FAMOUS WRITERS FROM WEST VIRGINIA

Tom Andrews (1961-2001)

Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973)

Stephen Coonts

Heather Day Gilbert

Craig Johnson

Keith Maillard

Jayne Anne Phillips

Eugenia Price (1916-1996)

Carlene Thompson

WORDS OF WISDOM

A journal is your completely unaltered voice- it's just for you. And if you know that voice, and you like it, you can bring it out to everyone else, and that's the most honest and vulnerable thing you can do.

~Lucy Dacus

NEW WORDS

I finished writing down new words and their meanings om index cards. the majority of them I have never heard of. Using them in stories and poems adds freshness compared to common words such as 'said', 'sad',  or 'different.' I am judicious about using new words as not to come off as pompous or snobby.

I compare this activity to carrying a notebook and pen. I'm always desirous of learning new things and finding new insights. Writers are eternal seekers, in my view. We need to keep our minds and eyes open.

FAMOUS WRITIERS FROM WASHINGTON STATE

Sherman Alexie

Sheila Marie Ballantyne

Terry Grosz (1941-2019)

Frank Herbert (1920-1986)

Edward La Chappelle  (1926-2007)

Debbie Macomber

Robert Osborne (1932-2017)

Chuck Palahniuk 

Leslie Patricelli

Julie Marie Wade

WORDS OF WISDOM

I wish our clever young poets would remember my homely definitions of prose and poetry; that is, prose=words in their best order; poetry=the best words in the best order.

~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Poet (1772-1834)

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM VIRGINIA

Donna Andrews

David Balducci

Barbara Ehrenreich (1941-2022))

Vince Gilligan

Laura Hillenbrand

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)

Anne Spencer (1882-1975)

William Styron (1925-2006)

Adriana Trigiani

POEM

QUEEN

She's a mixture of class, sass, and pizzaz.

Hats are her trademark 

Her manner cordial

Queen of queens

Quiet

Unassuming

She goes about her life 

Carefree and confident

Soaking up the vibes

Of a glorious day.

~Genevieve

WORDS OF WISDOM

That's all there was in our house: poetry and choir rehearsal and duets and so forth; I listened to Dad and Mother discuss things about poetry and delivery and voice and diction-I don't think anyone could know how much it really means.

~Chuck Berry, Musician (1926-2017)

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM VERMONT

 

Paul Blackburn (1926-1971)

Henrietta Adelaide Burrington (1841-1872)

Tana French

Lyn Lifshin

William D. Mundell

Timothy Steele

FINDING YOUR OWN VOICE

 I have a number of writing influences. Edgar Allan Poe, Sylvia Plath, Langston Hughes, and Jack Kerouac to mention a few. While I can try to be like them, I can never write like them.

I have my own voice, my own style. I am mindful that no one writes like me nor can I ✍️ write like anybody else. Each author is unique, recognized by the fans they have cultivated. Once I found my own voice, I was able to open 👐 up about deep seated feelings I had.

The more I ✍️ write the more of myself I reveal. I am discovering my own voice. Quite possibly. I may be an influence to a budding writer/poet.

EASTER WISHES

 

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM UTAH

Will Bagley

Ally Condie

Richard Paul Evans

Shannon Hale

Josi S. Kilpack

Annette Lyon

Brandon Mull

Jennifer A. Nielsen

Eric Samuelsen (1956-2019)

Daniel Andrew Wells

THE TIMELESS TYPEWRITER

 

When I was away at junior college, I remember the nights typing up my term papers. I could hear my dorm mates doing likewise. It was coffee, cigarettes (I didn't smoke), burning the midnight oil.

I do imagine those authors who, before computers, used these timeless contraptions. It is making a comeback. I may get a typewriter just in case there is a solar storm or all the electricity goes out. The typewriter is a relic of the past but it's odd that it never disappears from our society. Just like candles, lanterns, and photographs, one never knows when they will come in handy.

WORDS OF WISDOM

Poetry is the art which is technically within the grasp of everyone: a piece of 📃 paper and a pencil ✏ and one is ready.

~Eugenio Montale, Poet  (1896-1981)

POEM

April Is a Dog's Dream

BY MARILYN SINGER

april is a dog's dream

the soft grass is growing

the sweet breeze is blowing

the air all full of singing feels just right

so no excuses now

we're going to the park

to chase and charge and chew

and I will make you see

what spring is all about

FOCUS

There's no shortage of ideas for any type of writing. It's focusing on much of the details one needs to write.  I have notebooks full of ideas. My task is to put whatever I choose to write into something that is comprehensible. Poetry works this way with relative ease for me. Short stories? That can be another matter.

Public speaking comes easy for me because I focus on what I wish to convey. Writing is the same way. I can't tell you the number of times I felt that I nailed a story or a poem. I'm sure every writer has felt this at one time another.

FAMOUS WRITERS FROM TEXAS

Lyle Blackburn

Barrett Brown

Patricia Highsmith (1921-1995)

William Humphrey (1924-1997)

Attica Lock

Larry McMurtry (1936-2021)

Katherine Ann Porter (1890-1980)

Rene Saldana Jr.

Leroy Thomas

Merritt Tierce