Resources

Here are some of my favorite quotations, the ones I go to when I need inspiration.  I hope you enjoy them.

"Inside you there’s an artist you don’t know about…
Say yes quickly, if you know, if you’ve known it from before the beginning of the universe."
Rumi

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated
through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.  And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium. 
The world will not have it.
It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable, nor how it compares with other expressions.  It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly and to keep the channel open."
Martha Graham

From: Writing and the Spiritual Life,
Finding your voice by looking within   By Patrice Vecchione

"Your voice is your own natural resource.  Its worth in your life and the lives of others may match the birds’ need for sky.  Unsung, your voice would remain trapped under your breath, which is like no voice at all, because it would remain invisible and unknown. 

When we’re silent but the need to speak our necessary truths is burgeoning, we risk illness of the soul, mind and body.  And the wisdom of the self may go underground.  It’s always a risk to write and speak your truth, but the risk of not doing so is greater.  You have only to speak with your own voice, in its rhythms, with its melody and cadence, the voice right there within you, your distinctly human voice.

In her Nobel Prize acceptance speech in 1993, Toni Morrison said, “Wordwork is sublime because it is generative.  It makes meaning that secures our difference, our human difference, the way in which we are like no other life.”

That generative quality can come through the voice, your voice.  I can almost hear it, even from this distance."  (Page 47)

"In Letters to a Young Poet,  Rainer Maria Rilke wrote, 'Ask yourself in the most silent hour of your night:  must I write?  Dig into yourself for a deep answer.  And if this answer rings out in assent, if you meet this solemn question with a strong, simple, ‘I must’, then build your life in accordance with this necessity; your whole life, even into its humblest and most indifferent hour, must become a sign and witness to this impulse.'" (Page 55)

Stephen King: On Writing:

"On good days, I feel that buzz of happiness, that sense of having found the right words and put them in a line.
It’s like lifting off in an airplane: You’re on the ground, on the ground, on the ground and then you’re up, riding on a magical cushion and prince of all you survey.

That makes me happy, because it is what I was made to do.
Writing has continued to do what it always has done.  It makes my life a brighter and more pleasant place.

Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid or making friends.
In the end, it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work.  And enriching your own life as well.  It’s about getting happy.

Perhaps the best of it is a permission slip: You can, you should and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.

Writing is magic.  As much the water of life as any other creative art.  The water is free.  So drink.  Drink and be filled up."

From The Best Writing on Writing:
For a writer in search of voice and form, the best literary traditions to keep in mind may be individual vision, innovation and freedom


Quotes:  Zen and the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury:
Do not turn away from what you are, the material within you that makes you individual and therefore indispensable to others.

My stories have led me through my life.  They shout, I follow.  They run up and bite me on the leg, I respond by writing down everything that goes on during the bite.

Self-consciousness is the enemy of all art, be it acting, writing, painting, or living itself, which is the greatest art of all.

So again and again my stories and plays teach me, remind me, that I must never doubt myself, my gut, my ganglia, or my ouija subconscious again.

To fail is to give up.

What we are trying to do is to find a way to release the truth that lies in all of us.

The writer must ask himself:  “What do I really think of the world, what do I love, fear, hate, and begin to pour this on paper?”  Then working steadily, his writing will clarify, he will begin to see himself.

In writing, what are we trying to uncover: The one person irreplaceable to the world, of which there is no duplicate.  You.  As there was only one Shakespeare, Moliere, Dr. Johnson, so you are that precious commodity, the individual woman who so often gets lost in the shuffle.

What do you think of the world?  Let the world burn through you.  Throw the prism light, white hot, on paper.

Work then, gain experience, so that you will be at ease in your writing, as a swimmer buoys himself in water.

At heart, all good stories are the one kind of story, the story written by an individual from his own truth.

And this piece is what I read when I can't face the idea of another rejection.  It cures it everytime.
From Kay Marie Porterfield’s Creative Writing Newsletter
Writing Through Rejection:

Rejection slips strike discouragement into the hearts of the most
dedicated writers.  Many of us feel so much fear and loathing when they
arrive in the mail, we may procrastinate marketing our work again.
Others take rejection as a sign that they should stop writing entirely.

Next time you’re feeling down about your rejection slips, consider the
following:

Madeline L’Engle’s book, A Wrinkle in Time, was turned down 29 times
before she found a publisher.

C.S. Lewis received over 800 rejections before he sold a single piece
of writing.

Margaret Mitchell’s ‘Gone With the Wind’ was rejected by 25 publishers.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was rejected 121 times.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull was rejected 40 times.

Louis L’Amour was rejected over 200 times before he sold any of his
writing.

The San Francisco Examiner turned down Rudyard Kipling’s submission
in 1889 with the note, “I am sorry, Mr. Kipling, but you just do not
know how to use the English language.”

An editor once told F. Scott Fitzgerald, “You’d have a decent book if
You’d get rid of that Gatsby Character.”

The Dr. Seuss book, ‘And to Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street’, was
rejected for being ‘too different from other juveniles on the market to
warrant selling.’

George Orwell’s Animal Farm was rejected with the comment, “It’s
impossible to sell animal stories in the USA.”

The manuscript for The Diary of Anne Frank received the editorial
comment, “This girl doesn’t, it seems to me, have a special perception
or feeling which would lift that book above the curiosity level.”

What is the difference between George Orwell, C.S. Lewis, Margaret
Mitchell and the authors whose work never sees the light of day?
Published authors don’t give up.  They know that editors aren’t always
right.  They keep on marketing and writing, driven by the passion to
tell their stories to the world.

Favorite Book List:
Writing:
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
Writing and the Spiritual Life by Patrice Vecchione
Bird by bird by Anne Lamott

Wisdom:
The Wisdom of Florence Scovel Shinn
Anam Cara by John O’Donohue (and his more recent book Beauty)
Creative Mind and Success and Creative Ideas by Ernest Holmes

Adventure and Work:
The Art of Pilgrimage by Phil Cousineau
Crossing the Unknown Sea; Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity by David Whyte

Life:
Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston
Clear your clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston
Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach
Loud and Clear by Anna Quindlen

Writing Coaching:

Do you face any of these writing challenges?

1. You have a writing project that you long to begin.

2. You have started a project that you can’t seem to complete.

3. You are full of ideas but lack focus.

4. You lack the discipline to write every day.

I have successfully helped others to achieve their writing goals and I can help you to move forward with yours.

Please contact me to discuss your project and let’s get you, as Thoreau said, moving ‘in the direction of your dreams’.

Life Coaching:

Life coaching helped me to uncover my passion for writing. I now work with a life coach to keep me on track.

A Life Coach is someone who can see your greatness and can help you to take the steps needed to manifest it.

Let’s talk about how I could assist you in living your dreams. Complimentary first consultation.

Professional Editing:

I teach Creative Writing, Business Writing in the corporate world and have been a professional writer for over 20 years.

I can help you to find the heart of your writing and to help you to grow it from there.