Now that Luke's Tale is finished, I've been working on a new novel entitled Snow Blood. Not ready to tell you about it yet. But, I was looking for inspiration from great writers today and ran across these tidbits that I wanted to share. I think they can be applicable to more than just writing.

• I try to create sympathy for my characters, then turn the monsters loose. - Stephen King

• Half my life is an act of revision. - John Irving

• All writers are vain, selfish and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives lies a mystery. Writing a book is a long, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.  - George Orwell

• It's none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.  - Ernest Hemingway

• Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamppost how it feels about dogs.  - Christopher Hampton

• It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does.  - William Faulkner
• Draw your chair up close to the edge of the precipice and I'll tell you a story.  - F. Scott Fitzgerald

• I have been successful probably because I have always realized that I knew nothing about writing and have merely tried to tell an interesting story entertainingly.  - Edgar Rice Burroughs

• Tell the readers a story! Because without a story, you are merely using words to prove you can string them together in logical sentences.  - Anne McCaffrey

• A person who publishes a book willfully appears before the populace with his pants down...If it is a good book nothing can hurt him. If it is a bad book, nothing can help him.  - Edna St. Vincent Millay

• Why do writers write? Because it isn't there.  - Thomas Berger

Ramblings of a crazy woman? No, just one waiting for feedback on the first pages of Snow Blood. And yes, Stephen, I have created sympathy for my characters and am just about to turn the monsters loose.

• The End...for tonight.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Papa Hemingway's advice for professional writers was to put pen to paper every day. If you want to make a living from it, you need to find your niche and pursue it with a vengeance.

What does that mean? Whether you choose to be a creative author, a copywriter or a B2B professional...or anything in-between, it's imperative that you take the approach of a trained athlete. That means a daily workout and training. In the case of a writer, it means practicing and perfecting your skills on a continuous basis. Trust me, you'll never be too old to learn something new every day.

Additionally, join writing groups, communicate with other writers, and share ideas. Critique the writing of others. You'll be amazed at what you can learn from the mistakes of others...and how it will sharpen your own skills.

Don't be afraid to take non-traditional routes to get your work read. I've gone with both the traditional and self-publishing routes, and now I've signed with Troll River Publications to try my hand at ePublishing. That's something new for me, but one about which I'm truly jazzed.

Finally, always, always put your work in the hands of a talented editor. That might sound self-serving, But it doesn't matter what editor as long as he/she is honest, talented and creative. Every talented person needs a coach, a trainer, if you will.

And, write like your life depended on it...because, if you're a writer, it does.

I truly believe that couples today give up on their relationships because they place unrealistic ‘conditions’ on each other. But, no matter if you are sick, tired, unemployed, had a bad day or are even angry, your dog will love you. That’s why I made Luke, the Dog, the narrator of this story. I want people to see what it means to stick by those they love, no matter how bad it gets.
 
Life is full of ups and downs, and it’s important for people to understand how to ride through the downs and why not placing our own expectations on others will strengthen any relationship.

This may seem too out there, but this message came to me in a dream. That and my blind dog, Luke, were the inspiration for this novel.

What do you think about loving someone unconditionally? Do you think it's impossible? Let me know.

Thanks,
Carol