Showing posts with label Reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reading. Show all posts

Monday, January 19, 2009

Create

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Jean, in a comment to a recent post, said that reading many books on writing didn't make her a writer. It made her a reader.

Ouch.

A clean shot right through the heart.

I've often joked that reading about writing was as good as writing. (Isn't it? Are you sure?) But, Jean has it right. If we continue to read..... And read some more.......And read again, then we are spending our time not creating.

My photography mentor often told me that I had everything I needed within me to succeed. Still do. I need only to limit my reading about writing (quilting, gardening, photography, etc.), settle down and create. I know enough.

Frankly, actually doing something can be scary, whether it's writing a story, picking out fabrics for a quilt project or breaking ground on a new garden bed. It's anteing up and saying you want to play the game. Sometimes the game is filled with hard knocks, losses, and disappointments. On the other hand, you can't win anything if you don't play.

To that end....I started on a non-fiction book proposal today for an idea I've turned over in my mind for about six months. I plan to have the proposal complete before Valentine's Day.

It's time to ante up and get in the game.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Reading List

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Summer's almost done but my reading list is not. How did that happen? In fact, the list is getting longer. A sale at a bookstore will do that.

Years ago, while running my photography business, I would rise before the sun to spend an hour reading, studying, and thinking. I like getting up early. I love thinking and creating new ideas. Why am I not doing this now?

Bad habits. Things like hitting the computer message boards before breakfast or watching re-runs of JAG. Or just plain piddling.

If it were quality things like spending time with The Pilot Guy or exercise that would be different. Both of those things deserve their own catagory of time devotion. But I'm just not getting things done.

Time to do better. Dust off those old habits and get back into them. Hopefully, they'll fit like well worn and comfortable shoes.

Look for reviews of these books in coming posts.

What?

What's that you're asking?

Oh, you want to know the titles and author names of the books on the reading lists? Why? Will there be a test? No? Yes? Maybe?

Well, okay, here they are in no particular order:

Homeschooling High School by Jeanne Gowen Dennis

Designing Effective Women's Minstries by Jill Briscoe, Laurie Katz McIntyre, and Beth Seversen

Eat Smart, Walk Strong by Leslie Sansone

A Strong West Wind by Gail Caldwell

The Ode Less Travelled by Stephen Fry

The Plot Thickens by Noah Lukeman

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

A Garden Path to Mentoring by Esther Burroughs

Writer Mama by Christina Katz

The First Five Pages byt Noah Lukeman

My Heart's At Home by Jill Savage

Mrs. Whaley and Her Charleston Garden by Emily Whaley in conversations with William Baldwin

Happy reading!