November 8, 2015

Writing about adversity…

By Katherine ¶ Posted in Quotes, Ruminations ¶ Tagged adversity, Asimov, broken, fingers, Hemingway, peace, strength, strong, thinking, writing ¶ 3 Comments

rocky-rapids

I have two favorite quotes i’m thinking about today. Though the topics they touch on are unrelated, they seem tightly intertwined for me: writing and coping with adversity…

“Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.”
(Isaac Asimov)

“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”
(Ernest Hemingway)

I expect many of you can relate to both quotes, and that you know from experience how writing can be one way of working through adversity, if not during it, then in its aftermath.

Whether or not you write, if you find yourself facing adveristy of whatever sort, i wish you strength and peace.

September 13, 2015

When you’re writing…

By Katherine ¶ Posted in Quotes, Transcendence ¶ Tagged brave, conjuring, inviting, respectful, ritual, writing ¶ 2 Comments

A motivating quote for my fellow writers…

“When you’re writing, you’re conjuring. It’s a ritual, and you need to be brave and respectful and sometimes get out of the way of whatever it is that you’re inviting into the room.”

(Tom Waits)

pen-writing

June 14, 2015

A living…

By Katherine ¶ Posted in Ruminations ¶ Tagged living, optimism, unwellness, W.H. Auden, writing ¶ 2 Comments

work-play-write

I don’t write for a living, but i do write to live.

Corralling my meandering thoughts into coherence (with the lasso of language?) often feels like an act of survival.

I’ve long thought that describing myself as a writer doesn’t really say that much about me. In a similar way to saying i speak a second language, my ability to construct sentences with clarity tells you nothing about the value of what i have to say.

Sure, most writers (and even some non-writers who take the trouble) tend to find the exercise therapeutic. Beyond that, though, the exhilaration of putting contemplations into words arises from the hope that readers will be moved to connect these expressions to their own experience.

I know of writers who are so driven, they say they cannot *not* write. I’m not one of them. For me there is often a substantial distance between an idea and its execution (whether fiction or non-fiction).

A familiar exhortation for writers is, “Write what you know.” Well, here are a few things i have been coming to know lately…

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Tag Archives: writing

Writing about adversity…

“Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.”
(Isaac Asimov)

“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”
(Ernest Hemingway)

When you’re writing…

“When you’re writing, you’re conjuring. It’s a ritual, and you need to be brave and respectful and sometimes get out of the way of whatever it is that you’re inviting into the room.”

A living…

“Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.” (Isaac Asimov)

“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.” (Ernest Hemingway)

“When you’re writing, you’re conjuring. It’s a ritual, and you need to be brave and respectful and sometimes get out of the way of whatever it is that you’re inviting into the room.”

“Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.”
(Isaac Asimov)

“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”
(Ernest Hemingway)