There are many reasons why novelists write — but they all have one thing in common: a need to create an alternative world.
– John Fowles
haiku 160
low on horizon
thin cloud bisects
orange moon
Pen to Paper: On Being Well-Read
What does it mean to be well-read? We who write have more than a passing interest in reading. We read to fuel our own thoughts and works, and we want others to read us. My idea of someone who is well-read is a person who can quote extensively and lovingly from my stories.
But seriously, folks…
Pen to Paper: Writer’s Block
Very sorry, but no fiction again this week. Instead, I offer a spare essay.
Quotable 48
Genius is in a certain sense infallible, and has nothing to learn; but art is to be learned, and must be acquired by practice and experience.
– August Wilhelm von Schlegel
haiku 159
power outage –
cat inspects
oil lamp
Pen to Paper: Two More Soap Bubbles Burst
There was a brief time in my earlier life when I watched soap operas. That’s what my mom was watching and I was then of the opinion that if the TV was on, it should be watched. (And if the TV wasn’t on, why did we buy one? I long ago overcame this notion.) The plots were faintly silly, but not as silly as other soaps got later. Still, they were engaging.
But soap operas are gradually becoming the stuff of TV history books. ABC has cancelled two more: All My Children and One Life to Live.
Continue reading “Pen to Paper: Two More Soap Bubbles Burst”
Author’s Note: No Fiction Today
Sorry, but there’s no story today. Look back at Tuesday’s haiku and you’ll get a hint of what the past week has been like. Check back next week. Thanks.
Quotable 47
Has there ever been a great writer who did not spend a childhood in books?
– Peter Ackroyd
haiku 158
family project –
brothers make a coffin
for a brother