Marion Dane Bauer's Blog, page 22
July 26, 2016
Is it only the gifted that succeed?
In writing, as in so many pursuits, it’s not the most gifted but the most determined who succeed. John Berryman thought talent was no more than twenty percent of a poet’s makeup. This is probably true for any type of writer. Those we hear about are more blessed with luck and persistence than ability and […]
The post Is it only the gifted that succeed? appeared first on Just Thinking.
July 19, 2016
The Highest of Arts!
It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statute, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day—that […]
The post The Highest of Arts! appeared first on Just Thinking.
July 12, 2016
When We Hear the Q Word . . . Quiet
My blog last week, On Being an Aging Children’s Writer, generated many responses both on my website and beyond it. Some of those responses were about the trials—and more often the fears—surrounding aging. Some of us are convinced we’re being written off by young editors who choose to be surrounded only by the same. But […]
The post When We Hear the Q Word . . . Quiet appeared first on Just Thinking.
July 5, 2016
On Being an Aging Children’s Writer
I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, aging. Not so much the deterioration of the body, though that calls itself to my attention many times a day and sometimes in the middle of the night. Not so much the diminishment of the mind, either, though I fear that kind of diminishment the most. What […]
The post On Being an Aging Children’s Writer appeared first on Just Thinking.
June 28, 2016
Peek into Someone’s Conscience
“Storytelling, especially in novels, allows people to peek into someone’s conscience to see how other people think. This can affirm our own beliefs and perceptions, but more often, it challenges them. Psychology researcher Dan Johnson recently publisheda study inBasic and Applied Social Psychologythat found reading fiction significantly increased empathy towards others, especially people the readers […]
The post Peek into Someone’s Conscience appeared first on Just Thinking.
June 21, 2016
No Happy Endings
It’s a complaint heard often: why can’t stories for kids ever have happy endings these days? And heads nod solemnly, agreeing it’s a shame, the darkness our kids are subjected to. In a world where dystopian novels such as The Hunger Games garner the largest readership and turn into the most popular films, the question […]
The post No Happy Endings appeared first on Just Thinking.
June 14, 2016
Story is…
“Story is to human beings what the pearl is to the oyster.” Joseph Gold Save Save Save
The post Story is… appeared first on Just Thinking.
June 7, 2016
Bleeding Stories
“If you prick me I would bleed stories.” Isak Dinesen I was born with a head full of stories. Well, I suppose that can’t be true literally. Language acquisition must have come first. But some of my earliest and most powerful memories involve stories. Not the ones other people read to me or the ones […]
The post Bleeding Stories appeared first on Just Thinking.
May 31, 2016
Love is…
“Love is the extremely difficult realization that something other than oneself is real.” Iris Murdoch
The post Love is… appeared first on Just Thinking.
May 24, 2016
LoonSong
Theautumn air, the stillness of the water, the cry of the loon. If youlong fortime away fromyour dailygrind, fordaysnestledin a quiet spot with beautiful views and inspirational people,a time to write and think, dream and learn,come join us at LoonSong! Be part of our inaugural retreat for children’s authors who are serious about their writing. […]
The post LoonSong appeared first on Just Thinking.
