There is More Than One Way to Make A Book

Posted on February 2, 2011February 2, 2011 Posted in Books, The Writer's DevotionalTagged Books, New Yorker, PostADay2011, The Writer's Devotional6 Comments

Mark Twain said,

“The man who does not read good books has no advantage
over the man who can’t read them.”

I wonder what he would say about doing this with books:

The New Yorker Book Bench blog posted this picture and a writeup about Isaac Salazar, the artist who created this sculpture by folding and cutting a book.

Looking through a gallery of his work on booooooom.com, I’m amazed and inspired by his creativity and skill. I once managed a used bookstore (second best job in the world) where thousands of books were discarded every year. We donated as many books as we could and sent the unwanted ones to recycling, but not all books meet such an eco-friendly end. A lot of them end up at the dump. This artist is doing his part to keep old books in circulation and out of the landfills. As a lover of books and book arts, seeing a book turned into a piece of art as beautiful as this, just makes me happy.

To read more, visit Page-Turner.

Resources: The New Yorker, The Daily Post.

Prompt-a-Palooza for Silent Writers

Posted on February 1, 2011March 11, 2016 Posted in The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, WritingTagged Arts, Fiction, Inspiration, Motivation, Online writing group, Photo Prompt, Poetry, Poets & Writers, PostADay2011, Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, Writer, Writing, Writing Prompt1 Comment

If you’re a writer finding it difficult to make time for writing, think about joining the Silent Writers Collective tonight for its weekly online silent retreat. All writers are welcome to join in at 9 EST and PST and commit an hour (more if you want) to their art.

You can work on your own project or use one of the exercises provided below.

From PW.org: Fiction and Poetry prompts
From Writerly Lif e: A photo prompt, “Mist and Spaciousness”
From Verbal Verbosity: The 100 Words Challenge Prompt
From me: A photo prompt, “On the Rocks”
From Plinky: Quickie questions to ponder

For more information, visit the Silent Writers Collective.

Resources: The Daily Post

Monday Motivator: Gertrude Stein

Posted on January 31, 2011January 29, 2011 Posted in Authors, The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, WritingTagged Authors, Gertrude Stein, Inspiration, Literature, Motivation, PostADay2011, Quotes, Silent Writers Collective, The Monday Motivator, The Writer's Devotional, Writing1 Comment

Gertrude Stein via Wikipedia

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“To write is
to write is
to write is
to write is
to write is
to write is
to write.”
– Gertrude Stein

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Today’s Monday Motivator is from Gertrude Stein, whose birthday is this week on February 3, 1874. Much of Ms. Stein’s work, like the quote above, can be mistaken for silly or senseless. Some critics called her work elitist and arrogant, but Stein played with words the way another artist would play with her medium.

Friend and patron Mabel Dodge Luhan described it like this:

“In Gertrude Stein’s writing every word lives and, apart from concept, it is so exquisitely rhythmical and cadenced that if we read it aloud and receive it as pure sound, it is like a kind of sensuous music. Just as one may stop, for once, in a way, before a canvas of Picasso, and, letting one’s reason sleep for an instant, may exclaim: ‘It is a fine pattern!’ so, listening to Gertrude Steins’ words and forgetting to try to understand what they mean, one submits to their gradual charm.”

The Monday Motivator is a quote posted each week to encourage, inspire, and motivate writers of all skill levels and across genres. If you have a favorite quote to share, I’d love to include it. Click here to see past Monday Motivators.

Resources: The World of Gertrude Stein, The Daily Post

A Thousand Words: On the Rocks

Posted on January 30, 2011January 29, 2011 Posted in The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, WritingTagged Inspiration, Motivation, Photo Prompt, PostADay2011, Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, Thousand Words, Travel, Writing, Writing Prompt4 Comments

Image courtesy of Jason Rogers on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

A Thousand Words is a weekly photo prompt posted every Sunday. Maybe the images will inspire you to write a short thriller, a haiku, a blog post, a travelogue. Maybe you’ll just sit back and enjoy the photo. Whatever your response, I hope you enjoy the picture and that it inspires you to creative zen.

If you write something based on the image, feel free to share a link in the comments section. Also feel free to use the photo on your blog, just be sure to give proper credit, which I will always include in the post or the caption.

Resources: Creative Commons, Flickr, The Daily Post

99 Y.O. Self-Published Poet’s Mega-Bestseller

Posted on January 28, 2011January 28, 2011 Posted in Books, The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, WritingTagged Books, Inspiration, Japan, Literature, Motivation, Poetry, PostADay2011, Publishing, Reading, Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, Writing7 Comments

Japan’s Toyo Shibata was 92 when she started writing poetry. Her self-published anthology, “Kujikenaide,” (Don’t Lose Heart) has sold 1.5 million copies in Japan since its publication in 2009. With sales like that, I’m sure American publishers will take note. Now that her story has been published in Reuters and is being picked up by mainstream media around the world, I’m hopeful that it’s only a matter of time before her book hits the shelves in the U.S. I definitely plan to be in line to buy it.

For more information, here’s “A Little Encouragement” from the blog, From Tokyo to the World.

Few people can say they’ve lived as long as Toyo Shibata [柴田トヨ]. At 99, she has seen two world wars, four emperors and 81 prime ministers. Over the span of such a long life, one would hope to acquire valuable wisdom about the world and how to be happy. Ms. Shibata has. She is the author of a bestselling anthology of poetry published early last year with the title “くじけないで,” or “Don’t Be Frustrated” [though I would translate it as more like “Hang i … Read More

Resources: The Daily Post, The Book Bench, From Tokyo to the World

New Hope Comes in a Literary Package

Posted on January 27, 2011March 11, 2016 Posted in Authors, Books, The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, WritingTagged Cynthia Ozick, Dawn Raffel, Essays, Fiction, Literary magazine, Literature, Martha McPhee, Philip Roth, PostADay2011, Reading, Sam Lipsyte, Silent Writers Collective, St. Petersburg Review, The Ask: A Novel, The Writer's Devotional, Writing7 Comments

There’s something very exciting about the debut of a literary journal.

All the tension and turmoil bubbling around the publishing world these days can leave those of us who are in love with words feeling sad, worried, and a little bit hopeless. Enter a new lit mag and our hope is renewed … The word lives. The word thrives. Hooray for the word!

And three cheers for the debut of The Literarian, an online journal from The Center for Fiction.

“ We’re here to celebrate and support the extraordinary breadth of literary fiction in the U.S. and around the world,” writes editor Dawn Raffel in the welcome letter.

The first issue includes six short stories, interviews with Cynthia Ozick, Yiyun Li, a video of Sam Lipsyte reading from his novel “The Ask,” and an essay by Martha McPhee about her five favorite novels with women behaving badly. Each issue takes a world view, too, by publishing highlights from international literary magazines. This issue showcases Wet Ink from Australia and the St. Petersburg Review. Future issues promise a venue for emerging writers.

It’s not all storm and stress in the world of words. At least I don’t think so, and neither does The Center for Fiction. That’s good news for writers, readers, and everyone else in love with words.

PS: I would be remiss in my devotion to Philip Roth if I missed this opportunity to mention his upcoming visit to The Center for Fiction on February 24 at 7 pm. Oh, to live in New York again!!

Resources: The Center for Fiction, The Daily Post

Depth and Focus Straighten Tangled Plots

Posted on January 26, 2011March 11, 2016 Posted in Authors, Books, The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, WritingTagged Editors, Literature, Online writing group, PostADay2011, Publishing, Reading, Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, Writers Resources, Writing7 Comments

At The Book Deal, publishing veteran Alan Rinzler offers an insider’s look at the new world of publishing. With more than 40 years experience at some of the top houses, his insights and opinions are an incredible resource for writers trying to break into the business.

His latest post, Ask the editor: How to untangle a plot, gives specific and directed advice on:

Pruning overcomplicated plots
Best practices for storytelling
DIY Plot Pruning
Developing your rhythm

Mr. Rinzler ends the post with an invitation to send questions.

After spending the better part of the morning (and probably most of the coming afternoon) clicking and reading through this blog, I knew I had to share it here.

Enjoy!

Resources: The Book Deal, The Daily Post

Better Him Than Me! A Silent Writers’ Prompt

Posted on January 25, 2011March 11, 2016 Posted in The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, WritingTagged Fiction, Inspiration, Motivation, Online writing group, Poetry, Poets & Writers, PostADay2011, Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, Writing, Writing Prompt2 Comments

Tonight at 9 EST and PST, the Silent Writers Collective holds its weekly online writing retreat. All writers are welcome to join in and be quiet.

You can work on your own project or use the writing exercise provided below. For those participating in the WordPress.com Post A Day challenge, it’s a great time to stockpile a post or two. For those who aren’t sure what they want to work on, here is an interesting exercise for fiction writers from Poets & Writers’ new series, “The Time is Now.”

… “impending doom arrives.” Oops! Sorry, the last line was cut.

For poets:

Resources: Silent Writers Collective, PW.org, Post A Day.

Monday Motivator: Virginia Woolf’s Wild Horses

Posted on January 24, 2011 Posted in Authors, Books, The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, WritingTagged Authors, Inspiration, Literature, Motivation, PostADay2011, Quotes, Silent Writers Collective, The Monday Motivator, The Writer's Devotional, Virginia Woolf, Writing6 Comments

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“Blame it or praise it, there is no denying the wild horse in us.”
— Virginia Woolf
from “Jacob’s Room”

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I chose this quote in honor of Virginia Woolf’s 129th birthday, tomorrow, January 25. What do the words evoke in you?

The Monday Motivator is a weekly quote posted to encourage, inspire, and motivate writers of all skill levels and across genres. If you have a favorite quote to share, I’d love to include it. Click here to see past Monday Motivators.

Resources: The International Virginia Woolf Society, The Daily Post

A Thousand Words: The Sound of Laughter

Posted on January 23, 2011 Posted in Photography, The Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, WritingTagged Art, Flickr, Friends, Inspiration, Laughing, Literature, Mothers, Motivation, Online writing group, Photo Prompt, Photograph, Poetry, PostADay2011, Silent Writers Collective, The Writer's Devotional, Thousand Words, Writing, Writing Prompt5 Comments

Image courtesy of lolololori on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

A Thousand Words is a weekly photo prompt posted every Sunday. Maybe the images will inspire you to write a short story, a haiku, a blog post, a love note. Maybe you’ll just sit back and enjoy the photo. Whatever your response, I hope you enjoy the picture and that it inspires you to creative zen.

Resources: Creative Commons, Flickr, The Daily Post

Away with Words

Tag: The Writer’s Devotional

There is More Than One Way to Make A Book

Resources: The New Yorker, The Daily Post.