Fun But Fake -- Internet Memes and Quotes

I found my old typewriter in my office closet the other day, and the first thing I thought was, “Memes!” followed by “Etsy!”

Although I’ve been writing for most of my life, I officially became a freelance writer just as this wacky Internet thing took off.  

There are things I miss about the pre-Internet days. Longer attention spans. Letters in the mail.

But I have to admit that I love ebooks. And social media. And the profusion of all those chipper and funny and inspiring sayings that I’ve plastered all over my Pinterest page.

Here’s the thing about all those pithy sayings: a lot of them are fake.

At one time, I diligently checked every quote I came across in social media, and then I realized I didn’t have enough time for that. It’s entertainment, not a research paper. And problems with misattributions have been going on for quite some time—since before the Internet.

With all that said, I’m still thinking of unearthing my Bartlett’s and whipping up something creative. #GenuineQuotes #QuotesForReal 

Hmmm. I’ll have to think about that.

Links of Interest

Putting together a good link list turned out to be more challenging than I had anticipated! Don’t get me wrong—I thoroughly enjoyed the hours I spent cruising through websites and blogs, looking for links my blog readers would enjoy and use.

In my case, the creation of a link list first required upgrading my Blogger template, which was scary all by itself. The last time I had a web page and the software was “upgraded,” my page got erased. Snap, just like that, all my work went bye-bye. So I had to drink a glass of wine and cross my fingers before I got up enough courage to press “upgrade template,” but thankfully everything went just fine and the gods of cyberspace didn’t eat my blog this time.

So, please, scroll down and check out my Links of Interest! I’ve selected a variety of blogs and sites, so please take a few minutes to browse the list. I won’t talk about every link I’ve posted, but let me tell you about just a few.

For people writing personal history or memoir, check out Sharon Lippincott's The Heart and Craft of Life Writing. I haven't found another site that covers personal writing as well as she does. If you’re a poet, I’ve listed several poetry sites; all too often, poets gets overlooked, but almost half of my writing group members are poets. Writers who need music or photographs should check out the stock music and photography sites, Stock.xchng and Purple Planet (they’re who I use). For those who enjoy my prompts, click over to one of the other prompt sites and try a different style of prompt. If you’re thinking of writing as a career, go to the Inkthinker blog and get some insight from Kristin King, a working writer and true professional. Of course, I'd like it if you checked out all the links, so please, don't stop there!
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Photo courtesy of Abyla at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1140094

Just Write, Just Redesigned

I'm happy to say that a long overdue blog redesign is underway here at Just Write. Now that I've upgraded my Blogger template, it's easy to move around, add, and subtract page elements. I've added labels, a space for blog friends and followers, and a subscription button. Just Write's Recommended Reading area offers links to books that the Just Write Group in Las Vegas has recently studied. Coming soon: links to writing sites, Vegas writers, and to my upcoming Lulu.com book of prompts: The Doorbell at Dawn. Please take a minute to look around Just Write's new design, join as a friend, or leave a comment--and thanks for reading!

The Clippings Box

Maybe I love to read newspapers because my love of writing began with journalism. Maybe it’s because I still think newspapers are the best source of information, or because papers like The New York Times are an excellent source of good writing. Perhaps the real reason is that a newspaper is rich with writing fertilizer. Tragedy, irony, absurdity, comedy – a newspaper has it all, every day.

I’ve got an old cardboard box in my office that holds my clippings collection. The papers multiply so rapidly that sorting through them yields forgotten treasures – everything from an article about the school crossing guard shortage in Las Vegas to a story about labyrinths. Here are some of the other things I found in my clippings box:

Drunken Lemurs
Score one for the First Amendment. Here’s the headline: “Judge sides with man fired over Dilbert comic.’” Seems that the Catfish Bend Casino in Iowa didn’t care for David Steward’s sense of humor. Steward posted a Dilbert comic in which the dialog states, in part: “Why does it seem as if most of the decisions in my workplace are made by drunken lemurs?” The judge characterized Steward’s action as an error in judgment as opposed to intentional. Drunken lemurs everywhere are outraged.

Mystical Book Experiences
Read Michelle Slatalla’s account of her attempts to find synchronicity in anonymous book exchanges (via bookcrossing.com) in this NYT Article: “Love That Book? Then Set It Free.”

One More Reason To Persevere
Did you know that Elie Wiesel’s classic Night was rejected by 15 publishers? Read Rachel Donadio's NYT story: “The Story of ‘Night’”

A Battle of Statistics
An NYT article by John Markoff said Steve Jobs (of Apple) feels Amazon’s new book reading device, Kindle, is DOA because 40% of Americans read one book (or fewer) every year. I took heart from an AP article by Anick Jesdaniun that says 62% of 18-30 year-old Americans use the library. Further proof that statistics couldn’t be more flexible if they practiced yoga.

Personal History
On November 23, 2007, USA Today (along with most papers) reported on the anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assignation. In USA Today, the article was just a side-bar blurb. The brief story took me back to the 70s, to a car ride with my Uncle Newman and Aunt Thelma from the airport in Dallas-Fort Worth to their farm, just outside Ballinger, Texas. Uncle Newman pointed out the infamous book repository to me as we drove past it. I was maybe ten, and although I had heard of the assignation, at that time I had no idea what a powder keg of history it was. I was more interested in hearing about Bonnie Parker, of Bonnie and Clyde gangster fame, who was born in Rowena, a town in Runnels County not far from Ballinger. I suspect Uncle Newman knew that I’d appreciate his observation about the book repository later; he was a historian and writer. Now I understand that personal history intertwined with public events enriches both narratives.

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Photo courtesy of Oláh Zoltán at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/816067. Presumably, all these lemurs are completely sober.

The Endless Edit

"When do you know you're done?" is one of the most common questions I get about writing books. I always tell people that you don't know when you're done. You decide. Does that mean you should send out half-baked work? Of course not. But here's what I've found: rarely will you be 100% happy with your work, not today, not when you see it in print. Without fail, I find things I would change in my published work.

But what happens before publication, when you're stuck in what feels like an Endless Edit? I'm not talking about the perfectionistic editing that is only an avoidance strategy. I'm talking about necessary work. Over the weekend, I printed out the first three chapters of my book. I just finished the proposal package. When I read Chapter One, I realized a few unpleasant things. First, it needed significant work. Second, my proposal package was now more thorough and well-written than the book. Third, I was going to have to tell my husband that my book required more work before it met the world. He didn't look particularly happy to hear that.

I'm not happy to be in the limbo of the Endless Edit, but I am grateful for the opportunity it presents. Someday, when I pick up my published book, I'm sure I will find things I would like to change. With the persistence and hard work an Endless Edit requires, however, I believe my chances of being published are much higher. This is the phase that separates many writers from their final dreams. It's easy to run out of patience during editing. To avoid the feelings that the Endless Edit brings, writers may declare their work is finished when it isn't. I refuse to let the Endless Edit defeat me. Patience and perseverance are what is required. Well, and a little bit of stubbornness, but we'll talk about that another day.

Happy New Year!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season, and that 2008 sees every writer I know overflowing with creativity, free time, and spare dollars for treats at the coffee shop. This week I'm getting back into the swing of things after being off over the holidays -- a vacation I initially took rather unwillingly, I have to admit. This holiday season I had to learn first-hand (again) the wisdom of Stephen King's famous quote: "Put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down to write, remind yourself why it isn't in the middle of the room. Life isn't a support system for art. It's the other way around."

Happy 2008!