Quotations on Characters

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“Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations.”

                                                                          Ray Bradbury

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“When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.”

                                                                        Ernest Hemingway

 

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“It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does.”

                                                                       William Faulkner

Writers–Keep Writing!

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Writers, keep writing!

Please remember that writing is not inspired from some external source, and it does not come in one burst of activity.

While talent matters, what is far more important is the ability to be disciplined and to work every day, to put pen to paper, or sit in front of the keyboard and to create even when things are not going well.

Hard work, discipline, and commitment are the most important qualities that are needed for creating a written work.

Try to write every day, even if your goal is only a couple of hundred words.

Keep writing!

You can do this!

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Gallows Hill can be found here in ebook.

Gallows Hill in paperback can be found here.

An interview about Gallows Hill can be found here.

Please follow the following links to find my novel:

ebook

Print book

Thank you!

The book trailer:

Maledicus:Investigative Paranormal Society Book I

My radio interview:

interview

 

Available on Amazon

Magic In Books — Quotations

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“Books are a uniquely portable magic.”

                                                                 Stephen King

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“I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book.”

                                                                 J. K. Rowling

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“The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us.”

                                                                Ray Bradbury

Best Job Ever

Here is another excellent post from the wonderful teacher, Jennie!

A Teacher's Reflections

Friday was a rainy day.  I played the autoharp, and children sang and danced their hearts out.  I love rainy days.  I love music.  More importantly, children love music.  A child came up to me in the middle of the songs and asked, “Jennie, can you play “I Want to Hold Your Hand?”

Did I hear that correctly?
“I Want to Hold Your Hand”, by the Beatles?
Yes, that was exactly the song he wanted to hear.

After I got over my initial shock and excitement, I said, “Better yet, I have the real song, a record album.  I’ll bring it in on Monday.  And I did.  You could have heard a pin drop as I pulled the record out of the album cover with fifteen saucer eyes staring at what was happening.  It was wonderful.

I turned it on, and children watched in amazement at the spinning record and…

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Quotations on Censorship — Revisited

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“Censorship is to art as lynching is to justice.”

                                                                   Henry Louis Gates Jr.

 

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“Don’t join the book burners. Don’t think you’re going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don’t be afraid to go in your library and read every book…”

Dwight D. Eisenhower

 

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“Having the freedom to read and the freedom to choose is one of the best gifts my parents ever gave me.”

                                                                    Judy Blume

What Are Some Of Your Favorite Children’s Books?

Continuing this series on favorites authors and books, I thought it would be fun to compile a list of beloved children’s books.

Without further ado (with apologies to Shakespeare), here are my three offerings:

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Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. Published in 1883, this tale of adventure and pirates is not only a wonderful read, but also it is an excellent book to draw in reluctant readers.

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Next on my list is The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Unlike his adult British mythology–The Lord Of The Rings, The Hobbit is a lovely adventure story that was aimed at children. It is an excellent introduction to the world of fantasy.

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Last on my list, which I am sure is highly incomplete, is The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Winner of the Newberry Medal for best children’s books, this tale deals with a young orphaned boy who is raised by the ghosts and other otherworldly creatures in a cemetery. It is delightful!

So, I ask all of you: what are some of your favorite children’s books?

Thank You To Readers!

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Here is a big thank you to readers!  Without readers, writers would be completely lost.

 

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Reading is one of the most crucial and pleasurable of activities–not only does it inform us about the world and those who inhabit it, but also the reading of fiction and placing ourselves in the positions of characters creates empathy.

 

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Once again, to readers — thank you!

Keep reading!

Children’s Questions and a Serenade

Jennie is an excellent teacher, and here is another lesson from her!

A Teacher's Reflections

I finished reading aloud the chapter book, The Story of Doctor Dolittle.  This is a favorite book with children, and I discourage watching the movie which makes silliness out of an excellent story.

The animals are the characters, each with an engaging personality.  Doctor Dolittle is the essence of kindness and understanding.  The adventures he and the animals encounter are thrilling, from monkeys and a king in Africa, to pirates and kidnapping on the high seas.  I read this book aloud to children every year.  It never grows old.

At the end of the story, Doctor Dolittle is serenaded each night under his window. Children asked, “What is a serenade?”  Every “What is…” question is my opportunity, and I grab that brass ring.  As much as I explained a serenade, I was not able to make that word come to life…

Until a few days later.  I was…

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Writers: Believe in Your Work!

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To all the writers out there, who are working on their pieces, please keep your faith. Please continue to work. Please do not be discouraged. Please believe in yourselves.

Keep Writing!

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Gallows Hill can be found here in ebook.

Gallows Hill in paperback can be found here.

An interview about Gallows Hill can be found here.

Please follow the following links to find my novel:

ebook

Print book

Thank you!

The book trailer:

Maledicus:Investigative Paranormal Society Book I

My radio interview:

interview

 

Available on Amazon

Quotations on Bullies

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“I would rather be a little nobody, then to be a evil somebody.”

                                                                 Abraham Lincoln

 

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“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”

                                                                Desmond Tutu

 

“It is crucial to oppose bullying whenever and wherever it may be found. Turning away from it or ignoring bullying makes the observer complicit in  the bully’s actions.”

                                                               Charles F. French