fields
See how these names are feted by the waving grass
And by the streamers of white cloud
And whispers of wind in the listening sky.
The names of those who in their lives fought for life
Who wore at their hearts the fire's centre.
Born of the sun they travelled a short while towards the sun,
And left the vivid air signed with their honour. 

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A Writer's Moment: 'Music for those who listen'

A Writer's Moment: 'Music for those who listen':   “Knowledge is recognition of something absent; it is a salutation, not an embrace.” – George Santayana   Santayana, born in Spain in ...

'Music for those who listen'

 

“Knowledgeis recognition of something absent; it is a salutation, not an embrace.”– George Santayana 
Santayana, born in Spain in 1863 (and whodied 71 years ago this month), is perhaps better known for his quote: “Those whodo not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”   
 He spentalmost as much time in America as in his native Spain and often referred tohimself as a “dual” citizen.  In fact, he authoredhis main philosophical book, The Sense of Beauty, while living in the U.S.   It’soften cited as the first major work on aesthetics written in this country.        Santayana loved the beauty of theworld around him and left us with many eloquent notes and quotes on nature,fodder for anyone who aspires to be a writer. One which nicely illustrates the beautiful autumn colors is one of myfavorites: 
“The earth,” Santayana said,  “has music for those who listen.” 

A Writer's Moment: 'Read and reflect on writers you admire'

A Writer's Moment: 'Read and reflect on writers you admire':   “My writing improved the more I wrote - and the more I read good writing, from Shakespeare on down.” – Dick Schaap Born on this date ...

'Read and reflect on writers you admire'

 

“Mywriting improved the more I wrote - and the more I read good writing, fromShakespeare on down.” – Dick Schaap
Born on this date in 1934, sportswriter, broadcaster and author Schaap was oneof my early writing heroes.   I alwaysthought it would be cool to write sports stories like he did and that he musthave been a natural at it from the get-go.
But Schaap said he struggled tolearn the profession just like the rest of us, even though, unlike the “rest”of us, he began his career at the ripe old age of 14 at the New York City-basedNassau Daily Review-Star while working for famed writer and editorJimmy Breslin.  He would later followBreslin to the Long Island Press and New York Herald Tribune.
After earning degrees from Cornelland the Columbia School of Journalism, he was assistant sports editor for Newsweek, and then moved to television,doing both news and sports for NBC, ABC and ESPN and earning 5 Emmys in theprocess.  In between he broke into thebook world co-authoring the wonderful InstantReplay with Green Bay Packer all-pro guard Jerry Kramer (one of my all-timefavorite sports books).  
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As a young sportswriter, I had thechance attend a talk by Schaap and afterward ask him for a bit of writing advice.   
“Read and reflect on writers youadmire,” he told me.  “And then modelyour writing after theirs.  If writingcaptures your attention, then don’t you want to write that way yourself?” 

A Writer's Moment: 'Mastering his imagination'

A Writer's Moment: 'Mastering his imagination': “From a good book, I want to be taken to the very edge. I want a glimpse into that outer darkness.” – Mark Haddon    Born in England on ...

'Mastering his imagination'

“Froma good book, I want to be taken to the very edge. I want a glimpse into thatouter darkness.” – Mark Haddon 

 Born in England onthis date in 1962, Haddon is best known for his amazing book and play TheCurious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – a story of a 15-year-oldboy with Asperger’s syndrome – for which he won the Whitbread Award, GuardianPrize, and a Commonwealth Writers Prize.                                               The author of nearly 30 books and many short stories, Haddon said it was his “late” discovery of the joy ofreading that took him off a path toward mathematics and onto one in the writingworld.   “When I was 13 or 14, I started devouring novels; literaturetook quite a while to take me over, but it caught up just in time to save mefrom becoming a mathematician.”
Haddonlikes to use a combination of humor, sensitivity and adventure in his writingand advises beginning writers to, “Use your imagination andyou'll see that even the most narrow, humdrum lives are infinite in scope ifyou examine them with enough care.”