Writing Talks
Tag: quote
Who Are You?
Show Us Your World
Book Planning
Reading Takes Us Places
The Write Idea
Write Anything, Write Everything
Go Write
Writing Is Your Teacher
Book Review: Deathly Hallows
Summary (from Goodreads):
Harry is waiting in Privet Drive. The Order of the Phoenix is coming to escort him safely away without Voldemort and his supporters knowing – if they can. But what will Harry do then? How can he fulfill the momentous and seemingly impossible task that Professor Dumbledore has left him?
The epic finale to an epic series.
I can’t begin to explain the amount of feels I have for this book; for this series. I am way behind on the times when it comes to reading this series and finally read it because I needed to read it for school. I read the first six books within a couple of months, but it took me a little while to read the last one.
I think maybe it was because I knew how it ended (according to the movie) and I didn’t want it to end. There are so many things in the books that did not happen in the movies, the books made me appreciate the Harry Potter world so much more. I don’t know why I have never read the books before.
However, I finally decided to read the last novel and I cried through half of it. Most were sad tears with a few characters dying, but some were happy tears.
Overall, I am satisfied with the ending of the novel, but like many others, I want more. I’m sad that the series ended and despite how different the movies are, I just want to sit on the couch all day and marathon all eight movies.
Favorite Quote:
“‘Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?'” –Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Ask Your Protagonist
Book Review: Walt Disney
Summary (from Goodreads):
Walt Disney is an American hero–the creator of Mickey Mouse, and a man who changed the face of American culture. After years of research, with the full cooperation of the Disney family and access to private papers and letters, Bob Thomas produced the definitive biography of the man behind the legend–the unschooled cartoonist from Kansas City who went bankrupt on his first movie venture but became the genius who produced unmatched works of animation. Complete with a rare collection of photographs, Bob Thomas’ biography is a fascinating and inspirational work that captures the spirit of Walt Disney.
I bought this book when l found a cute store called The Writers Stop at Disney. I discovered a lot of brand new things about Walt Disney down there so l decided to buy his biography to learn some more.
Recently, l watched the movie “Saving Mr. Banks” with my sister and parents and that got me in the mood to finally read the biography.
The book is 360 pages and it’s very detailed. Bob Thomas, the author, did a great job explaining Walt Disney’s life. Apparently the author has written many other biographies. So even if Walt Disney isn’t your kind of guy, l would look up who else Bob Thomas wrote about.
Favorite Quote:
“Imagination is an intuitive thing; I think it’s something you’re born with. But it has to be developed.” –Walt Disney, from “Walt Disney: An American Original”
Second Drafts Save Lives
Book Review: The Reason I Jump
Summary (from Goodreads):
You’ve never read a book like The Reason I Jump. Written by Naoki Higashida, a very smart, very self-aware, and very charming thirteen-year-old boy with autism, it is a one-of-a-kind memoir that demonstrates how an autistic mind thinks, feels, perceives, and responds in ways few of us can imagine. Parents and family members who never thought they could get inside the head of their autistic loved one at last have a way to break through to the curious, subtle, and complex life within.
Using an alphabet grid to painstakingly construct words, sentences, and thoughts that he is unable to speak out loud, Naoki answers even the most delicate questions that people want to know. Questions such as: “Why do people with autism talk so loudly and weirdly?” “Why do you line up your toy cars and blocks?” “Why don’t you make eye contact when you’re talking?” and “What’s the reason you jump?” (Naoki’s answer: “When I’m jumping, it’s as if my feelings are going upward to the sky.”) With disarming honesty and a generous heart, Naoki shares his unique point of view on not only autism but life itself. His insights—into the mystery of words, the wonders of laughter, and the elusiveness of memory—are so startling, so strange, and so powerful that you will never look at the world the same way again.
In his introduction, bestselling novelist David Mitchell writes that Naoki’s words allowed him to feel, for the first time, as if his own autistic child was explaining what was happening in his mind. “It is no exaggeration to say that The Reason I Jump allowed me to round a corner in our relationship.” This translation was a labor of love by David and his wife, KA Yoshida, so they’d be able to share that feeling with friends, the wider autism community, and beyond. Naoki’s book, in its beauty, truthfulness, and simplicity, is a gift to be shared.
This book is a quick read of being a mere 135 pages. I read it in just a couple of hours. The topic is gentle, but can be sensitive to some. Being a special education teacher this book jumped out at me when I first heard of it. My co-worker actually recommended it to me. My sister, also a special education teacher, was the one who gave it to me not knowing I wanted it.
Told through an “interview” style, the reader gets a good insight on what it’s like to be autistic. Naoki Higashida explains to us how difficult it is to be autistic and how confusing it is. However, he also explains the good things about being autistic as well. “Normal” people just don’t see the world the same way an autistic person does.
It explained a lot to me because I could relate most of the questions to the kids at my work. For example, why do they spin so much? Or, why are they so fascinated with numbers? If you want to know the answers, I suggest you read the book. It’s very informative.
Favorite Quote:
“To give the short version, I’ve learned that every human being, with or without disabilities, needs to strive to do their best, and by striving for happiness you will arrive at happiness.” –Naoki Higashida, The Reason I Jump
Inspiration Station
“You may not want to be a writer and that’s fine. But by the end of this class, you are going to know exactly what a writer does and all the blood, sweat, and tears that get mixed in with the ink.” –Athena Beech
Today was a rough day. Kris was home all day because she’s doing the over-night at her work tonight. I also had to go to work because the other teacher and I have been stripping the classrooms. We finished today, thank God. I can’t stand seeing the classrooms so bare. Anyway, because of those two factors I was not able to start writing early in the morning like I have been and with Kris there all I want to do is play video games with her. She got Sonic: Lost World for the Wii U for Christmas and we just started playing it the other day. It’s a great game and I bother her to play it at any moment I get.
So, I came home from work and said, “Wanna play Sonic?!” Kris said something to me that I regret mentioning to her…you see, the other day I wanted to do absolutely nothing. I had a cup of coffee in hand and all I wanted to do was put my feet up and watch Psych. I have been watching that a lot lately, I don’t know why. But season eight starts tomorrow night!
Even though I wanted to do everything humanly possible that did not involve me writing my 5,000 word count, I repeated to myself: Work first, play later. I told Kris this. So, what do you think she said when I asked her to play Sonic? Yes, “Work first, play later.” Thus, we wrote.
Kris wrote a little and then decided to edit her novel (yay!) while I continued to write in order to hit my 5,000 daily word goal. Since I finished Detective Florence I had to write something else. I looked at my To Do List and looked at all the novels from there. I couldn’t choose which one to write, so Kris put them in a randomizer thing on the internet and it told me to write Hunter & Comet.
Well, I wrote an even 2,000 words for that. However, I wasn’t in the mood to write it so I decided to stop because it was turning out kind of crappy…even for the first draft.
I decided to write Inspiration Station instead. This was a story idea I came up with on a whim one night (pretty recently) when I wasn’t sure what to write. At the time I still wasn’t in the mood to finish Detective Florence, I had no idea what to write so I decided to write about writing. I’m pretty sure I’ve explained this novel before, but I’m going to explain it again…
Inspiration Station is about a writer, Athena Beech, who is not yet published because she’s stuck on her writing. As her day job she starts her first semester teaching a creative writing course at a local community college. She has a class full of interesting students. Some are taking the class because they want to write for a living and others are taking it because they believe it to be an “easy A.” Athena takes this as a challenge and comes up with the “Inspiration Station” which is basically a bunch of writing prompts. She hopes to give inspiration to all her students as well as herself.
So, as you probably figured out, the quote up top is from the main character, the teacher, in the story. She said to her class right as they were being dismissed because most of them aren’t too into the class at the moment.
I’m having fun with it. As a teacher, I think it’s fun to write lesson plans and since I’m not a teacher anymore I don’t write lesson plans anymore. So, yes, I am writing actual lesson plans for Athena’s classes. They’re not fully thought-out, mostly just an outline to help me plan the novel, but it’s a lot of fun. I think some of that stuff would be cool to do in a real classroom.
I wrote 3,358 words for the story. Adding that to the 2,000 I wrote for Hunter & Comet, I have 5,358 for today. This also leaves me at 6,500-something total for Inspiration Station so far. I already had about 3,300-something words already written for the story.
I think Inspiration Station is going to be the next novel I complete. I think it’s going to be a good one. I have high hopes for it, anyway.