Great Quotes on Writing

If you know me, you know my love of quotes. I think they are helpful in reminding us of things that we may already know well (but forget), and in helping us to reach new realizations. They are short snipets from the wisdom and insight of people with either experience and expertise in your area of interest, or those who on the journey of discovering that wisdom.


So here's a collection of my personal favorite quotes on writing. I hope you find some of them interesting or helpful, and share some of your favorites.

 QUOTES

Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass
~Chekhov

The reason one writes isn't the fact he wants to say something. He writes because he has something to say.
~F. Scott Fitzgerald

Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer.
~Barbara Kingsolver

Writing is only boring to the people who are boring themselves.
~Anonymous

I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again.
~Oscar Wilde

If the doctor told me I had six minutes to live, I'd type a little faster.
~Isaac Asimov

Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you're doomed.
~Ray Bradbury

Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.
~E. L. Doctorow

When once the itch of literature comes over a man, nothing can cure it but the scratching of a pen.
~Samuel Lover

God sells us all things at the price of the labor.
~Leonardo da Vinci

Fiction writers, present company included, don't understand very much about what they do - not why it works when it's good, not why it doesn't when it's bad.
~Stephen King

You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.
~Mark Twain

Imagination is more important than knowledge.
~Albert Einstein

One of the really bad things you can do to your writing is to dress up the vocabulary, looking for long words because you're maybe a little bit ashamed of your short ones.
~Stephen King
 
If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write.
~Stephen King

First, find out what your hero wants. Then just follow him.
~Ray Bradbury

I never started from ideas but always from character.
~Ivan Turgenev

No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.
~Robert Frost

Your stuff starts out being just for you… but then it goes out. Once you know what the story is and get it right - as right as you can, anyway - it belongs to anyone who wants to read it. Or criticize it.
~Stephen King

You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you
~Ray Bradbury




Checkov





Bradbury





Twain

This is just a few, there's so many other wonderful quotes out there about our art and craft. Did I miss one of your favorites? Please share.









Wednesday Book Review - Aftertime

I’m working out a schedule for the blog and Wednesdays are going to be devoted to book reviews – Review Wednesdays.  Since martial arts are such a big part of my life, I’m going to adapt black belt for the rating – 5 black belts being the highest rating, 1 being the lowest. I was considering doing color belts, but that can quickly get confusing, especially for people not well acquainted with the belt system in martial arts.

And so, without further adieu, here’s my first review, since I just finished reading the book this morning.

Title: Aftertime

Author: Sophie Littlefield

Genre: Dystopian/Post-apocalyptic fiction (with strong elements of romance and horror)

Rating:            

Since I got interested in reading dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction recently, Aftertime seemed like a definite book to put on the list. I wasn’t disappointed.

Aftertime tells a story of Cass, a troubled young woman and a recovering alcoholic, searching for her little daughter in the world where there’s no more government, where much of the cattle and poultry has been poisoned by bio-terrorists, and where Beaters – skin eating zombies – roam the streets and roads.

However, the novel is much more than just another zombie apocalypse story. Some of the issues that Cass deals are issues that exist in our world today. The exploration of losing oneself in alcohol and sex to run away from emotional pain is just one example.

The descriptions are raw and beautiful, and quiet realistic. The action is fast-paced and moves the development of the story along nicely. Aftertime explores the topics of human spirit, survival, compassion, civilization, nature and, of course, hope and renewal.

I’m looking forward to picking up the next book in the series, Rebirth.

The rise of post-apocalyptic fiction

It’s Sunday night and hurricane Irene has passed our area as a tropical storm, weaker than expected but strong enough to cause some damage and a lot of worry. It’s been a strange week – from the rarity of feeling the tremors of an earthquake in NYC to this hurricane taking a rare north-east course. Gratefully, everyone I know is safe and sound and we are praying for all those who have been affected by hurricane Irene in more serious ways.

The preparation and waiting for the storm to hit made me think of other things though. Things that I have been thinking about a lot lately. Things that have to do with survival. Our times are so uncertain and so full of crazy events that you can’t help but think of that. It is not surprising that the post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction has been steadily becoming very popular and mainstream.

As it happened, as we were waiting for Irene, I have been in the middle of reading Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield, an enjoyable post-apocalyptic novel. Her description of the post-apocalyptic world is raw and beautifully realistic. This is the third post-apocalyptic/dystopian novel I have read in the last year. The first one was the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, a bestseller that is now being made into a movie.

The apocalyptic events can take many various forms, from the social disintegration stemming from the fall of economic system, to natural disasters of major proportions, to a yet unknown disease that spreads like wildfire with no cure in sight, to a nuclear catostrophe. Some fiction integrates all of the above.

So why are we so fascinated by this type of fiction nowadays? It explores the topics of human spirit, survival, resistance, compassion, civilization, nature and, of course, hope and renewal. Topics which are near and dear to most of us today because you can’t avoid them with all the events going on in the world. I believe we will see this genre become even bigger and more wide-spread in the next year. There so much material for writers in this genre still. And much interest from readers because, no matter how fantastic, it often is realistic enough to imagine and relate to, even just as an exploration of a human psyche in situations of major stress and survival.

I will be posting reviews of books I read and lists of novels coming out, so come back and check those out.

I would also love to know which post-apocalyptic and dystopian novels you enjoyed reading or look forward to reading soon. And what is your vision of a possible post-apocalyptic world?

Trip to Rome and Mediterranean Cruise

Since I was a little girl, I couldn’t read enough about history – mostly ancient and Renaissance. In college, I was very close to majoring in archaeology (oh, why does the practical side of life often has to win over passion?). I blame this obsession in part on my grandfather (love you, granddaddy) whose own love of history was contagious when I was a little girl (and also whose best friend was a famous archaeologist back in Russia). The other part was my natural curiosity.

In any case, reading about ancient Greece and Rome, about the artists and nobles of the Renaissance and everything in between, fiction and non-fiction, has dominated much of my life.
But reading about it and seen the places are two different things. Having come from Ukraine originally, I have seen some spectacular art and architecture of old. Yet since coming to America over 20 years ago, I haven’t seen Europe. So it was the most amazing surprise imaginable to me that my husband planned our vacation to…Rome and the Mediterranean Cruise to Sicily, Athens in Greece, Ephesus in Turkey and Crete! And I found out about all that literally half an hour before leaving for the airport!

Needless to say, this was the best vacation of my life. I finally got to see the places I’ve been reading about all these years and dreamt about visiting.



First, there was the glory that is Rome…And it is glorious indeed. Anywhere I turned, there was something interesting to see. One of our tour guides told us that Rome is like a sandwich. There are so many layers of the city that no matter where you start digging you’re bound to find something ancient. When there was an earthquake or another calamity, the Romans would just build on top of the buried ruins. And we got to see a perfect example of this. Not far from the Coliseum, there’s the Basilica of Saint Clement. The top church was built around the year 1100 A.D. One level down, under this church, there’s an older basilica from the 4^th Century A.D. Yet one more level down, archaeologists uncovered the home of a Roman nobleman who built his home around 64 A. D. on the foundation of a home from the republican era!! We were able to visit all three levels and this is currently still an active archaeological excavation. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration if I said that I wanted to dance like a little girl from happiness that I got to see this.  It's the closest I've ever been to a live archaeological dig!





This, of course, was just the cherry on top of the sundae. Coliseum, the Vatican, including the Sistine Chapel, many of the other beautiful churches we saw, the Trevi Fountain – nothing disappointed. Everything was as amazing as I imagined it. I even got to touch the work of Michaelangelo in one of the churches. Unfortunately, one of his most famous works, La Pieta, is now behind glass at St. Peter's. I also saw the tomb of Rafael, another one of my favorite artists of Renaissance. I was so surprised to see the tomb at the Pantheon (shame on me for not knowing that!) that I have to admit my eyes got moist at that special moment.



Then, of course, came the cruise on one of the ships of Royal Carribean.  Sicily was gorgeous with its mountains and sea landscapes (which reminded me a lot of the landscapes in Crimea), and quaint little towns. We went to one such town called Taormina, located not too far from the Etna Mountain, which is an active volcano. There were many souvenirs and jewelry made of lava rock in every store. People living in towns like this still take siesta in the middle of the day, closing the doors to their shops no matter who is around and going home for their meal and nap.



Athens, Greece was the next stop and I could hardly believe I was finally there as I stood in the middle of the Acropolis. The ruins of the ancient temples were as impressive as I always imagined them.

In Ephesus, Turkey we visited two very special sites. The first was the house of Mary, the place where Jesus’ mother Mary lived out the last years of her life. The second site was the ruins of an ancient church built around the tomb of St. John the Evangelist, who wrote the Revelations. The place was very peaceful and picturesque. We also visited the ruins of Ephesus, the 2nd biggest city of the Roman Empire and, supposedly, the best preserved ruins today.

On the way back to Rome, our ship went by an island called Stromboli, which has the most active volcano in Europe. This was definitely another first for us.

I have so many beautiful memories of this trip and lots and lots of material for writing, which I have to organize (in my head and on paper). I would like to say a big thank you to my wonderful hubby for this surprise vacation of a lifetime. And here’s to many more trips all over the world.

Made of Awesome Contest Post

The first 250 words of our manuscript (co-written with Tina Moss) for the Made of Awesome Contest (find out all about it here: http://shelleywatters.blogspot.com/2011/05/made-of-awesome-contest.html).

Our novel, called Blood Bond, is an urban fantasy/paranormal romance crossover complete at 80,000 words.

BLOOD BOND

by Yelena Casale & Tina Moss

 The scream died in his throat. A foreign sound he couldn’t set free. The surrounding quiet enfolded him, ironically deafening in its intensity. He closed his eyes, struggling for control.

Blazing pain struck, sweeping through his body like a wild fire. He knelt at the edge of the dark water, watching his muscles contract beneath smooth skin. With a shaking hand, he reached back to touch the empty space by his shoulder blades. He grunted at the contact, an alien noise in the absolute silence of the night.

City lights shimmered in the distance, the only signs of life. No creature stirred in this desolate place. It was as if humans and animals alike felt the dangerous current in the air and chose to stay away. Only the full moon reflected in the water, an indifferent observer to his torment.

He caught his image amongst the water’s ripples and stilled. The face that stared back at him, usually so stoic, now contorted in agony. His eyes held wildness that could not be contained, highlighted by a mess of disheveled dark hair, damp with perspiration. Nothing remained of the control, of the precious order that had been the pinnacle of his existence.

The light autumn breeze cooled his naked body but offered little relief. His blood burned from the inside out. The scorching fire threatened to consume him. Every inch of his being, from the tips of his nails to the ends of his hair, buzzed with soft electric blue energy.

Thanks for all the comments! I will try to get to as many other entries as I can. Good luck to everyone!

The Shades of Gray (La Femme Nikita)

What makes a story or a character compelling? What makes us want to keep reading or keep watching a story? What makes us identify with it?

It is very important that a good story has all shades of gray. A character should not be black and white, unless there is an absolute purpose to him being that way. Otherwise, it makes a character flat.

A perfect example that I’d like to use is the series called La Femme Nikita. The original series ran on USA network from 1997 to 2001. The new series I’m referring to is called Nikita and is currently showing on WB11. I watched the original series religiously and have recently re-watched all five seasons on DVD. It was an exciting, insightful show with plenty of internal conflict to add to the action storyline. And this applied not only to the main protagonists, Nikita, Michael and others, but also the antagonists, the “villains”.  Two of those, Operations and Madeline, were characters that you loved to hate. They were often the biggest bastards. But, at the same time, they were also shown to have a different side, a side that cared about certain people, a side that was thoughtful and perceptive. You got to see them in situations in which they were conflicted but chose certain actions because they had to, or because they believed it was for a the best. You got to see their motivations. Even you didn’t agree with their actions, you could understand where they were coming from. They were all shades of gray. And I loved every minutes of that show. You could never guess what’s coming next.

The new show, Nikita, is a total opposite of the original. Most of the characters are one-dimensional, almost childishly cartoonish in their black-and-whiteness. There’s very little tension, and most of the story is held by the external action, which is just not enough. The antagonist, Percy, is a typical “villain” whose motivations are so predictable and not likable, you almost don’t pay attention to him, despite him being one of the main characters and story “movers”.

In the original, there was also always tension of some kind within the story of Nikita and Michael’s relationship, throughout the whole fives seasons. Whether other people were trying to keep them apart or they had an internal struggle within themselves, there was always tension. To the very end the viewer couldn’t decide if Michael and Nikita were going to get a happy end or not. In the new show, they get together before the 1^st season is out and have an almost happy-end type relationship going on right off the bat. In a word – boring and not realistic under the circumstances.

When writing, you have to keep in mind the same principles that apply to making a show interesting and watchable. You need to show various sides to your characters, be they your protagonists or antagonists. You need to show their motivations, what moves them, what makes them tick. Like a painter, you have to use all colors in your pallet to make the story more interesting. And that includes using all shades of gray.

Presenting Stylish Blogger Award (plus 7 random facts about myself)

Even though I haven’t had a lot of time lately to post to the blog as often as I want to, I love coming up with new fun topics for it. This post, however, was a no brainer, because my blog got nominated by a very cool person – my awesome writing partner Tina Moss – for my first blog award and I’m extremely excited about it. Please check out her own stylish blog: http://www.tinamoss.blogspot.com/

 And now, with much pleasure, I’m passing on this award to other wonderful bloggers, with the following rules:

1. Thank and link to the person(s) who nominated you;


2. Share seven random facts about yourself;


3. Pass the award along to five blogging buddies;


4. Contact those buddies to congratulate them.

And the award goes to these awesome and stylish bloggers (I’m breaking the rules and nominating 6):

1. TS Tate http://tstate.blogspot.com/


2. Lela Gwen http://www.fullfrontalfantasy.com/


3. Karen Strong http://www.karen-strong.com/


4. Roberta Walker http://frobertawalker.blogspot.com/


5. Dearhart aka Eri http://www.dearharts.com/#v


6. LM Preston http://lmpreston.blogspot.com/

And now for the 7 Random facts about me:

1)      I’m a black belt in Shotokan Karate, a traditional Japanese Karate and I’m an internationally licensed instructor. I teach women’s and other classes in the Japan Shotokan Karate Association. My husband is a 6^th degree black belt.

2)      I was born in Kiev, Ukraine and came to America when I was 13 years old. I haven’t been back since, but hoping to visit in the next couple of years.



3)      I learned to dive before I could swim. My dad taught me both.

4)      I use to paint with watercolors all my childhood and into my teens. I was best at painting still-life and nature but always wanted to learn to draw people. It is still one of my goals when I get some free time (hmmm…when will that be?)

5)    

[caption id="attachment_93" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Kirk"][/caption]

  My husband and I had three cats named after the original Star Trek characters – Captain James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock and Bones. Kirk and Spock passed away within the last year and so now Bones is learning to be the alpha cat. Kirk was always the alpha cat and was like a son to my husband especially. I was always a dog person but these three cats became my “children” and I cannot imagine my life without them now.

[caption id="attachment_94" align="alignleft" width="144" caption="Bones"][/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6)      One of my absolutely all-time favorite books is “Master and Margarita” by a Russian writer Michael Bulgakov. The book has been translated in many languages and I strongly recommend it to everyone. Here’s the link to it on amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Master-Margarita-Mikhail-Bulgakov/dp/0679760806/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305492440&sr=1-3

7)      I wanted to be an archeologist and almost majored in it. My grandfather’s good friend is a prominent archeologist and I always wanted to go on a dig. It still remains an activity to do. But I love everything ancient history.

Now please visit the award recipient blogs’ and don’t forget to subscribe to them and spread the word in support. I love being a part of the writer and reader community – it’s one of my dreams come true and I thank you all for that!