"Run your fingers through my soul. For once, just once, feel exactly what I feel, believe what I believe, perceive as I perceive, look, experience, examine, and for once..just once, understand"
-anonymous
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A children's picture book must have heart - a child is the hardest to fool.
A sci-fi demands unique places & new twists - the cultist know conformity & it has no place here.
A romance must capture desires yet to be discovered - the lover feels the passion with every page.
A memoir must speak truth with a twist of fantastic - the realist need to see reality but believe the parts beyond it as well.
A mystery must take the reader through nuances, action, discovery, confusion and revelation - the reader understands the perplexities and thrills in the chase.
A paranormal must lead the reader on a journey beyond their senses and beliefs through the looking glass and beyond the veil - they must see what could happen, want it to happen and wish that in some way it would happen in their life.
Every genre speaks its own language.
Even those that are difficult to discern from each other, they hold a uniqueness that we writers work diligently to capture.
We writers are readers too.
We understand the need to fall into a story and for a small time be lost in its magic. If we cannot lose ourselves in our own story then how can we expect our readers to do the same?
I want my soul to be in my work.
I want the reader to see as I do, yet still walk away with their own unique feelings and opinions.
I want my heart to break when the story needs it, yet still remain intact for the next project I take on.
I want my words to give life to characters only I know, yet still have my reader feel as though these characters live within them as well.
I want my heart to swell with pride as the hero/heroine fulfill their destiny, yet still I want the villain to have purpose and be strong within their cause.
So many wants, so many desires for a collection of words on paper.
How do we process all these needs? How do we continue each day pushing for something that has the ability to create such reactions?
For me...it is the quote above that creeps up on the slow, arduous work days...urging me to create something that can be shared unlike any other experience. These manuscripts, these flash fictions, these scenes, these dialogues, these words are extensions of our souls. They are the flickering light along the tunnel walls that guides us to the next turn and helps those journeying with us to not lose direction. We have no control over how often the light blinks or for how long it will burn, all we know is we must continue forward. The need to see it through is stronger than the need to turn around and run. We only hope that those walking, running, jumping, swimming and leaping with us can feel as fulfilled as we do when we reach our destination.
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Check out what is going on around the blogs today...
Shannon Messenger wants your opinion about Publishers Marketplace... Are you a member?
Elana Johnson discusses No Small Deals & Money...yeah...just those few words alone and my mind was already whirling!
Jaydee Morgan asks Do you know your characters?
Sara McClung is hosting A Very Vampire May Giveaway! items over at her blog (Psst...signed Books...Stephenie Meyer, Charlaine Harris, Anne Rice & Christopher Moore...other stuff too!)
LAST LINGER CONTEST beginning today...it is AWESOME! The prizes are amazing... ;o) Ends 5-16-2010
La Femme Reader is hosting a great Spring Cleaning GiveAWay where you can win some awesome books!
Have you done the WRITE thing for Nashville yet? Oh My GOSH! The things that are up for grabs for a GREAT CAUSE!
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Whew! That's a lot in the blogosphere! Oh yeah! I almost forgot: there happens to have been a contest held on this blog last week... yep there sure was and well last Friday all these names were collected and placed into a hat...Would you like to see what name the hat pulled?
Well, I guess I can oblige... *wink*
Congratulations!!
*throws confetti* *dances around the room*
Thank you all for participating and I must say that I really had a blast with the author spotlight... you might see a few more in the future *grinsmischievously*
Oh yeah I am only a few followers away from 250 so ANOTHER Royal contest might be right around the corner.... ;o)
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Wishing you all a Magnificent Monday!
Congrats Indigo. What program was that that you used, that was cute.
ReplyDeleteThanks Elie! It is the Hat program - Here is the link LINK
ReplyDeleteAre those your own quotes about genre Courtney? Very astute.
ReplyDeleteMatt - yes - everything is mine with exception of the top quote. Thank you by the way. ;o)
ReplyDeleteThose are YOUR quotes??!! Wow. I'm impressed! Thanks for the wisdom and the great linkage. :-)
ReplyDeleteHey Courtney! You won PERFECT CHEMISTRY over on my blog! Email me your mailing address, and I'll get it out to you!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pjhoover.com/contact.php
Shannon O - lol. Yes, they are mine. It is just the way I interpret the genres on paper. You are quite welcome - enjoy the links!
ReplyDeletePJ - YAYAYAYAYAY!!! I am headed there now! ;o)
That is an awesome quote to start with. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's true! Each genre calls for something different.
Sometimes it's hard to balance living in the boundries of the genre and be creative, but the challenges are part of the fun.
Thanks for stopping by my blog! :)
As many above have said, great quotes! I am patiently awaiting the day when Courtney Barr is as common a name in print as .... J.K. Rowling perhaps?
ReplyDeleteYou are a magnificent writer whose fame is just hiding around the corner. I can feel it.
Emily - thanks! I love that quote - for me it is the perfect explanation for what I am trying to do with my story. That balance is what keeps us going, I think. BTW WELCOME TO THE KINGDOM!! ;o) So glad to have you!
ReplyDeleteWendy - You make me blush! Honestly. I was a bit speechless and now I just hope you know how much your compliment means to me. Thank you for your faith in me. I am glad that you enjoyed the post ;o) As always, a pleasure to have you visit the Kingdom.
This is now officially the first for enjoying a Monday (winks). Thanks a million! I'll email me you shortly.
ReplyDeleteWonderous quotes. I'm taking the paranormal one to heart and printing it out to put somewhere easily to see above my desk. All of these inspire and ignight the mind. (Hugs)Indigo
Great list and thanks for all the links. :O)
ReplyDeleteBrilliant quotes, Courtney! And thanks for the blogosphere round-up. Hope you ahd a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteSo great to read your post. I really enjoyed the message. I feel like the top quote could be me speaking sometimes. Thanks for brightening my day, Courtney. :)
ReplyDeleteThat program is so cool! Congrats, Indigo!
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Indigo! I love it when one of my bloggy friends wins :)
ReplyDeleteLove your quotes!
I love the "definitions" of the different genres. Very cool. And congrats, Indigo! Great prize and a great contest! :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely loved this post - and a great reminder of what we need to remember when we put on the writer hat.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the mention :) Also, congrats to Indigo!!
What a wonderful post!!! Filled with so much awesomeness!!! Congratulations to the winner! Way to go Indigo!
ReplyDeleteIndigo! - I am so excited for you!! ;o)
ReplyDeleteDiane - You are so welcome! Glad you stopped by
Talli - Hey girl! Glad you enjoyed it. Weekend was good - fun with the mom ;o)
Roxy - great to see you in the Kingdom today!Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the post.
Solvang - thanks! I LOVE the Hat ;o) my favorite way to pick a winner.
Jemi - Thanks! Glad to see you here today ;o)
KM - thanks!! A pleasure to have you here today. I am glad you enjoyed the contest - I had fun too! ;o)
Jaydee - you are very welcome! I loved your post - so glad to help remind you of good things with that writer hat. It is hard to remember the balance sometimes, but I guess within the challenge we learn so much ;o)
Jen - Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed it ;o)
"I want my soul to be in my work."
ReplyDeleteYup. That about sums it up. Even if it's genre fiction, I'll be putting tiny pieces of me in it, even if no one ever knows or notices. It's all I know.
Lovely post, good lady.
Thanks for the inspiring post--and for the congrats on my novel, AUDITION. I'll look forward to following your blog for a bit of southern charm to brighten tough writing days! Stasia
ReplyDeleteHope you're having a great week, too, Courtney!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the linkage. I've been terribly behind in the blogosphere this week. This is my first day even reading blogs! It's a crime, I think.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on what you want. I want all those things too.