A Word for Living Creatures

"The best approach is to not try to write things that will go viral. No, the best approach is to..."

Mon, 20 May 2013 17:01:45 -0500

“The best approach is to not try to write things that will go viral. No, the best approach is to write for just one person. Make an impact on just one person. Even better, make it so they can’t sleep that night unless they choose to make a difference for just one other person by sharing your message with them. The rest will take care of itself.”

- Seth Godin echoes Kurt Vonnegut, who in the seventh of his 8 timeless tips on writing advised, “Write to please just one person.” (via explore-blog)

Write ALL the stories.

Sun, 19 May 2013 17:01:56 -0500

Write ALL the stories.

"Following your bliss is useless. People are passionate about a lot of stupid things. It’s not a..."

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:01:48 -0500

“Following your bliss is useless. People are passionate about a lot of stupid things. It’s not a great mantra. Meaning, I think, comes from doing a full accounting of your limitations and assets, your passions and your weaknesses, your belief system and your fears, and then rubbing up against the things that cause you to panic, like an allergy skin scratch test, and find out what your reactions are. Once you figure out how you can contribute to the greater good, once you’re able even to define that, you take that information and pour yourself into one direction. Regardless of discomfort or regrets or what-ifs. (And then doing that over and over again, until death.) That does not fit on a T-shirt. That to me is more important than bliss, which would really just lead me back into bed, maybe with a bowl of corn flakes…”

- Jessa Crispin (via austinkleon)

jaymug: Steal. It’s not where you take things from. It’s where...

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:01:35 -0500

jaymug: Steal. It’s not where you take things from. It’s where you take them to.

let go

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:02:07 -0500

i am learning to let go swing back and forth head back head back clouds cirrus bluebirds bluebirds in the window a song a song on repeat a song of from my mother a song i am letting go i am letting go learning to fall to roll to get back up i am learning to breathe to not clench the breath to fall roll stand back up i am learning to not fall to pieces when i hit the ground hit the ground again again and again this is how i learn to let go this is how i learn not everything gold can stay not everything comes back wants to come back should come back this is how i learn this is how i am learning learning to let go to let go of places of homes of people bluebirds in the window clouds skudding across the sky clouds building into a storm nimbus clouds letting go their burden of rain letting go as i am letting go learning to study the clouds again the lightness of being the lightness of swinging my mother’s song bluebirds bluebirds flying away home i am learning to let go no have let go of this person of you the you i loved the you who left me lying on the mat clenched breath shattering learning to get up again learning learning learning to let go of this no that moment learning to breathe again to study clouds cumulus again to swing again to sing songs again to let go of places homes things people me i am learning to let go let go

imperfectio: Journey to the past (by mog)

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:02:07 -0500

imperfectio:

Journey to the past (by mog)

"When I read a book, I put in all the imagination I can, so that it is almost like writing the book..."

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:01:52 -0500

“When I read a book, I put in all the imagination I can, so that it is almost like writing the book as well as reading it–or rather, it is like living it. It makes reading so much more exciting, but I don’t suppose many people try to do it.”

- I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (via prettybooks)

Writers write. No excuses.

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:02:22 -0500

Writers write. No excuses.

austinkleon: Frank Sinatra tells George Michael to suck it up...

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:01:44 -0500

austinkleon: Frank Sinatra tells George Michael to suck it up and embrace his success

Talent must not be wasted…those who have talent must hug it, embrace it, nurture it, and share it lest it be taken away from you as fast as it was loaned to you.

(thx @aweissman)

"Fiction is different than life, because in life there is no order or meaning, while a story must..."

Tue, 14 May 2013 17:01:37 -0500

“Fiction is different than life, because in life there is no order or meaning, while a story must have both. Art is really about giving meaning to that chaos we call reality. Although I have not myself experienced a terror attack, a few years ago it was happening a lot around me, and it did affect my everyday life and feelings. But sudden, brutal deaths are actually around all of us, anywhere, anytime—not just in Israel.”

- Israeli comics artist and author Rutu Modan (via gracebello)

My cat knows better. She’s a good cat.

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:02:16 -0500

My cat knows better. She’s a good cat.

"Remember to strive for the best, but it isn’t the end of the world if you don’t make it. Don’t burn..."

Mon, 13 May 2013 21:20:56 -0500

“Remember to strive for the best, but it isn’t the end of the world if you don’t make it. Don’t burn yourself out striving for perfection. - Mom”

- My mom is a wise, wise woman.

"We absolutely must leave room for doubt or there is no progress and there is no learning. There is..."

Mon, 13 May 2013 17:02:03 -0500

“We absolutely must leave room for doubt or there is no progress and there is no learning. There is no learning without having to pose a question. And a question requires doubt. People search for certainty. But there is no certainty. People are terrified — how can you live and not know? It is not odd at all. You only think you know, as a matter of fact. And most of your actions are based on incomplete knowledge and you really don’t know what it is all about, or what the purpose of the world is, or know a great deal of other things. It is possible to live and not know.”

- Richard Feynman, born on May 11, 1918, on the role of scientific culture in modern society – timeless, remarkably timely read.

Pair with how ignorance drives science.

(via explore-blog)

moonlight

Mon, 13 May 2013 11:02:23 -0500

no moon tonight
last night
the night before

it is gone
it crept away
was stolen from us

stolen by it
it crunches on the moon
comes to visit

us in the night
trails its fingers
across my thigh and

i awaken
and you are you
you’re where

you’re supposed to be
the moon splayed
across your form

Write Right Meets Aslan

Sun, 12 May 2013 17:01:40 -0500

Write Right Meets Aslan:

Write Right goes through a wardrobe and meets Aslan.

explore-blog: Life Doesn’t Frighten Me – Maya Angelou’s...

Sat, 11 May 2013 17:01:48 -0500

explore-blog: Life Doesn’t Frighten Me – Maya Angelou’s courageous children’s verses, illustrated by Basquiat, a priceless primer on poetry and contemporary art for little ones, and a timeless reminder of the power of courage in all of us.

Just because. rosalindrobertson: Remember to stretch.

Sat, 11 May 2013 11:02:14 -0500

Just because.

rosalindrobertson:

Remember to stretch.

What kind of writer are you? | OxfordWords blog

Fri, 10 May 2013 17:01:33 -0500

What kind of writer are you? | OxfordWords blog:

amandaonwriting:

My result: ‘You’re an Ernest Hemingway. You chose clear and unflashy words that get right to the point. Other writers known for this style are George Orwell and Raymond Carver.’

My result was Toni Morrison. Hmm…

this place

Fri, 10 May 2013 11:02:03 -0500

we come again to this place: white light, scent of honeysuckle, scent of you, scent of me, scent of us. you aren’t afraid here. you aren’t afraid to take my hand, to say the words you always wish you could say but never can (why not?). you are you. you are you in your purest form, your lightest form, lighter than light, lighter than air, covered in sun-kissed dew. i am not you, cannot be you, cannot be lighter than light, cannot be covered in sun-kissed dew. i am me, i am already fading, retreating, losing the glow i thought enveloped us, only enveloped you, losing the thing that brought us together (what was it? the glow? the air? honeysuckle? you?). i am afraid. afraid of the words you say here but won’t say there, out there, out there in the dark, out there where it matters if you hold my hand (it matters here, too), if you tell me you love me, if you tell me what it will take for us to stay together. afraid of the way i can’t piece my thoughts, my words, together when you look at me that way - that way - when you say those words, when you’re really you, when the pearls fall to the floor, and we scramble to get them back, on our hands and knees, slipping on pearls, running into each other, laughing at the absurdity of recapturing what has been lost (what has been lost? pearls, light…), laughing at restringing a strand of pearls, and - afraid. afraid that we can’t complete even this simple task, afraid that we’ve lost the one bead we need, afraid we’ve lost each other (are you afraid?), afraid that you’re there, in that place, and i’m here, and we can never be together, we can never be who we could have been if together, afraid that you’ll never want me, that you never wanted me, that this was all a game, even this place, this light, this scent of flowers. afraid i’ll mess everything up - i always do; i really am a klutz at all this, you know. yes, you know, of course you know…right? - afraid that you’re you, the you who leaves without saying goodbye, who leaves with her, the you who is not light. you are not lighter than air. you do not belong here with me, you do not belong in this place. i am light, you are not, and I do not want you. get out. get out, get out, get out. this is my place, this is my space, this is my scent of honeysuckle, and i do not want you. get out. we come again.

A poem from the 2005-2008 era.

Fri, 10 May 2013 07:14:39 -0500

A poem from the 2005-2008 era.