“The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write a book about it.” -Benjamin Disraeli (1804 - 1881): as quoted in Herbert V. Prochnow and Herbert V. Prochnow, Junior, editors: “A Treasury of Humorous Quotations” (1969)
A four-year-old girl was diligently pounding away on her daddy’s old computer. She informed him that she was writing a story. “What is your story about?” he asked. “I don’t know,” she answered. “I can’t read.”
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun And Learning About Homes And Families” Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
Not like Homer would I write,
Not like Dante if I might,
Not like Shakespeare at his best,
Not like Goethe or the rest,
Like myself, however small,
Like myself, or not at all.
-William Allingham (1824 - 1889)
“When I left home, my mum said, ‘Don’t forget to write.’ I thought, ‘That’s unlikely . . . It’s a basic skill, isn’t it . . .’” -Timothy Mark ‘Tim’ Vine (born 1967)
“I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.” -Anne Frank (Annelies Marie “Anne” Frank (1929 - 1945)): “Diary of a Young Girl” (1952), ‘4 April 1944’
“If my books didn’t sell, I think I’d be a bear trainer. I like to wrestle with bears.” -Ernest Hemingway (Ernest Miller Hemingway (1899 - 1961))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Bears” gathered by Dave Hugh Beaumont.
“When audiences come to see us authors lecture, it is largely in the hope that we’ll be funnier to look at than to read.” -Sinclair Lewis (1885 - 1951)
“Writing is the hardest way of earning a living, with the possible exception of wrestling alligators.” -Olin Miller (Olin James Miller (1918 - 2002))
“Writers are a little below the clowns and a little above the trained seals.” -John Steinbeck (John Ernst Steinbeck, Junior (1902 - 1968)): as attributed in “Quote” (18 June 1961) magazine
“Words are an inexpensive, and an extremely fun, plaything.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Cheapskates and Misers” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.
“A man would do well to carry a pencil in his pocket and write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable, and should be secured, because they seldom return.” -Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626): as attributed in E. Bridgewater: “Extracts from Ancient and Modern Authors” (1828)
“For several days after my first book was published, I carried it about in my pocket, and took surreptitious peeps at it to make sure that the ink had not faded.” -James Matthew Barrie (1860 - 1937): speech (26 May 1922) at the Critics’ Circle in London, England
“It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous.” -Robert Benchley (Robert Charles Benchley (1889 - 1945))
Hugh: Hey, did you hear Stu’s writing a book?
Lou: Why doesn’t he just buy one? It’s faster.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Shopping” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.
“Writing is like walking in a deserted street. Out of the dust in the street you make a mud pie.” -John LeCarre
“Unprovided with original learning, unfound in the habits of thinking, unskilled in the arts of composition, I resolved - to write a book.” -Edward Gibbon (1737 - 1794): as quoted in Herbert V. Prochnow and Herbert V. Prochnow, Junior, editors: “A Treasury of Humorous Quotations” (1969)
“Anyone who can think clearly can write clearly. But neither is easy.” -William A. Feather (William Arthur Feather (1889 - 1981)): “The Business of Life” (1949)
“I shall be but a shrimp of an author.” -Thomas Gray (1716 - 1771): letter (25 February 1768) to Horace Walpole
“While the spoken word stands for something, the written word stands for something that stands for something.” -Author Unknown
“The only thing I was fit for was to be a writer, and this notion rested solely on my suspicion that I would never be fit for real work, and that writing didn’t require any.” -Russell Baker (Russell Wayne Baker (1925 - 2019))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Humor And Inspiration And Learning About Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence” Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
But words are things, and a small drop of ink,
Falling like dew, upon a thought, produces
That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.
-George Gordon Noel Byron (also known as Lord Byron (1788 - 1824)): “Don Juan” (1818 - 1824), stanza 88
Often paraphrased as, “A drop of ink may make a million think.” -George Gordon Noel Byron (1788 - 1824)
A four-year-old girl was diligently pounding away on her daddy’s old computer. She informed him that she was writing a story. “What is your story about?” he asked. “I don’t know,” she answered. “I can’t read.”
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun And Learning About Homes And Families” Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
Not like Homer would I write,
Not like Dante if I might,
Not like Shakespeare at his best,
Not like Goethe or the rest,
Like myself, however small,
Like myself, or not at all.
-William Allingham (1824 - 1889)
“When I left home, my mum said, ‘Don’t forget to write.’ I thought, ‘That’s unlikely . . . It’s a basic skill, isn’t it . . .’” -Timothy Mark ‘Tim’ Vine (born 1967)
“I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.” -Anne Frank (Annelies Marie “Anne” Frank (1929 - 1945)): “Diary of a Young Girl” (1952), ‘4 April 1944’
“If my books didn’t sell, I think I’d be a bear trainer. I like to wrestle with bears.” -Ernest Hemingway (Ernest Miller Hemingway (1899 - 1961))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Bears” gathered by Dave Hugh Beaumont.
“When audiences come to see us authors lecture, it is largely in the hope that we’ll be funnier to look at than to read.” -Sinclair Lewis (1885 - 1951)
“Writing is the hardest way of earning a living, with the possible exception of wrestling alligators.” -Olin Miller (Olin James Miller (1918 - 2002))
“Writers are a little below the clowns and a little above the trained seals.” -John Steinbeck (John Ernst Steinbeck, Junior (1902 - 1968)): as attributed in “Quote” (18 June 1961) magazine
“Words are an inexpensive, and an extremely fun, plaything.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Cheapskates and Misers” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.
“A man would do well to carry a pencil in his pocket and write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable, and should be secured, because they seldom return.” -Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626): as attributed in E. Bridgewater: “Extracts from Ancient and Modern Authors” (1828)
“For several days after my first book was published, I carried it about in my pocket, and took surreptitious peeps at it to make sure that the ink had not faded.” -James Matthew Barrie (1860 - 1937): speech (26 May 1922) at the Critics’ Circle in London, England
“It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous.” -Robert Benchley (Robert Charles Benchley (1889 - 1945))
Hugh: Hey, did you hear Stu’s writing a book?
Lou: Why doesn’t he just buy one? It’s faster.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Shopping” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.
“Writing is like walking in a deserted street. Out of the dust in the street you make a mud pie.” -John LeCarre
“Unprovided with original learning, unfound in the habits of thinking, unskilled in the arts of composition, I resolved - to write a book.” -Edward Gibbon (1737 - 1794): as quoted in Herbert V. Prochnow and Herbert V. Prochnow, Junior, editors: “A Treasury of Humorous Quotations” (1969)
“Anyone who can think clearly can write clearly. But neither is easy.” -William A. Feather (William Arthur Feather (1889 - 1981)): “The Business of Life” (1949)
“I shall be but a shrimp of an author.” -Thomas Gray (1716 - 1771): letter (25 February 1768) to Horace Walpole
“While the spoken word stands for something, the written word stands for something that stands for something.” -Author Unknown
“The only thing I was fit for was to be a writer, and this notion rested solely on my suspicion that I would never be fit for real work, and that writing didn’t require any.” -Russell Baker (Russell Wayne Baker (1925 - 2019))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Humor And Inspiration And Learning About Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence” Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
But words are things, and a small drop of ink,
Falling like dew, upon a thought, produces
That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think.
-George Gordon Noel Byron (also known as Lord Byron (1788 - 1824)): “Don Juan” (1818 - 1824), stanza 88
Often paraphrased as, “A drop of ink may make a million think.” -George Gordon Noel Byron (1788 - 1824)
If you could write something to change the world, what would it be?
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun And Learning About Inspiration And Motivation” Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
Helga: What are you doing?
Glenn: I’m writing a book.
Helga: What is it about?
Glenn: Everything!
“Why had I become a writer in the first place? Because I wasn’t fit for society; I didn’t fit into the system.” -Brian Wilson Aldiss (1925 - 2017)
“I have tried simply to write the best I can; sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can.” -Ernest Hemingway (Ernest Miller Hemingway (1899 - 1961))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Quitting and Trying” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.
Of all those arts in which the wise excel
Nature’s chief masterpiece is writing well.
-John Sheffield (1648 - 1721)
“Editing is a rewording activity.” -Author Unknown
“The Pythagorean Theorem employed 24 words, the Lord’s Prayer has 66 words, Archimedes Principle has 67 words, the 10 Commandments have 179 words, the Gettysburg Address has 286 words, the Declaration of Independence has 1,300 words, and finally the European Commission’s regulation on the sale of cabbage: 26,911 words.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Numbers and Counting” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.
“I may write in silence, but my words will always be heard.” -Marie Summers
“The only end of writing is to enable the readers better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.” -Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784): as attributed in ‘A Review of Soame Jenyns’ ‘A Free Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Evil’’ published in “Miscellaneous and Fugitive Pieces” (1774), volume 1, page 23
“I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.” -Flannery O’Connor (Mary ‘Flannery’ O’Connor (1925 - 1964))
“If there’s a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” -Toni Morrison (born 1931)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Reading and Books” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.
“I have very little of Mr. Blake’s company; he is always in “Paradise.”“ -Mrs. William Blake
“Writing isn’t hard, no harder than ditchdigging.” -Patrick Dennis
“A great many people now reading and writing would be better employed keeping rabbits.” -Edith Sitwell (1887 - 1964)
“The magic of the pen lies in the concentration of your thoughts upon one object.” -George Henry Lewes (1817 - 1878)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Humor And Inspiration And Learning About Magic And Sleight Of Hand” Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
“I am, really, a great writer; my only difficulty is in finding great readers.” -Frank Harris (born James Thomas Harris (1855 - 1931)): as quoted in George Jean Nathan: “The World of George Jean Nathan” (1952), page 252
“I can write better than anybody who can write faster, and I can write faster than anybody who can write better.” -A. J. Liebling (Abbott Joseph ‘A. J.’ Liebling (1904 - 1963))
“The circumstance which gives authors an advantage above all these great masters, is this, that they can multiply their originals; or rather, can make copies of their works, to what number they please, which shall be as valuable as the originals themselves.” -Joseph Addison (1672 - 1719): as quoted in “The Spectator,” No. 166 (10 September 1711)
“Every writer I know has trouble writing.” -Joseph Heller (1923 - 1999)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Difficulty and Ease” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.
“To write well is to think well, feel well, and to render well; it is to possess at once intellect, soul, and taste.” -Georges-Louis Leclerc (also known by the title Comte de Buffon (1707 - 1788))
Writer: A wordsmith.
“Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money.” -Jules Renard (Pierre-Jules Renard (1864 - 1910))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun And Learning About Inspiration And Motivation” Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
Helga: What are you doing?
Glenn: I’m writing a book.
Helga: What is it about?
Glenn: Everything!
“Why had I become a writer in the first place? Because I wasn’t fit for society; I didn’t fit into the system.” -Brian Wilson Aldiss (1925 - 2017)
“I have tried simply to write the best I can; sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can.” -Ernest Hemingway (Ernest Miller Hemingway (1899 - 1961))
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Quitting and Trying” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.
Of all those arts in which the wise excel
Nature’s chief masterpiece is writing well.
-John Sheffield (1648 - 1721)
“Editing is a rewording activity.” -Author Unknown
“The Pythagorean Theorem employed 24 words, the Lord’s Prayer has 66 words, Archimedes Principle has 67 words, the 10 Commandments have 179 words, the Gettysburg Address has 286 words, the Declaration of Independence has 1,300 words, and finally the European Commission’s regulation on the sale of cabbage: 26,911 words.” -Author Unknown
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Numbers and Counting” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.
“I may write in silence, but my words will always be heard.” -Marie Summers
“The only end of writing is to enable the readers better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.” -Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784): as attributed in ‘A Review of Soame Jenyns’ ‘A Free Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Evil’’ published in “Miscellaneous and Fugitive Pieces” (1774), volume 1, page 23
“I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.” -Flannery O’Connor (Mary ‘Flannery’ O’Connor (1925 - 1964))
“If there’s a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” -Toni Morrison (born 1931)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Reading and Books” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.
“I have very little of Mr. Blake’s company; he is always in “Paradise.”“ -Mrs. William Blake
“Writing isn’t hard, no harder than ditchdigging.” -Patrick Dennis
“A great many people now reading and writing would be better employed keeping rabbits.” -Edith Sitwell (1887 - 1964)
“The magic of the pen lies in the concentration of your thoughts upon one object.” -George Henry Lewes (1817 - 1878)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Humor And Inspiration And Learning About Magic And Sleight Of Hand” Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
“I am, really, a great writer; my only difficulty is in finding great readers.” -Frank Harris (born James Thomas Harris (1855 - 1931)): as quoted in George Jean Nathan: “The World of George Jean Nathan” (1952), page 252
“I can write better than anybody who can write faster, and I can write faster than anybody who can write better.” -A. J. Liebling (Abbott Joseph ‘A. J.’ Liebling (1904 - 1963))
“The circumstance which gives authors an advantage above all these great masters, is this, that they can multiply their originals; or rather, can make copies of their works, to what number they please, which shall be as valuable as the originals themselves.” -Joseph Addison (1672 - 1719): as quoted in “The Spectator,” No. 166 (10 September 1711)
“Every writer I know has trouble writing.” -Joseph Heller (1923 - 1999)
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Difficulty and Ease” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.
“To write well is to think well, feel well, and to render well; it is to possess at once intellect, soul, and taste.” -Georges-Louis Leclerc (also known by the title Comte de Buffon (1707 - 1788))
Writer: A wordsmith.
“Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money.” -Jules Renard (Pierre-Jules Renard (1864 - 1910))
“A writer is someone for whom writing is harder than for other people.” -Thomas Mann (1875 - 1955)
“Novelists do not write as birds sing, by the push of nature. It is part of the job that there should be much routine and some daily stuff on the level of carpentry.” -William Golding (1911 - 1993): “Rough Magic” (16 February 1977) lecture
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Humor And Inspiration And Learning About Habits And Routines” Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
“It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents - except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.” -Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton (Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton (1803 - 1873)): “Paul Clifford” (1830)
Writer: A word-dispensing machine.
Ernest Vincent Wright was born in 1872. He is known as the author of the 50,000-word book, “Gadsby” (1939), which does not contain the letter ‘e,’ except in the introduction and in a note at the end of the book. Ernest Vincent Wright passed on at about 67 years of age on 7 October 1939.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about The Alphabet and Letters” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.
“Le Train de Nulle Part” (English: “The Train from Nowhere”) (2004) is a 233-page novel by a Frenchman named Michel Dansel, published under the pseudonym Michel Thaler. Set on a train, it features a series of caustic cameos of fellow passengers who, while not doing much, somehow bring out the vitriol in Thaler’s pen. It contains lengthy passages of flowery prose, but not a lot of action. A notable example of constrained writing, the novel does not contain a single verb. Thaler says he loves words, but not verbs. “The verb is like a weed in a field of flowers. You have to get rid of it to allow the flowers to grow and flourish. Take away the verbs and the language speaks for itself.”
“Altogether, the style of a writer is a faithful representative of his mind; therefore, if any man wish to write a clear style, let him be first clear in his thoughts; and if any would write in a noble style, let him first possess a noble soul.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) (14 April 1824): as quoted in “Conversations of Goethe with Eckermann and Soret” (1850)
“There are a thousand thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up the pen to write.” -William Makepeace Thackeray (1811 - 1863): “The History of Henry Esmond” (1852): Book II, chapter 1
“I write when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m inspired at nine o’clock every morning.” -Peter DeVries
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Mornings and Dawns” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.
“A man may write at any time, if he will set himself doggedly to it.” -Samuel Johnson: as quoted in James Boswell: “The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson, LL.D.” (1785), ‘August 16, 1773’
“If you can’t annoy somebody, there’s little point in writing.” -Kingsley William Amis (1922 - 1995)
“I am always at a loss to know how much to believe of my own stories.” -Washington Irving (1783 - 1859)
“He has left off reading altogether, to the great improvement of his originality.” -Charles Lamb (1775 - 1834)
“Writing is manual labor of the mind: a job like laying pipe.” -John Gregory Dunne
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Employment and Work” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.
“Writing and rewriting are a constant search for what it is one is saying.” -John Updike (John Hoyer Updike (1932 - 2009))
“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” -Benjamin Franklin (Benjamin ‘Ben’ Franklin (1706 - 1790))
“Oliver Herford once dropped a remark in a little group of writers who were telling how much trouble they took with their work. One said he sometimes took weeks working over a single chapter. Another said, ‘That’s nothing, I sometimes spend days struggling with a single paragraph.’ ‘And I,’ said Oliver in his faraway voice, ‘frequently spend months polishing a single word.’” -Curtis Brown
“The fact that writers will go through so much to remain writers says something perhaps everything. It would be far easier (and nearly always more profitable) to become a real estate agent.” -Maria Lenhart
“I take the view and always have that if you cannot say what you are going to say in twenty minutes, you ought to go away and write a book about it.” -Reginald Lord Brabazon
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun And Learning About Time” Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
What is a ‘nom de plume’? The French phrase ‘nom de plume’ (pronounced as näm də ˈplo͞om) meaning ‘pen name,’ is a type of pseudonym. Pseudonyms are names people use for their professional work, typically that of a creative or entertainment nature. For example, singers and actors may use stage names, and writers may use ‘noms de plume.’
“A man named Samuel Langhorne Clemens named his pen ‘Mark Twain,’ and then he took the credit for all of the things his pen used his hand to write.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
“To write a book is a task needing only pen ink and paper; to print a book is rather more difficult because genius often expresses itself illegibly; to read a book is more difficult still for one has to struggle with sleep; but to sell a book is the most difficult task of all.” -Frank Mumny
“The secret of successful writing lies in striking the right keys on the typewriter.” -Evan Esar (born Esar Levine (1899 - 1995))
“I always tell people that I became a writer not because I went to school but because my mother took me to the library. I wanted to become a writer so I could see my name in the card catalog.” -Sandra Cisneros
“I never understand anything until I have written about it.” -Horace Walpole (1717 - 1797)
“Write without pay until somebody offers pay. If nobody offers within three years the candidate may look upon this circumstance with the most implicit confidence as the sign that sawing wood is what he was intended for.” -Mark Twain (pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 - 1910))
“The pen is mightier than the sword.” -Edward George Earle Bulwer-Lytton (Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton (1803 - 1873)): “Richelieu,” II, ii (1839)
“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” -W. Somerset Maugham (William Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965))
“‘Harry Potter’ author J.K. Rowling says she might not stop at 7 books and might make an 8th book about Harry as an adult. When asked why, she said, ‘There’s still money in the world that I don’t have yet’.” -Conan O’Brien
“That writer does the most who gives his reader the most knowledge and takes from him the least time.” -C. C. Colton (Charles Caleb Colton (1780 - 1832))
This is MFOL! . . . brought to you by the magic of words . . . each one a tiny magician with astonishing power . . .
“Novelists do not write as birds sing, by the push of nature. It is part of the job that there should be much routine and some daily stuff on the level of carpentry.” -William Golding (1911 - 1993): “Rough Magic” (16 February 1977) lecture
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Humor And Inspiration And Learning About Habits And Routines” Gathered By David Hugh Beaumont.
“It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents - except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.” -Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton (Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton (1803 - 1873)): “Paul Clifford” (1830)
Writer: A word-dispensing machine.
Ernest Vincent Wright was born in 1872. He is known as the author of the 50,000-word book, “Gadsby” (1939), which does not contain the letter ‘e,’ except in the introduction and in a note at the end of the book. Ernest Vincent Wright passed on at about 67 years of age on 7 October 1939.
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about The Alphabet and Letters” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.
“Le Train de Nulle Part” (English: “The Train from Nowhere”) (2004) is a 233-page novel by a Frenchman named Michel Dansel, published under the pseudonym Michel Thaler. Set on a train, it features a series of caustic cameos of fellow passengers who, while not doing much, somehow bring out the vitriol in Thaler’s pen. It contains lengthy passages of flowery prose, but not a lot of action. A notable example of constrained writing, the novel does not contain a single verb. Thaler says he loves words, but not verbs. “The verb is like a weed in a field of flowers. You have to get rid of it to allow the flowers to grow and flourish. Take away the verbs and the language speaks for itself.”
“Altogether, the style of a writer is a faithful representative of his mind; therefore, if any man wish to write a clear style, let him be first clear in his thoughts; and if any would write in a noble style, let him first possess a noble soul.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) (14 April 1824): as quoted in “Conversations of Goethe with Eckermann and Soret” (1850)
“There are a thousand thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up the pen to write.” -William Makepeace Thackeray (1811 - 1863): “The History of Henry Esmond” (1852): Book II, chapter 1
“I write when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m inspired at nine o’clock every morning.” -Peter DeVries
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Mornings and Dawns” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.
“A man may write at any time, if he will set himself doggedly to it.” -Samuel Johnson: as quoted in James Boswell: “The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson, LL.D.” (1785), ‘August 16, 1773’
“If you can’t annoy somebody, there’s little point in writing.” -Kingsley William Amis (1922 - 1995)
“I am always at a loss to know how much to believe of my own stories.” -Washington Irving (1783 - 1859)
“He has left off reading altogether, to the great improvement of his originality.” -Charles Lamb (1775 - 1834)
“Writing is manual labor of the mind: a job like laying pipe.” -John Gregory Dunne
Continue scrolling down this website page to read the rest of the article, or click or tap on these words to read “Fun and Learning about Employment and Work” gathered by David Hugh Beaumont.
“Writing and rewriting are a constant search for what it is one is saying.” -John Updike (John Hoyer Updike (1932 - 2009))
“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” -Benjamin Franklin (Benjamin ‘Ben’ Franklin (1706 - 1790))
“Oliver Herford once dropped a remark in a little group of writers who were telling how much trouble they took with their work. One said he sometimes took weeks working over a single chapter. Another said, ‘That’s nothing, I sometimes spend days struggling with a single paragraph.’ ‘And I,’ said Oliver in his faraway voice, ‘frequently spend months polishing a single word.’” -Curtis Brown
“The fact that writers will go through so much to remain writers says something perhaps everything. It would be far easier (and nearly always more profitable) to become a real estate agent.” -Maria Lenhart
“I take the view and always have that if you cannot say what you are going to say in twenty minutes, you ought to go away and write a book about it.” -Reginald Lord Brabazon
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What is a ‘nom de plume’? The French phrase ‘nom de plume’ (pronounced as näm də ˈplo͞om) meaning ‘pen name,’ is a type of pseudonym. Pseudonyms are names people use for their professional work, typically that of a creative or entertainment nature. For example, singers and actors may use stage names, and writers may use ‘noms de plume.’
“A man named Samuel Langhorne Clemens named his pen ‘Mark Twain,’ and then he took the credit for all of the things his pen used his hand to write.” -David Hugh Beaumont (born 1966)
“To write a book is a task needing only pen ink and paper; to print a book is rather more difficult because genius often expresses itself illegibly; to read a book is more difficult still for one has to struggle with sleep; but to sell a book is the most difficult task of all.” -Frank Mumny
“The secret of successful writing lies in striking the right keys on the typewriter.” -Evan Esar (born Esar Levine (1899 - 1995))
“I always tell people that I became a writer not because I went to school but because my mother took me to the library. I wanted to become a writer so I could see my name in the card catalog.” -Sandra Cisneros
“I never understand anything until I have written about it.” -Horace Walpole (1717 - 1797)
“Write without pay until somebody offers pay. If nobody offers within three years the candidate may look upon this circumstance with the most implicit confidence as the sign that sawing wood is what he was intended for.” -Mark Twain (pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 - 1910))
“The pen is mightier than the sword.” -Edward George Earle Bulwer-Lytton (Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton (1803 - 1873)): “Richelieu,” II, ii (1839)
“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” -W. Somerset Maugham (William Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965))
“‘Harry Potter’ author J.K. Rowling says she might not stop at 7 books and might make an 8th book about Harry as an adult. When asked why, she said, ‘There’s still money in the world that I don’t have yet’.” -Conan O’Brien
“That writer does the most who gives his reader the most knowledge and takes from him the least time.” -C. C. Colton (Charles Caleb Colton (1780 - 1832))
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