Quote from Epicurus

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”

Quote from Jane Austen

“For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?”

Learning: Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose


Reading Like a Writer
by Francine Prose

To know how the great writers create their magic, one needs to engage in a close reading of the masters, for that is precisely what successful writers have done for thousands of years. College programs in creative writing and summer workshops serve a purpose, but they can never replace a careful reading of the likes of Austen, Dostoyevsky, Flaubert, Kafka, Salinger, Tolstoy, and Woolf. In this excellent guide, Prose explains exactly what she means by close reading, drawing attention to the brick and mortar of outstanding narratives: words, sentences, paragraphs, character, dialogue, details, and more. In the process, she does no less than escort readers to a heightened level of appreciation of great literature.

( Click to read more at Amazon.ca )

Quote from William Dement

“Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives.”

On the Web: YouTube Adds Audio Preview to comments

I love the web comic xkcd, and had a good laugh over this one a little while ago:

Cut for flists: Listen to Yourself

Quote from The Unseen Guest

“If you speak of higher deeds
 Do it in a whisper please
 You’ll awake, the sleepers
 Within”
Don’t Let It Show

Quote from William Jennings Bryan

“Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”

Published in Shine! online Journal, Premonition

My itty bitty flash piece Premonition appears in this month’s issue of SHINE!