Dan Jorgensen's Blog, page 73

'If you have the itch you might as well use it'

 

“Youhave the itch for writing born in you. It's quite incurable. What are you goingto do?  You might as well use it?”– L.M. Montgomery

 

Montgomery, who rocketed toworldwide acclaim with her very first book Anneof Green Gables, was born in Canada in the Fall of 1874.  Over a 45-year writing career, she ended uppublishing 20 novels, many featuring her lead character Anne Shirley.  She also wrote a remarkable 530 shortstories, some 500 poems and 30 essays.   Anne of Green Gables has now sold morethan 50 million copies and been published in two dozen languages.

 

By the time of her death in 1942,Montgomery also had been honored as the first Canadian female named a Fellow ofEngland’s Royal Society of Arts and had been invested into the Order of theBritish Empire (O.B.E.) one of Britain’s highest honors. 

 

“Wemust have ideals and try to live up to them, even if we never quite succeed,”Montgomery once noted.   “Life would be asorry business without them. With them it's grand and great.” 

@font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}

A Writer's Moment: 'To love with the mind'

A Writer's Moment: 'To love with the mind':   “To love is to admire with the heart; to admire is to love with the mind.” – Theophile Gautier Born in August of 1811, Pierre Jules ...

'To love with the mind'

 

“Tolove is to admire with the heart; to admire is to love with the mind.” –Theophile Gautier
Born in August of 1811, Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier was a French poet, dramatist,novelist and journalist, excelling as an art critic.  Gautier spent the majority of his career at LaPresse and later on at Le Moniteur universel after starting hiscareer as an artist.  Because of thatexperience, he became one of the premier art critics of the 19thCentury.   Gautier was strongly committed to theidea that the critic should have the ability to describe the art so that thereader might "see" the piece through his description.
 Of his poetic writing, he said, “I like to think thatart and poetry are intertwined.   The word poet literally means maker: anything which is not well madedoesn't exist.”   Likehis art criticism, his poetic writing took new twists, giving the public yetanother way to look at things.  For Saturday's Poem, here is an excerpt from Gautier's,                                     

UnknownShores

Imay not ask again:
where would you like to go?

Have you a star; she says,
O any faithful sun
Where love does not eclipse?

Ah child, if that star shines;
is in chartless skies,
I do not know of such!

 

Butcome, where will you go?

@font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}

A Writer's Moment: Mastering 'The Understated Style'

A Writer's Moment: Mastering 'The Understated Style':   Hemingway, born in Illinois in July of 1899, began as a journalist and first popularized the journalistic “unde...

Mastering 'The Understated Style'

 
[image error]

Hemingway, born in Illinois in Julyof 1899, began as a journalist and first popularized the journalistic“understated style” in creative writing.  He often focused on sensations rather thanideas and wrote about what he “lived.”

A great observer of life, the humancondition and nature, he wrote 9 bestselling books and 6 collections of shortstories.  Many of his stories, such as Hills Like White Elephants and The Killers, have often been rated amongthe best in the English language. 

 Almost always to the point in what he wrote, he oncefamously said:  "The best way to find out if you can trust somebodyis to trust them." 

'Trust in the writing process'

 

“Forseveral decades, I believed it was necessary to be extraordinary if you wanted towrite, and since I wasn't, I gave up my ambition and settled down to a life ofreading.” – Diane Setterfield

 

But like most writers, Setterfield’senjoyment of reading eventually led her to the keyboard and success in thewriting field.  Born in England on this date in1964, Setterfield's debut novel The ThirteenthTale became a New York Times No. 1 Bestseller and well-received BBCTelevision film.  To date it has beenpublished in 38 countries and sold over 3 million copies.  

 

A native of Oxford, she studied andthen taught French literature for a number of years before trying her hand atwriting, keeping a diary along the way. She said that habit not only got her into a daily writing mode but alsoprovided grist for her writing mill.   

  

“You have to relax, write what you write.  It sounds easy but it's really, really hard.One of the things it took me longest to learn was to trust the writingprocess.”

@font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}

A Writer's Moment: 'Trust in the writing process'

A Writer's Moment: 'Trust in the writing process':   “For several decades, I believed it was necessary to be extraordinary if you wanted to write, and since I wasn't, I...

A Writer's Moment: 'Science or History ending in a question mark'

A Writer's Moment: 'Science or History ending in a question mark':   “Whenever I start a novel, I'm always looking for two things: a bit of science that makes me go 'what if?' ...

'Science or History ending in a question mark'

 

“WheneverI start a novel, I'm always looking for two things: a bit of science that makesme go 'what if?' and a piece of history that ends in a question mark.”– James Rollins
 

One of twopen names used by veterinarian JamesPaul Czajkowski, Rollins is a writer of action-adventure/thriller novelswho had been practicing veterinary medicine when he decided to"mostly" switch careers.   Anamateur spelunker and a certified scuba diver, he also found those pastimes tobe great background and settings for many of his writing. 

 

“But, I don't actually have a onewellspring of inspiration,” he said. “I subscribe to National Geographic, Scientific American, Discover, and a slew ofother magazines. And it is while reading articles for pleasure and interestthat an interesting 'What if?' often will pop into my head.”

 

Born in Chicago on this date in1961, he didn’t start writing until 1999 but has been almost unstoppable since,penning some 60 novels, and counting. Among them is the wildly successful IndianaJones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. His first novel, Witch Fire – written under his other pen nameJames Clemens – and the “Sigma Force” series, now up to 18 novels, the mostrecent being this year's Arkangel.

    

Rollins also continues to practiceveterinary medicine, particularly helping abandoned or abused animals.  And, he says he’s found a secondary benefitfrom his writing. “Generally, if you preface a request with, 'I'm an authorwriting a book,' for some reason, that seems to open a lot of doors.”

@font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}@font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}

A Writer's Moment: 'Think of novels as houses'

A Writer's Moment: 'Think of novels as houses':   “I think of novels as houses. You live in them over the course of a long period, both as a reader and as a writer.” –...