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Whisper of the Heart
Mr. Nishi: It’s a special kind of rock called a geode. Hold it close to your eye and look inside…Those crystals are called beryl. There are pieces of raw emeralds deep inside them. Shizuku: Aren’t emeralds worth a lot of money? Mr. Nishi: Sure, but they need to be cut and polished first. When you first become an artist, you’re like that rock. You’re in a raw, natural state, with hidden gems inside. You need to dig down deep and find the emeralds tucked away inside you. And that’s just the beginning. Once you’ve found your gems, you have to polish them. It takes a lot of hard work. Oh,…
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A is for Axhsausted!
An appalling anguish afflicted the already aggrieved author. Graaahhh! My novel isn’t cooperating, talked my webcomic over with a friend who is giving me suggestions on what to do, and though it’s all such good advice I feel like my brain has hit a wall. While I wearily feel like I have so much more to learn about this medium’s brand of storytelling, my sci-fi main character is poking her head out and asking, “Since they’re being annoying, can I come out now?” It’s probably cuz I am exhausted. I need to finish reading some library books that indirectly have to do with my writing (reading them for fun AND…
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"I was trying to feel some kind of a good-by."
J. D. Salinger, author of “Catcher in the Rye” died yesterday (Jan. 27th) of natural causes, at the ripe ol’ age of 91. {read the article} The funny thing is that I thought he died long ago. That’s how reclusive he’s been. His only published novel is “Catcher in the Rye,” and a few short stories, including “Franny and Zooey.” I first read “Catcher in the Rye” in high school, with our grade divided into different period English classes, and in my small group I was surprisingly one of the few who expressed enjoyment reading it. I never fancied myself having teenage angst at the time, though looking back, I…
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*emerging from my locked writing office*
This quote epitomizes my life right now, as I endeavor to tie up loose ends and just get this story out of me. You have to allow yourself the liberty of writing poorly. You have to get the bulk of it done, and then you start to refine it. You have to put down less than marvelous material just to keep going to whatever you think the end is going to be — which may be something else altogether by the time you get there. ~LARRY GELBART There will be many edits to come, but right now I just have to whip this beast into submission!
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Flying (DON’T write what you know)
Darn Tweets have been monopolizing my blog space. Sorry I haven’t been making any actual posts in a while. Editing is going well. I’m up to Ch. 10 right now. Man, it feels weird going over stuff that I’ve gone over so many times, except that I am finally connecting everything coherently, so that is huge. I have also been gathering more writing ideas for future books in this series. I love life: it provides such rich opportunities for self expression and research. I wrote a blog last month entitled Life Experience, which talks more in depth about my love for research and experiences. Someone posed a point to me…
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The Great Struggle
“It is of the utmost that I speak to you about a great struggle, which is taking place [at] this mortal temple we call the [writer’s desk]. The contestants are those aged combatants…art…and commerce. And art, it would appear from the [lack of income]…is in its usual position of jeopardy.” – edited quote from Nicholas Nickleby movie. Since I am, sadly, not a full-time writer, the great quest (as Mel Brooks put it), The Search for More Money, takes precedence over any deadline I might have set for myself. I am so close to the end that I can see the finish line, but I have realized that setting a…
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Distance
People have always told me that distancing yourself from your work now and then is the best thing a creator can do. When you take a step back, you have the freedom to move outside of your work and look at it afresh with a more discerning eye when you return to it. I tend to forget this, especially when I’ve set a writing deadline for myself to finish Draft 2 ASAP by the autumn. But the good thing about being so busy with life is that I’ve gotten some distance from my story, so when I went back to try editing last night, it was so much clearer and…
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The string around the finger
I sought fit words to paint the blackest face of woe […]/Oft turning others’ leaves, to see if thence would flow/Some fresh and fruitful showers upon my sun-burn’d brain./But words came halting forth […]/Thus, great with child to speak, and helpless in my throes,/Biting my truant pen, beating myself for spite–“Fool,” said my Muse to me, “look in thy heart and write.” ~Sir Philip Sidney, Astrophil & Stella This has sort of been the story of my writing life lately. I’ve been trying to figure out certain characters, certain plots…picking my brain to shreds to come up with something perfect. I have to remember that nothing is ever perfect the…
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My kingdom for a hermitage
LKHamilton: 9 pages done. Breaking for lunch. I wish I had the time to do that! ^_^ (Well, I suppose I do, but I cannot live by writing alone!) Right now, I’m making sure I have the old stuff integrated into the new, to make writing through the week easier. I am trying not to edit right now, but get the story itself into a final congealed form. That’s more important than being nit picky. Oh, to be a hermit with nothing better to do than write and write and write. *wistful sigh* Stone walls do not a prison make,Nor iron bars a cage;Minds innocent and quiet takeThat for a…
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Ah, fresh new blog!
“A hard beginning maketh a good ending.” ~ John Heywood Can I get that in writing, Mr. Heywood? 😉 “Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending.” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Hey, guys. I’m a first-time author on a journey: to tell stories the best way I know how. I’ve been published in a few tiny anthologies, but I’m planning something bigger: a young-adult fantasy novel series. It’s been a long time coming, and I’m on the verge of finally finishing the first draft. I’ve been working on this project since I was quite young, so to have it get to this point is really…
Artist, Author, Geek
