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...until death do re-unite or the Priestess return to Avalon.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts, for they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
The moving finger writes and, having writ, moves on. Nor all your piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line, nor all your tears wash out a word of it.
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self .
This character appears in one of my short stories, and also in the novel. He's sadder than he looks, poor thing.
About Me
- JJ
- Ashbourne, Derbyshire, United Kingdom
- I've never had money because I've never been driven by money. I received little formal education beyond the age of sixteen, which isn't such a bad thing since you get a different angle on life that way. Learning what you want and need to learn often reveals things that the system's road keeps hidden.
BOOKS
Anyone interested in viewing the availablity of my novel Odyssey or novella The Gift Horse can do so here.
To Be Retained...
...until death do re-unite or the Priestess return to Avalon.
Khalil Gibran on Children.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts, for they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
OMAR KAYYAM ON REGRET.
The moving finger writes and, having writ, moves on. Nor all your piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line, nor all your tears wash out a word of it.
Herman Hess on Nobility
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self .
Free Fiction
I have another blog called A Handful of Stories on which I've posted some of my short fiction. Most of it has been published by a variety of independent small press publishers, so somebody other than me must have thought it worth reading.
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Pictures.
All the permanent pictures and some of the posted ones on this blog are my copyright. Most of them, however, are placed with a picture library which holds the licensing rights. I don't, therefore, have the legal right to grant permission to use them.
An Inhabitant of the Hungry Ghost Realm
This character appears in one of my short stories, and also in the novel. He's sadder than he looks, poor thing.
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When everything that is illusion is removed, all that remains is consciousness.
6 comments:
I'd like to hear why, as it will maybe justify my fear and loathing of such events. Writers' groups, writers' forums, all terrify me because I anticipate meeting hundreds of egotistical yet immensely talented writers. I stay away from writers' group websites and blogs for the same reason, though I do visit children's and YA writers' blogs because they seem softer somehow. But who knows.
That's the problem, Della. Something seems to happen to people once they feel justified in calling themselves 'A Writer.' The ego swells, the bitchiness gets cranked up, they become very judgemental, and usually it's plainly obvious that the level of talent is nothing like what they think it is. I admit that part of the problem is personal. For me, writing is essentially a solitary exercise. I write what I want, how I want, and it doesn't really matter all that much whether other people like it or not. I think it's one of the reasons why I relate so well to Emily Bronte. All this 'I'm A WRITER, and I'm not going to let you forget it' stuff leaves me a bit cold.
I completely identify. It was only recently that I "came out" publicly (to a few people) and it was at the influence of a friend who's been an openly aspiring writer for years. Still, I rarely tell most of the people I know because it sounds so pretentious. I know that it's something else (for me), but that's too hard to explain on the spot so I don't. Writing for oneself is all it should really be about, after all. You should take joy from that – and solace, as well. Hope you're staying warm on this wintry (birthday) night!
In very general terms, Della, I suspect what happens is this. Fragile egos need a label to give themselves form, and saying 'I'm a writer' is a pretty 'hip' thing to say. It sounds impressive and gets a high level of interest from the unwary. When that happens, the fragile ego gets a little drunk with its own perceived success and becomes garrulous. That's how it seems to me anyway.
I don't mean to suggest that this is true of everybody who says 'I'm a writer.' If you really ARE a writer, why not say so? Problem is, I don't really know what that means unless we're talking about career writers. But then, Kafka wasn't a career writer, but he was obviously a writer. So where do you draw the line? I don't know. All I know is that I've never called myself a writer. I'm simply somebody who's written stories. So have lots of people. I just think a lot of people jump on the bandwagon long before they've justified their place, and I think joining writers' forums is a device to reinforce their egos. And I feel sorry for young people with genuine talent but no experience of the 'writing world' who come under their influence.
Yes, writing should be about the writing, not the label.
Yes, I think many people need some kind of authoritative testimony that they actually are something (like the scarecrow, tin man & lion). Obviously I'm not talking about a profession like doctor where there actually is protocol. Writers, poets, even visual artists can be mean streak of things and it's all very subjective. I'm just not keen on belonging to a group of writers because I don't see how it will improve my craft. What improves it is a lonely business, with occasional feedback – but just occasional because as Lincoln said, we won't please all of the people all of the time. I think it was Lincoln (?) :)
Another thing that bugs me about forums is that most of the members are obsessed with notions of the 'right' way of doing things. You have to follow the 'rules of writing,' you have to have at least two beta readers, you have to set yourself targets and keep to them. Not for me.
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