Through

Apr. 22nd, 2019 02:33 pm
pjthompson: quotes (quotei)

Random quote of the day:

“The best way out is always through.”

—Robert Frost, “A Servant to Servants”

 

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Laurel and Hardy, Ariana Grande, or the Salvation Army Band. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

Through

Apr. 22nd, 2019 12:37 pm
pjthompson: quotes (quotei)

Random quote of the day:

“The best way out is always through.”

—Robert Frost, “A Servant to Servants”

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Laurel and Hardy, Ariana Grande, or the Salvation Army Band. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

Endurance

Mar. 21st, 2019 01:02 pm
pjthompson: quotes (quotei)

Random quote of the day:

“To endure is greater than to dare; to tire out hostile fortune; to be daunted by no difficulty; to keep heart when all have lost it; to go through intrigue spotless; and to forgo even ambition when the end is gained—who can say this is not greatness?”

—William Makepeace Thackeray, The Virginians

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Laurel and Hardy, Ariana Grande, or the Salvation Army Band. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

The choice

Feb. 15th, 2019 12:03 pm
pjthompson: quotes (quotei)

Random quote of the day:

“Either you have to quit for good or you have to tough it out. That’s the choice. You have to be patient.”

—Deborah Eisenberg, interview, The Paris Review, Spring 2013, No. 204

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Laurel and Hardy, Ariana Grande, or the Salvation Army Band. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

Heroic

Feb. 13th, 2018 10:22 am
pjthompson: quotes (quotei)

Random quote of the day:

“Heroism consists of hanging on one minute longer.”

—Norwegian proverb

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Lucy and Ethel, Justin Bieber, or the Kardashian Klan. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

Rejection

Aug. 16th, 2016 10:05 am
pjthompson: quotes (quotei)

Random quote of the day:

“To endure five years of rejection to get a job requires either a faith in oneself that borders on delusion, or a love of the work. I loved the work.”

—Bill Watterson, “Some Thoughts On the Real World By One Who Glimpsed It and Fled,” Kenyon College Commencement, May 20, 1990

 rejection4WP@@@

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

 

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

pjthompson: quotes (quotei)

Random quote of the day:

“Tenacity is when you follow your heart—when the whole world is screaming to get back into your head.”

—Sonia Choquette, quoted in Blessings by Julia Cameron

 tenacity4WP@@@

 

Disclaimer:  The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

 

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

pjthompson: quotes (quotei)

Random quote of the day:

“In a creative writing class of twenty people anywhere in this country, six students will be startlingly talented. Two of those might actually publish something by and by. [What distinguishes those two from the rest is that] they will have something other than literature itself on their minds. They will probably be hustlers, too. I mean that they won’t want to wait passively for somebody to discover them. They will insist on being read.”

—Kurt Vonnegut, interview, The Paris Review, Issue 69, Spring 1977

 hustlers4WP@@@

 

Disclaimer:  The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

 

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

Slowly

Oct. 23rd, 2008 10:39 am
pjthompson: (Default)
Random quote of the day:


"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop."

—attributed to Confucius





Illustrated version. )

ETA: "I'm John McCain and I approve this message."
pjthompson: (Default)
In case you writers out there missed this over at [livejournal.com profile] editorialass, here's a bit of inspiration about persistence.

Persistence

Oct. 3rd, 2008 10:17 am
pjthompson: (Default)
Random quote of the day:


"One of the things I just told the class was not to worry about things like talent and inspiration and luck because the real ability that you need in writing is the ability to persist, to learn from your mistakes and keep working, even though you're being rejected all over the place."

—Octavia Butler, interview, Marian Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine, 1999



Illustrated version. )

Thanks to [livejournal.com profile] norilana for this quote.
pjthompson: (Default)
I was going to blog about a writing malaise I've had all week—for a couple of weeks, actually. Then I heard this song and things were better. Things are always better when I listen to music, but this one is especially about the kind of malaise that takes all artist/craftspersons sometimes, and uh...it just helps to hear that "fellow feeling," even if it's not personally directed towards me. In an interview on NPR, Jakob Dylan said he wrote it for people who were trying to hold on, trying to get back in touch with their spark. I think he did a good thing. It's a gentle song that concludes:

Sometimes a high wall, is just a wall
Sometimes it's only there to make sure you feel small
Or may be there to save you from the depths of a much deeper fall

The truth will not set you free
It's ok to believe that you're not good enough
God is not angry, not blind, deaf or dumb
He knows how far you've come


The malaise may come back. It's kind of an endemic thing, especially at times when I'm trying to redefine myself and to let go of one part of my identity, one thing I've been living my life through, and trying to take up another. I am so not alone in this.

"You're not the only one who's failed to hang on to a moving star."

You're right, Jakob.

It's a great interview, btw. You can listen to it here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4766510
pjthompson: (Default)
There's some interesting stats posted by [livejournal.com profile] arcaedia for March 25. All about the number of novels some writers completed before selling one.

I actually find these kinds of stats comforting (and Anne Perry's statement in interview that she wrote 20 novels before making a sale). They don't necessarily translate into me eventually selling a novel, but since I'm going to keep cranking them out whether I sell them or not (translate that as "have no choice") I choose to take comfort from the idea that sometimes persistence pays off.

I've got three finished and a fourth well on its way and I know I understand a lot more about the process than I ever did before. I have long since stopped thinking of these novels as make-or-break. Sure, it's depressing as hell when they don't sell and sometimes I get in a major funk about it. Ultimately, though, I realize the journey wasn't wasted because each time I write The End I have conquered a whole new universe of learning. I've freed myself once again from the doomsayers of doubt in the hind end of my brain. And there's always that next novel waiting to be written...

It's all a learning process—and sometimes learning is painful. But sometimes it's a joy. So I'll keep filling the filing cabinet for now, and keep sending them out, trying to maintain a zen attitude of pessimistic hopefulness. And knowing I won't always succeed even at that.

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