A great mashup

This is brilliant and fun! A mashup of "Toy Story" and "Inception"

From the silver screen

Just for fun:)

"I once asked this literary agent what kind of writing paid the best. He said, “Ransom notes.”" - Gene Hackman in Get Shorty

“You can't be a proper writer without a touch of madness, can you?” -- Kate Winslet as Madeleine in Quills

“Like anything worth writing, it came inexplicably and without method.” --Emma Thompson in Stranger Than Fiction

Which quote do you like the best?

Quote of the day

"Write your first draft with your heart. Re-write with your head." --From the movie Finding Forrester

Are you able to do this? Or are you one of those people who revise as you write, hating to move on to the next chapter until you feel the one you're working on is perfect? What works for you and why?

When yesterday becomes today

“Growing up is never easy. You hold on to things that were. You wonder what's to come. But that night, I think we knew it was time to let go of what had been, and look ahead to what would be. Other days. New days. Days to come. The thing is, we didn't have to hate each other for getting older. We just had to forgive ourselves... for growing up.” The Wonder Years

Just yesterday, I was rocking my baby boy while singing a sweet lullaby.
Just yesterday, I was frantically searching for Thomas the Tank engines and Star Wars figurines.
Just yesterday, I was planning birthday parties and sleepovers and play dates in the park.
Somehow yesterday became today.
Today, we are choosing senior pictures and preparing for that final year of high school.
Today, we are preparing college applications, exploring where he will spend the next four years of his life.
Today, we are learning that letting go means looking ahead – even if it’s scary and uncertain.
And, well, tonight, tears pool in my eyes as I ache to cradle my baby in my arms and protect him from all that is bad in this world.
Letting go is never easy, even when we know it’s the right thing to do.

Quote of the day

"Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy." --Norman Vincent Peale,

Mockingjay trailer

Can't wait until Aug. 24 for Mockingjay to arrive in stores. What's going to happen to our beloved Katniss? Are you just as psyched for the finale in the Hunger Games trilogy?

Quote of the day

"No, it's not a very good story — its author was too busy listening to other voices to listen as closely as he should have to the one coming from inside." --Stephen King

I think this is a great quote. We shouldn't write what we think others want us to write. We should listen to the voice and write the story that only we can write. "Out, damned voices! out, I say!"

Another chance meeting?

The day after I met the man from California on the bench watching the sailboats (read yesterday's post) I met another man from California at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. He was a park ranger, probably pushing 60. I learned that his wife, who couldn’t have any children, died years ago. He had remembered that as a boy, one of his dreams was to become a park ranger. So, about a year after his beloved passed away, he applied to the National Park Service. He was a successful businessman but this dream, which had been dormant for years, called to him. So off to Alaska he went on his first job as a park ranger. He loved Alaska. It was a piece of heaven. Breathtakingly beautiful. Wished he would have went back for a second year. After Alaska, he worked in Virginia and eventually ended up in Washington, where he has worked for the past five years. Listening to him describe his dream and his journey, you could see the passion and excitement in his eyes. He was living his dream. It had taken him many years to realize, and there were many twists and turns along the way. But he finally was doing something he had always wanted to do. And he was bursting with pride and happiness. (In case you’re wondering, he did talk to me about the monument, which is why he was there in the first place. I just happened to be the only person who was there to listen and like any good journalist, asked tons of questions. I can’t help myself, I guess.)

Our meeting was chance, or was it?

For the second day in a row I had met a man who shared a piece of his life with a complete stranger. As I walked away from both men, thanking them for sharing their stories, it occurred to me that each had a message. For the first man, it was about not quitting, not giving up. For the second man, it was about following your dreams. Two powerful, uplifting messages that gave me hope.

Have you had chance meetings like this? People you meet and afterward you think: “I was supposed to meet this person today.”

I think about all of the people I have met through this blog and other sites, and I feel blessed that we are able to help each other on our literary journeys. Yes, we get down. Yes, we feel like giving up some days. But we won’t because we can’t. Like the first man, quitting is not an option. And like the second man, we must follow our dreams.

I want to thank each of you who visit my blog every day and give me hope and encouragement.

A chance meeting?

I sat on a bench to watch some sailboats and chatted with a man sitting on a nearby bench. I learned that he was born in 1926 in California to a Chinese father (who came here to seek a medical education but was told that even if he completed the course work would not be awarded the degree because he was a foreigner) and American mother (who taught in a one-room schoolhouse in Minnesota). He told me how horrible it was growing up a “half-breed.” He said that he and his siblings were tormented and ridiculed. The wounds might have healed, but it was evident the scars had remained. He told me about his wife, who had died, and his children. He told me how he walks five miles in the morning and rides his scooter in the afternoon. How his grandkids spend most of their time in front of a computer playing games with people all over the world. He marveled at that. At one point he just stopped and looked at me and said: “Why am I telling you all of this.” I just smiled, and he kept going. He talked about the jobs he held and the businesses he owned. He told me how he failed over and over again but just kept going. “You don’t fail unless you quit,” he said. We talked some more and when he left I had to smile. Our meeting was chance, or was it?

I believe that people are put in our lives for a reason. I needed to hear his message: “You don’t fail unless you quit.” I’ve been feeling a little down lately, wondering if I should hang it up and concentrate on other things. I know that we all feel like this from time to time. Truth is, I don’t want to keep trying to get over the wall if there’s no way I’m going to be successful. Maybe there’s another wall for me. I read a book recently in which the author said that it’s all right to quit. That successful people are quitters. They quit what they are not good at to focus on what they are. For example, I might try playing the violin and learn that it’s just not the right instrument for me. So maybe I try the flute and find that I’m more successful playing the flute. I quit the violin to find something that I’m better at. And if it’s not playing the flute, maybe it’s playing a sport or writing. What do you think? Are people successful because they quit those things they were not good at? And when do you know that you aren’t good at something? Are rejections the yardstick by which we measure? I’d love to hear your thoughts on all of this. It’s been rolling around in my brain and I’m trying to make sense of it all.

It's all about timing

“Life is all about timing... the unreachable becomes reachable, the unavailable become available, the unattainable... attainable. Have the patience, wait it out It's all about timing.” --Stacey Charter

I have very little patience so this quote speaks to me. Maybe it's the dreamer in me, but I believe that when the time is right, I will find an agent and an editor and a publisher who believes in me and my work. In the meantime, I need to keep writing and growing and learning and helping others. What about you. Do you agree with this quote? Does it speak to you?

Quote of the day

"The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only to hold a man's foot long enough to enable him to put the other somewhat higher." --Thomas Henry Huxley

Someone at a recent Weight Watchers meeting said her goal was to be able to go to an amusement park and enjoy the rides with her kids. She is unable to fit in the seats. She feels embarrassed and ashamed. My heart hurt for her. What an awesome goal to have. I hope that by this time next year, she is riding the rides with her kids and having the time of her life. No matter what your goal is, don't give up. Don't rest on that bottom rung. Climb the ladder of your dreams one rung at a time. And when you get to the top, extend your hand and help another up. I'm a big believer in giving back to the community if you are able. When we give back, when we help others, we make the world better for all of us.

Incorporating symbolism

"There isn't any symbolism. The sea is the sea. The old man is an old man. The boy is a boy and the fish is a fish. The shark are all sharks no better and no worse. All the symbolism that people say is shit. What goes beyond is what you see beyond when you know." --Ernest Hemingway (Of The Old Man and the Sea)

I'm querying a novel that contains tons of symbolism. Does your work contain symbolism? Do you know that a work will contain symbolism from the outset? Is it something you incorporate as you go? Do you go back and add the symbolism when you're done? Or do you even think of this as you're writing? And, lastly, what do you think of Hemingway's quote?