Dan Jorgensen's Blog, page 61

A Writer's Moment: 'Think it; Dream it; Do it'

A Writer's Moment: 'Think it; Dream it; Do it':   “It’s a cliché, but most people are good at something, and most people are good at what they’re enthusiastic about.” – Tim Rice   Born ...

'Think it; Dream it; Do it'

 “It’s a cliché, but mostpeople are good at something, and most people are good at what they’reenthusiastic about.” – Tim Rice

 

Born in England in 1944,Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice – better known to we commoners as “Tim” Rice –turns 80 on Nov. 10th.  The British lyricist and author has done “verygood” things in his career, primarily through his collaborations with greatmusicians like Andrew Lloyd Webber, Alan Menken and Elton John.

 

He and Webber wrote JesusChrist, Superstar, Evita, and the fun musical Joseph and theAmazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a show I wasfortunate to do in a community theater production (got to play  Joseph’s oldest brother Rueben and sing “OneMore Angel” in my best Country Western twang). 

 

With Menken he wrote thelyrics for the songs in Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and KingDavid; and with John he wrote The Lion King, Aida, and TheRoad to El Dorado.  Any of those in its own right probably wouldhave earned him lasting acclaim.

 

For his writing he has won anAcademy Award, a Golden Globe, a Tony and a Grammy.  He also has beeninducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, the British Academy ofSongwriters, Composers and Authors, and named a Disney Legend.

“We all dream a lot –some are lucky, some are not,” Rice said of his career. “But if you think it,want it, dream it, then it’s real. You are what you feel.”

A Writer's Moment: Sharing stories and 'reaching for the sun'

A Writer's Moment: Sharing stories and 'reaching for the sun':   “To share our stories is not only a worthwhile endeavor for the storyteller, but for those who hear our stories and feel less alone becaus...

Sharing stories and 'reaching for the sun'

 “To share our stories isnot only a worthwhile endeavor for the storyteller, but for those who hear ourstories and feel less alone because of it.” – JoyceMaynard

 

Born in New Hampshire onNov. 5, 1953 Maynard has authored critically acclaimed books in genresranging from Young Adult to crime, and general fiction to nonfiction memoirs.  She has written 22 books – thelatest How The Light Gets In - out this year.  And she writes journalistically for a number of newspapers, magazines and National Public Radio, and is a successful screenwriter. 

Perhaps her most talked about memoir was AtHome In The World about her years living with reclusive author J.D.Salinger.  The book earned her both praise and scorn from the literaryworld.  “I wonder what it is that the people whocriticize me for telling this story truly object to: is it that I have dared totell the story? Or that the story turns out not to be the one they wanted tohear?”  

 

“You write about what youknow," Maynard said, "and you also write about what you want toknow.”  One of those "things she knows" is raisingkids.  The mother of three said her children influenced and helped herwriting become stronger. 

 

“It's not only childrenwho grow. Parents do too,” she said.  “As much as we watch to seewhat our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we dowith ours. I can't tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reachfor it myself.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Interesting things happening to interesting people'

A Writer's Moment: 'Interesting things happening to interesting people': "I want readers turning pages until three o'clock in the morning.  I want the themes of books to stick around for a reader.  I'...

'Interesting things happening to interesting people'

"I want readers turning pages until three o'clock in the morning.  I want the themes of books to stick around for a reader.  I'm always trying to find a way to balance characters and theme." - Guy Gavriel Kay
Born in Canada on Nov. 7, 1954 Kay has had a knack for creating “page turner” books over several decades. He cut his teeth on fantasy writing by traveling to Oxford to assist Christopher Tolkien, son of J.R.R. Tolkien, in editing J.R.R.’s unpublished work The Silmarillion, then began his own career with The Summer Tree. 
Many of Kay’s 17 novels are set in fictional realms that resemble real places during real historical periods, such as Constantinople during the reign of Justinian I, or Spain during the time of El Cid.    Among his recent bestsellers are A Brightness Long Ago and its sequel All the Seas of the World, inspired by the Italian Wars in the 15th Century.   His next book, Written on the Dark, set in Medieval France, is scheduled for release in May.  Kay’s novels have been translated into some 30 languages with settings and lead characters from almost every era.
He’s won multiple awards, including The World Fantasy Award for Ysabel, set in modern day France while also putting his teenage lead into direct contact with characters from both the distant past and a “parallel” world to ours.   “I have always argued,” he said, “(that) in a good novel, interesting things happen to interesting people, no matter who they are or where they are from.”

A Writer's Moment: 'Slow and steady to win the race'

A Writer's Moment: 'Slow and steady to win the race':       “Writing doesn't come real easy to me. I couldn't write a novel in a year. It wouldn't be readable. I...

'Slow and steady to win the race'

 

 

 “Writing doesn't come real easy tome. I couldn't write a novel in a year. It wouldn't be readable. I don't let aneditor even look at it until the second year, because it would just scare them.I just have to trust that all these scraps and dead-ends will find a way.”– Charles Frazier

 

As a “deliberate” writer myself – especiallywhen I’m working on fiction – I can commiserate with Frazier and long agodecided that getting it done right, regardless of how long it takes to finishis the best route to follow.   Frazieragrees, noting, “Well, I'm a slow writer. For me, a good day is a page, maybe apage and a half. I'd love to be more efficient, but I am not.” 

  

Born on this date in 1950 in Asheville,NC (much in the news these days from the horrific floods they’ve endured),Frazier has authored 5 books beginning with the terrific Cold Mountain – winner of awards as both a book and a movie.  His most recent book is 2023’s The Trackers, which follows a painter tracking down a woman with a valuable painting during The Great Depression.

 

Frazier’s writing is a study in howto draw upon the culture and history of a region – in his case his home stateand the Appalachian region.   He said he alsoloves the music of the region and finding ways to incorporate it into hiswritings to “flesh out” his stories.

 

“It always helps me connect withcharacters,” he said, “to think about what music they respond to.”

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'To a place in the imagination'

 

“I'mtrying to write poems that involve beginning at a known place, and ending up ata slightly different place. I'm trying to take a little journey from one placeto another, and it's usually from a realistic place, to a place in theimagination.” – Billy Collins

Born in New York City in 1941, the two-timeU.S. Poet Laureate’s works range from humorous to thought-provoking to deeplymoving.   His most recent book is Musical Tables: Poems.   For Saturday’s Poem, here isCollins’ 
                                                Invention                                                     

Tonight the moon is a cracker,
with a bite out of it
floating in the night,

and in a week or so
according to the calendar
it will probably look

like a silver football,
and nine, maybe ten days ago
it reminded me of a thin bright claw.

But eventually --
by the end of the month,
I reckon --

it will waste away
to nothing,
nothing but stars in the sky,

and I will have a few nights
to myself,
a little time to rest my jittery pen.

 

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A Writer's Moment: 'To a place in the imagination'

A Writer's Moment: 'To a place in the imagination':   “I'm trying to write poems that involve beginning at a known place, and ending up at a slightly different place. I&...