DISPARATE CHARACTERS

I am focusing on creating disparate characters for stories. They are the most interesting; tortured, misunderstood, outcasts. One of my favorites plays is William Shakespeare's "Hamlet". He is caught between the passing world that he knows and a new one that's emerging.

It may be a reason I enjoy reading horror stories. Many tortured souls trying to find some sense of their lives. I have met some some unique folks throughout my life. We seem to be drawn to each other for some reason. Going against grain of convention and expectations will create sparks which makes a character interesting. 

No one wants to read about a character that is dull and boring. Keep going to deep recesses of people's minds and you are libel to find something no one else knows. That's what makes storytelling so compelling.

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM TENNESSEE

James Agee

Louise Alther 

Johnny Burnett (singer-songwriter) (1934-1964)

Aretha Franklin (1942-2018)

Randall Jarrell (1914-1965)

Saeed Jones (poet)

Cormac McCarthy

Ann Patchett

Nancy K. Pearson 

T. S. Stribling (1881-1965)

Charles Wright

WORDS OF WISDOM

In the writing process, the more a story cooks, the better.

~Doris Lessing, Writer (1919-2013)

LEARN NEW WORDS

I make it a point of learnings new words so I can use them in my writings. It's amazing that there are so many words that I never have heard of. Once I look to their meanings, I incorporate them into my stories and poems. 

For example, the word "wonted" means usual, habitual. When I incorporated into a story that I wrote, it brought a freshness to it. The trick is not to overdo it. There's the danger of coming off as high brow. I don't want to alienate my readers by coming off as a know-it-all and a snob.

I enjoy learning new things. I love the written word (English was my favorite subject in school). The more new words added to my writing arsenal the better. 

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM SOUTH DAKOTA

Allison Hedge Coke

Elizabeth Cook-Lynn

Adam Johnson

Frederick Manfred (1912-1994

Joseph M. Marshall III

Russell Means (1939-2012)

Kathleen Norris

Rosebud Yellow Robe (1907-1992)

Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1967)

WORDS OF WISDOM

Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.

~Percy Bysshe Shelley, Poet (1792-1822)

POEM

MOMENTS

Life moves from moment to moment

Blink, and the moment is gone

But another moment is here

Life is a series of moments.

Moments are flowers

Which bloom in the noonday warmth,

Then fade in the evening chill

There will be more moments.

Cherish the moment you are in

Because, in a moment, it will be gone.

~Genevieve

HORROR WRITING

Though I write mostly poems and short stories, I write horror once in a while. Reading the stories by Edgar Allan Poe gave me the impetus to write them.

MARCH 17TH

 

WORDS OF WISDOM

Heartbreak can definitely give you a deeper sensibility for writing songs. I drew on a lot of heartbreak when I was writing my first album, I didn't mean to, but I just did.

~Adele

WRITING IS WRITING

There are many kinds of writers. Novelists. Academics. Poets. Screenwriters. Songwriters. Playwrights. Satirists. It is a wide open field where one can find his/her niche. There are folks who write monologues, essays, commentaries, comedy, and other sub areas. Writing is writing no matter what.

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM SOUTH CAROLINA

Elsa Blackwell

Mary Boykin Chestnut (1823-1866)

Pat Conroy (1945-2016)

Andy Duncan

Terrance Hayes

Jonathan Hickman

John Jakes

Dinah Johnson

Ton Rash

Valerie Sayers

RECIPROCAL

I wonder if writers are stopped by what they may reveal about themselves. Am I revealing too much? What am I afraid of? Will I come face to face with the thing that may have to make a decision about? Some authors I have read never did resolve the issue(s) that plagued them (John Berryman comes to mind).

Writing not only affects the reader but the author also. Unhappy life experiences shouldn't set the course of where our lives can go (I'm thinking about Dorothy Parker, who had an unhappy childhood)..  Writing about them can be a way of releasing the anger and frustration one may feel. It can also help the person to come up with a solution to what ails them. 

The beauty about writing is that it allows us to express all the emotions we may have. It can also connect with the readers we are wanting to reach. Writers have to be fearless as well as vulnerable. 

WORDS OF WISDOM

The desire to write grows with writing.

~Desiderius Erasmus, Philosopher (1466-1536)

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM RHODE ISLAND

Robert Archambeau (poet)

Ted Berrigan (1934-1983)

Tina Cane

Alexander Chee

Bill Cowsill (1948-2006)

Eleanor Eldridge (1784/85-1845)

Kristen Harsh (songwriter)

Ann Hood

Paulla Dove Jennings

Galway Kinnell (1927-2014)

H. P. Lovecraft (1890-1937)

NEVER TO BE MASTERED

Writing is a craft no one will master. Perhaps it's best that it is that way. I stay hungry wanting to improve my craft.. I desire to travel those roads less traveled. New adventures await. New battles to be won. New ways to express my feelings. Breaking down the barriers which block me me from expressing some deep seated insecurities.  

I am a seeker, always desiring to explore and experience more of life. The road looks long and lonely but it's one I'm inclined to trod. As a septuagenarian, I find myself coming the heights and depths of my being. Don't know what I will find. It will be something that I never could imagine.

WORDS OF WISDOM

Good writing is like a windowpane.

~George Orwell, Author (1903-1950)