Funny, Perceptive, and Practical—this compendium of memorable quotations from our favorite writers and great literary figures shows us that, as word smiths, we are not alone in how or why we choose to meet the challenge of the blank page. Despite the fact that writing is an often sloppy and sometimes frustrating process, it is also an exhilarating, joyful, entertaining, and even noble, endeavor, which, if done honestly and practiced faithfully, ultimately reveals every aspect of the human condition.
Here you will find encouragement, advice, and motivation, along with belly laughs. A gift for everyone who writes, or longs to, The Writer's Book of Inspiration reads like a gathering of old, close friends.
Stephanie Gunning provides editorial, training, and consulting services in support of writers who want to develop their full personal and professional potential. You can locate Stephanie at www.stephaniegunning.com and www.getabookdealcoach.com.
Writing is love. It's the beating heart pulsing on paper. It is music, magic, and mystery, an effort to gain mastery of forces, of impulses, of desires, of ideas, of life. To those who feel an intense magnetic pull to write, little explanation of the phenomenon is required. You know who you are. You also know the pull is only the beginning. There is a reason others look upon those who write as they would mythical creatures, like unicorns and dragons: Writers have the power to name and to reveal. Once you sense this possibility in yourself, you likely will be hooked on it forever ....
When I began compiling the quotations for this book I was impressed with the extraordinary highs and lows creative writers experience while pursuing the craft. Some describe virtually tearing their hair out in desperation, others are pragmatic, even mercenary, and compulsive, and many express delight and spiritual wonder. The ones I love best are those that provoked me to laugh and to think. They all made me proud to call myself a writer and lifted my self-esteem. In these remarks from men and women of different ages, races, and eras, I felt a mirror being held up to my daily life as a craftsperson, an artist, and a living human being. There is a tremendous humanity to be found in how they go about, and often struggle at, doing their best work. Nothing else matters more, when you get right down to it, than being human—with all that it means.
The literary life is a path of self-discovery and revelation. If you have chosen to walk this well-worn path, remember to step a little bit outside of the bounds of cultural expectations from time to time. Trample the grass—or better, take off your shoes and feel the grass between your toes. Never rush and always daydream. Nap at strange hours. Design your own rituals. Ignore the ringing telephone, and other forms of buzzing, chiming, beeping technology. Let yourself forget what day of the week it is. Travel. Read. Cultivate relationships with odd and curious people. Whatever it is you feel, whatever you think or believe, make the blank page your friend and no matter where you go you'll be at home and have something to do. Be surprised by life.
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PHONE: abundantwords@aol.com
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