Quirky Quotes

Quirky Quotes

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

-Mark Twain

    

     “I love being a writer, what I can’t stand is the paperwork.”

-Peter DeVires

      “Writing is easy, all you have to do is stare at a blank sheet over paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.”

-Gene Fowler

   “When you put something down that happened, people often don’t believe it; whereas you can

 make up anything , and people assume it must have happened to you.

-Andrew Holleran

    “The role of a writer is less what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.”

-Anais Nin

  “The free lance writer is a man who is paid per piece, per word or perhaps.”

-Robert Benchley

  “I write to discover what I think.”

-Daniel J. Boorstin

   “Writers and Politian’s are natural rivals, both groups try to make the world in their image; they fight for the same territory.”

-Salmon Rushdie

   “Every writer is a frustrated actor who recites he’s lines in the hidden auditorium of skull.”

-Rod Serling

   “If there is a special hell for writers, it would be the forced contemplation of their own works.”

-John Dos Passos

   “It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous.

-Robert Benchley

“I’m writing a book, I’ve got the page numbers done.”

-Steven Wright

“I just sit at a typewriter and curse a bit.”

P. G. Wodehouse ...after being asked about his writing technique

“I only write when I am inspired, fortunately , I am inspired every day at nine o’clock.”

-William Faulkner

The Real Letters

Until this moment you have not know that you had no absolutely clue your preschool teachers lied to you.  The alphabet goes ABDCE. No joke. It stands for Action, Background, Development, Climax, Ending.  In short, that is your plot. Drag in your readers by showing them a bright, sudden sense of Action (or something extremely unusual)   so that the audience will want more. The “more” you give them is the Background, the why’s, the who’s, and the childhood stories of you character without giving all their background away, spread the rest throughout the book. Development is slow suspense and added and mounted Action until you reach the Climax, which isn’t only one scene, but a whole sense that stretches throughout a whole chapter maybe. Ending is just the denouement, the wrapping up of the story, where all (unless more will come) sub-plots, loose ends, and questions are answered.

Real vs. Realistic

 What is the difference?

The difference is that a real conversation people talk about weather, use distinct dialect, and are quite frankly irreverent. While we think it’s normal-which it is- don’t ever use it in a book unless you’re going for a certain awkward aspect . Realistic conversation is where not everything is stilted, but direct. There is a fine line between being blunt and getting to the point, so I would recommend reading a lot of opening dialogue to really get to know it.

Setting is the same. Real is you probably spending a lot of time in your room, at school or in the office. Don’t put your characters there.  Put them somewhere unique, but not unreasonable.  Don’t shove them on a foreign planet because their aunt’s friend mom took them on drive and they fell into a portal.  One of my favorite illustrations of unique, useful, realistic setting is Sarah Dessen and her books. In every book there is a place you would never think of putting your characters in, and they have an airtight reason for being there.

And then there is my pet peeve, Characters.  Authors so frequently make them very real, not realistic. This is a real person.  Consider the person closest to you, and how well you know them, and how deep they are. I’m not saying their genius deep, just many levels, many personalities. It took you years to know all that about them, and you are constantly finding out more.  Now the average noel is 80,000 words.  Not all of them are the hero. Could you write about the person you know closer than anyone in less than 80,000 words?  Too many authors try that, and the reader is left feeling like they didn’t the main character, Because, well they didn’t.

Main Characters should look like this. Layered, but not completely impossible to figure out.  You should gradually get to know them, and finish the book (or series) feeling like you have friend. Kinda like dog.

Top Three Surprisingly Good Books

Top Three Surprisingly Good Books (why it’s surprising and why it’s good)

1. Twilight. I know right? With all the haters you would think this was a flimsy, bored-to-tears book, but I really like it. No, I am not an obsessed Twi-hard, but I think if you look at what the book was meant to be, an entertaining read, then it is good. I highly doubt Stephanie Meyer wrote this book thinking it would be as famous.

 I give it (on entertaining) 4 stars.

This book is the first in a saga (four) where Bella Swan has just moved to Forks, Washington to live with her father when she meets Edward Cullen, a loner who seems to be superhuman. Bella is nothing but resourceful and does her research, talking to childhood  friend Jacob Black to see if he knew anything on the subject of the Cullen’s after a fellow Native American of Jacob’s said they weren’t allowed on the reserve. He tells her an old legend concerning the Cullen’s. And Vampires. Bella puts two and two together to realize Edward is a vampire. But ironically it is he who must protect her when another vampire decides to hunt down, and kill Bella.

2. Ranger’s Apprentice. I judged. I will admit it, I judged this book and thought that is would not be good and therefore put off reading it for a loooong time. I then read it. And really liked to my great surprise.  I am not by any stretch of the imagination into fantasy/foreign creatures/weird names/long not-so-epic battles type of books. Never have been, never will. That was what I labeled this book, than I read it to find it had quick humor, good plot lines, and realistic characters.

I give it 4 1/2 stars.

Will is small. He’s short and thin with no muscles but to honor his dead father he never knew memory he wants desperately to be a student at the Battleschool, and certainly not be Ranger, people who protect the Kingdom, but keep strangely quietly about it. However, when no one- no one – will take Will on as an apprentice because of his slightness, except for Halt, the mysterious Ranger. The rest of the book is about Will learning about how to be an apprentice to the oddest protectors on earth, and how to stay alive in the upcoming war against a man who wants nothing more than people like him dead.

3. Hunger Games

It’s set in the future. It’s about people you’ve grown to love dying. And it’s amazing. I doubt I’ve read anything like it and ever will again. It has a strong shock value in every word.  One wouldn’t think it was amazing by just the description, but once you start, I promise you won’t end.

I give it 5 stars.

Katniss doesn’t mind hunting, she has to keep her starving family alive in the cruel times of the Capitols reign. But hunting people? The Hunger Games is a television ‘game’ show where the Capitol crushes the different districts spirits by having a boy and girl from each district thrown into an area where competition  takes place, one where you kill, or be killed. Katniss’s sister is chosen to be represent her district, and desperately Katniss volunteers herself to take her place. And so she is trust in the Game.

What are some surprisingly good books you’ve read?

P.S.( More will be added A.S.A.P.)