Friday, April 24, 2009

Poetry Sunday ~ If...

IF...
All rights reserved: copyright © Joni Zipp

If on scorched land I fall

will someone carry me through
will I find relief through it all
parched lips will cease to be new.

If on the flaming fire
I search for seeping rain
will someone see the mire
and save me from the pain

If on knees I crawl
can you come to clear my mind
while all along I maul
I seek but cannot find

If all alone I fail
to the Lord I will confide.
on the seas I sail
He will be my guide.

Happy Birthday Astri
b. 4-26-04 ---d. 4-26-04

All rights reserved: copyright © Joni Zipp

Quotations for your Saturday


Everywhere I go I find a poet has been there before me. ~Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939)

Great ability develops and reveals itself increasingly with every new assignment.
~Baltasar Gracian


Natural ability without education has more often attained to glory and virtue than education without natural ability.
~Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)


Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.
~Henry Van Dyke


Getting ahead in a difficult profession requires avid faith in yourself. That is why some people with mediocre talent, but with great inner drive, go much further than people with vastly superior talent.
~Sophia Loren (1934 - )


Time is just something that we assign. You know, past, present, it's just all arbitrary. Most Native Americans, they don't think of time as linear; in time, out of time, I never have enough time, circular time, the Stevens wheel. All moments are happening all the time.
~Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess

Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.
~C. S. Lewis (1898 - 1963)


Beneath the rule of men entirely great,The pen is mightier than the sword.
~Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803 - 1873), Richelieu


Be generous, be delicate, and always pursue the prize.
~Henry James (1843 - 1916), from his essay about the rules of writing


The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn't behave that way you would never do anything.
~John Irving (1942 - )


Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.
~Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121 AD - 180 AD)


Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.
~Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC)


And so faith is closing your eyes and following the breath of your soul down to the bottom of life, where existence and nonexistence have merged into irrelevance. All that matters is the little part you play in the vast drama.
~Real Live Preacher



Author's note: I am moving this weekend from Texas to Nebraska. I needed to post the quotes so you wouldn't feel I've forgotten you. I will be back as soon as possible enlightening you with all my knowledge. For now peruse all my links and things and dig into older posts. godspeed my friends...

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Poetry Sunday~ Home is Where the Heart Is


Home is where the heart is
I’m longing to go home;
a place for me to finally
allow my soul to roam.

Home is where the heart is
blossoms always flourish
moistened soil and fragrant air
it’s there my mind will nourish.

Home is where the heart is
this place has passed away
but not for long there is another
that will sweep my life away.

Home is where the heart is
my new family will soar
as long as we take the first steps
and walk right out the door.

My home is where my heart is
It’s with my son and beau.
This place I’m being led to
by God’s own hand I know.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Quotation Saturday


Keep writing. Keep doing it and doing it. Even in the moments when it's so hurtful to think about writing.
~ HeatherArmstrong, Keynote Speech, SXSW 2006


Write something to suit yourself and many people will like it; write something to suit everybody and scarcely anyone will care for it.
~ Jesse Stuart


If any man wish to write in a clear style, let him be first clear in his thoughts; and if any would write in a noble style, let him first possess a noble soul.
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)


Say all you have to say in the fewest possible words, or your reader will be sure to skip them; and in the plainest possible words or he will certainly misunderstand them.
~John Ruskin (1819 - 1900)


Thus, in a real sense, I am constantly writing autobiography, but I have to turn it into fiction in order to give it credibility. ~Katherine Paterson The Spying Heart, 1989

There's always something to write about. If there's not then you need to live life more aggressively.
~Min Kim, Better Blogging Brainstorming, SXSW 2006


A good many young writers make the mistake of enclosing a stamped, self-addressed envelope, big enough for the manuscript to come back in. This is too much of a temptation to the editor.
~Ring Lardner (1885 - 1933), "How to Write Short Stories"

I never feel that I have comprehended an emotion, or fully lived even the smallest events, until I have reflected upon it in my journal; my pen is my truest confidant, holding in check the passions and disappointments that I dare not share even with my beloved.
~Stephanie Barron, Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor, 1996


There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.
~W. Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965)


We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing. Action always generates inspiration. Inspiration seldom generates action.
~Frank Tibolt

Thursday, April 16, 2009

To use or not to use...


A thesaurus...

This quote by Stephen King got me thinking.

Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule. ~~Stephen King

What did he mean by that? When I’m writing a poem or writing anything in general and I keep repeating the same word over and over, and other words are on the tip of my tongue, but I just need to look the word up in the thesaurus to grab a hold of it and use the elusive word.

I think what he meant is that if you need to HUNT for a word to use, then it is the wrong word. He meant that you are not getting your message across clearly if you need to dig for words to use.

If I say, “It was a dirt laden path.” Maybe I want to say, “Before me was a grungy dirt laden path.” or, “I tread upon the dirt laden path that was gravelly and muddy leaving tracks an inch thick behind me.”

Now if I go to my Thesaurus, I’m given a slew of other words to use for dirt. Unsightly,bedraggled, smutty, unkempt and the list goes on and on. Well they were all on the tip of my tongue but with so many other words on my tongue they all got lost along the way. I didn’t need to hunt for them like they were cheese on a mousetrap. They are all there in my mind, sometimes I need a refresher to show me the word I’m thinking of. (Hey, I’m not getting any younger here.) With them, I don’t need to repeat the same word over and over again.

I’m not as educated as Stephen King. I’m far from it. Although I am steeped in knowledge, my words don’t flow fluently like a river. I haven’t written the enormous amount of novels that he has to where the words obviously spring to mind like popcorn on the stove!

To tell the new writer a thesaurus is out of the question, is like telling them to dig somewhere else for gold, this is his spot. I’m sure he’d be the first to tell you that he’s not the smartest man in the world and none of his sage advice is set in stone. I’ve found so many different writing books that contradict one another, I’ve stopped reading them.

The writing world can be crazy and confusing to new writers. They dive in trying to drink in everything and anything there is about writing only to find themselves confused with what is right and wrong. Guess what people, there is no tried and true formula! Writing is a talent, a gift. You either have it or you don’t.

I think if your style is in line, the words are in check, you don’t need a special class to tell you how to write a sentence. My sage advice? Just write RIGHT!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Poetry Sunday~ He is Risen!


He is Risen
***
The road long and winding
the cry is loud and clear.
A message came in ample time
The King of Kings is here.

Rejoicing for His coming;
the palms laid at his feet.
He entered the city in triumph
all souls were there to greet.

His life was given over,
the battle not yet won.
Our sins were being beaten from
our God’s own living Son.

The Lord was set upon the cross
while flesh was torn away.
A seat on the throne in heaven
will be given to Him this day.

“Please forgive them Father
for they know not what they do.”
Thunder erupts while rain pours down
Making mankind new.

Three days pass when news has come
He is Risen from the dead!
All the sins have washed away
Our souls have now been fed.

Rejoice in the risen King;
Sing praises for his birth.
In life and death He came to save
all people on this earth!
* * *
Alleluia, He has won it all for me!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Quotation Saturday


The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn't behave that way you would never do anything.
~ ~~John Irving (1942 -)

Say all you have to say in the fewest possible words, or your reader will be sure to skip them; and in the plainest possible words or he will certainly misunderstand them.
~~ John Ruskin (1819 - 1900)

I take the view, and always have, that if you cannot say what you are going to say in twenty minutes you ought to go away and write a book about it.
~~Lord Brabazon

You have to know how to accept rejection and reject acceptance.
~~Ray Bradbury,(1920 - ), advice to writers

’Detail makes the difference between boring and terrific writing. Its the difference between a pencil sketch and a lush oil painting. As a writer, words are your paint. Use all the colors.
~~Rhys Alexander, Writing Gooder, 12-09-05

A good many young writers make the mistake of enclosing a stamped, self-addressed envelope, big enough for the manuscript to come back in. This is too much of a temptation to the editor.
~~Ring Lardner (1885 - 1933), "How to Write Short Stories"

Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.
~~Stephen King (1947 - ), "Everything You Need to Know About Writing Successfully - in Ten Minutes", 1988

I never feel that I have comprehended an emotion, or fully lived even the smallest events, until I have reflected upon it in my journal; my pen is my truest confidant, holding in check the passions and disappointments that I dare not share even with my beloved.
~~Stephanie Barron, Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor, 1996

Thursday, April 09, 2009

The Tales of your Soul

Non-fiction writing

We writer’s can conjure up fairies and spellbinding magical lands. We can take you deep into the abyss while leaving you, the reader, breathless from the journey. That’s what writers do. We captivate you.

But ask us about intimate triumphant stories of our personal lives, then suddenly a lot of writer’s will put up a barricade not letting you enter into that domain. I see a growing market in this shattered economy for true stories. Sure the fiction will always carry us to the fantasy worlds of our dreams but reality is much more intriguing.

People tend to want to hear about struggles, pain and suffering. Just like our fictional characters have there ups and downs, when it switches to the character being a real live person with hardships and heart break, we the public want to read about the quest.

I, personally, have no hard time telling of the tragedies that have befallen my dysfunctional family and life. You know why? Because I would not be the woman I am today if ever I changed one incident.

Think about that for a moment. When someone says, “Do you have any regrets?” or “Is there anything you would change if you could go back and do it over again?” I always give a resounding, “No!” If I changed who my parents were, I would be a different woman. If I changed the poverty of my family, I would be a spoiled rich kid. If I changed my career and slung pizza’s all of my life (yes, I did sling pizza’s for a living.) I would not be the appreciative God fearing woman that I am today.

I always hear people complain about trivialities. “I broke another fake nail.” or “My car broke down and my kid needs to get to school, and I’m broke after we ordered out last night.” Why did you order out? Didn’t you think you would ever have a circumstance where the money was needed more than the “take-out” dinner?

Wake up people. Life is happening all around you and misfortune is knocking on everyone’s door. No one is exempt here and I don’t care what country or state that you live in, you are feeling the pain too!

Write about your life’s story. Give the world a tell all odyssey that they can sink their teeth into and most of all, relate to on many different levels. People in the world need to know that they’re not alone in their plight. Just think, you can touch someone in Somalia, making them feel not so alone.

So what are you waiting for? Are you going to let fear of the unknown stop you from sharing? Are you going to let the fantasy writing tie you up and bind you and keep you in denial any longer? Liberate yourself. Free the person within; participating in human compassion.

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Poetic Prose

Poetic Prose

I often read books for the sheer beauty of the words written. Okay I sometimes read for good content, but more often than not, I’m always sinking into a prose train of thought.

When I read Tolkien it is like diving into a masters brain. I often read his work just to stimulate my writing. Sometimes I get stumped on what to write, a block of sorts, and when I read poetry or artistic writing, it always inspires me to write.

Creativity will flow through my veins and smear the screen in colorful poetic prose and then that is when I feel my muse is flowing once again. Where are you at in your writing? Have you tried writing prose?

Let me try and put this simple for you. There are writer’s who write words. A lot of the times it’s more of a telling style. Then there are writer’s who leave you enamored with their style of work. There is a way of showing you the story through the prose style of writing that will have your reader sinking their eyeballs further and further into your story.

So what are you saying to me? (oh I can hear/read you) That you can’t write like that? You don’t know how to give the reader what they want? What is this blog all for nothing? I have told you over and over again, yet you’re still telling me you have troubles?

Hmm... the best way to get over this bump in the road is to sit and write for an hour a day. Just free write, not going back to check what you’ve written. Okay, now you’re going to look at it again. But through a poetic window with new eyes.

“The wind blew hard that day in December.”

“The gusty winds swept through my hair on that cold December day.”

It’s just a matter of sprucing up plain words with some more active adverbs and adjectives. I’m always saying, “Don’t overuse those adverbs and adjectives,” but there is a time when your words need that imagery to carry your reader to the next paragraph.

If he/she isn’t interested in your work, than you need to try harder in bringing the images alive for them. Think of the paper/screen as a palette. You are the artist going to paint the colorful scene only you have no paintbrush, you have pen (or keyboard) in hand and your words are your magic wand that will put a spell on your reader after the first sentence.

There are many tools to the left to help you get where you want or need to be as a writer. Are you using them to the best of your ability? C’mon you can do it. I know you can. I see so much activity over the Internet that there has to be room for YOU! Yes YOU can be the writer you always dreamed of being. Learn the craft. Hone the skills. Practice the elements!

Now get to it! There is nothing holding you back but you.

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Poetry Sunday

Our Greatest Love

One love, the greatest love

the sacrificial Son.

He carries us on wayward shores

We’re unified as one.

*

One love eternal love

our sins have washed away.

Bonding Truth boundless glory,

our Lord has shown the way.

*

Obedient love embracing love

Our Father, the One to guide us

Faithful servants we become

To Him we sing a chorus!

Saturday, April 04, 2009

Quotation Saturday


I've always believed in writing without a collaborator, because where two people are writing the same book, each believes he gets all the worries and only half the royalties. ~~ Agatha Christie (1890-1976)

I always wrote with the idea that what I put out there is going to stay there. Once I publish something, it has been published. I've never deleted more than one or two posts from my site. I don't think that there are takebacks. I don't feel right about it. ~~Alison Headley

If the weak hand, that has recorded this tale, has, by its scenes, beguiled the mourner of one hour of sorrow, or, by its moral, taught him to sustain it - the effort, however humble, has not been vain, nor is the writer unrewarded. ~~ Ann Radcliffe

Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say 'infinitely' when you mean 'very'; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. ~~ C.S. Lewis


Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it. ~~ C.S. Lewis

A classic is classic not because it conforms to certain structural rules, or fits certain definitions (of which its author had quite probably never heard). It is classic because of a certain eternal and irrepressible freshness. ~~ Edith Wharton

A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus: 1. What am I trying to say? 2. What words will express it? 3. What image or idiom will make it clearer? 4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect? ~~ George Orwell

You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success - but only if you persist. ~~ Isaac Asimov

If any man wish to write in a clear style, let him be first clear in his thoughts; and if any would write in a noble style, let him first possess a noble soul. ~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Please write again soon. Though my own life is filled with activity, letters encourage momentary escape into others lives and I come back to my own with greater contentment. ~~ Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey