3 Days Quotation Challenge

Desertera Book Club: The World of Des... Book Review: Change of Life by Samant...

3 Days Quotation Challenge

It’s been a while since I’ve done a blogging challenge, so when friend and fellow word lover Charles French nominated me (thanks, Charles!), I was excited to dive back into one. Of course, being the rebel that I am, I’ll be bending a few rules and putting my own spin on this particular challenge…

The Official Rules:

1.) Either once a day for three days, post a quotation, or post all 3 quotations at one time. It is your choice.

^All at once, kids.

2.) Nominate and notify three other bloggers of the challenge.

^Anyone reading this can consider themselves nominated. Just tag this post so I can share your quotations on social media!

3.) Thank the blogger who nominated you.

^Check.

Here we go: three quotations, three bookwormy loves, and three lessons for writers.

“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.”

– Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Pure poetry. Say what you want about the content of this novel, but Nabokov’s writing is nothing short of poetic. This quotation is the opening paragraph, and it drips with poetic devices from simple alliteration and assonance to the lyrical movement of the syllables. It’s music to my bookworm ears (eyes?). If you’ve only ever written prose, take the time to dabble in poetry. It’ll pay off for you and your readers.

“Eat their #%&@ing ovaries!”

– Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 8 Volume 3 by Joss Whedon

Just when I thought the Buffyverse could not endear itself to me any further, it gives me homicidal, vampiric, Hello-Kitty knock-off stuffed animals. When I came to this panel, I laughed out loud…and it’s obviously stuck with me. I love it when books can throw something this ridiculous at you and still make it fit the story and the tone. A note for writers: stuff like this is bold and will isolate some readers…but your true fans? They’ll eat it up. Learn the time and place.

“Killing a man should be harder than waving a length of pipe in their direction. It should take long enough for one’s conscience to get in the way.”

– Wool by Hugh Howey

As if I haven’t raved about the Silo trilogy enough lately, I’ll do it one more time. To me, fiction has a social obligation to contain some sort of message. Maybe it’s as simple as “always double-tap in the zombie apocalypse.” Maybe it’s something deeper. Wool encompassed several serious, important themes, and that was one of my favorite parts of the novel. How can you impart themes or messages you care about in your own works?

There you have it! Three quotations I adore, why my bookworm brain loves them, and quick considerations for the writers in the crowd. If you’re up for it, take on the challenge yourself, or leave a quotation of your own in the comments!