Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Three Things and a Personal Note



I love quotes. I stumbled across the following gem from William Faulkner:

“A writer needs three things—experience, observation and imagination—any two of which, at times any one of which, can supply the lack of the others.”

Interesting. Experiences have become the seeds for some of my stories, as well as for some scenes. Observations have helped me to find the right details for characters, settings, and plot developments. I consider imagination, though, the most important of the three, at least for my fiction writing.

Do you agree that a writer needs experience, observation, and imagination? Which would you label the most important? If you don’t agree with Mr. Faulkner, what would you list as the three things a writer most needs?

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And now for a Personal Note:

As many of you know, I posted about a “curve ball” health issue that has kept me away from the bloggy universe for the last month plus. Since I have not been around as much as I had hoped, and it’s looking like I won’t be blogging regularly any time soon, I’ve decided, after much should I or shouldn’t I? debate to share my circumstances.

An MRI of my shoulder, meant to diagnose what I thought was a torn rotator cuff muscle, revealed that I have lung cancer. A shocker, especially since I have never smoked and I have always been what my friends and family consider a health and fitness nut. Apparently cancer doesn’t care. And, apparently, it can be ironic. Anyway, such a diagnosis demands treatments, surgeries, and all kinds of appointments and paperwork--stuff that has a way of taking over a life, like it or not. Soon enough, though, thanks to the battalion of angels also known as doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals, I will be back to writing and blogging full time with (thank you Mr. Faulkner) plenty of new experiences and observations to draw from. “Soon enough,” though, may mean months. I will do my best to be around as much as possible the way I’m doing my best to finish my latest novel, but this may be sketchy at times.

Everyone has something to deal with; this is my something for now, but I wish you all happy reading and happy writing and I promise to visit whenever possible.