writer – Page 5 of 5 – Rasmenian detritus

Mr. O’Donnell & the Yellow Paper

May 21, 2010December 2, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

"What is a teacher? I'll tell you: it isn't someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows." -Paulo Coelho"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." -Albert Einstein *I sat perfectly still in my seat at the back of the classroom, listening carefully as our teacher, Mr. O'Donnell, gave us our assignment: write a one-page essay explaining what you would do with only one day left to live.There, at my desk in the far back corner, next to the little sink and the pencil sharpener, in front of the poster of Prince & the Revolution, I tried to contain my giddiness. Sure, I had written boring essays for school before. I had written some stories, too... but no one had ever seen any of those."That's not all," Mr. O'Donnell said from the front of the room. "After everyone's...

Wall of Silence

May 5, 2010 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

"If you are a writer you locate yourself behind a wall of silence and no matter what you are doing, driving a car or walking or doing housework you can still be writing, because you have that space." — Joyce Carol Oates...

I’m Calling Bullshit on Your “Writer’s Block”

April 8, 2010November 23, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

"Writer's block? I've heard of this. This is when a writer cannot write, yes? Then that person isn't a writer anymore. I'm sorry, but the job is getting up in the fucking morning and writing for a living." — Warren Ellis "There's no such thing as writer's block. That was invented by people in California who couldn't write." — Terry Pratchett * Here's the thing about writer's block: it's bullshit. If someone says to me, "I have writer's block," then what I hear is: "I'm not writing".So many people believe that writer's block is real. Some even believe that it's a disease. A disease. Sorry, you don't have a disease. Cancer is a disease. Scurvy is a disease. Your blank page is not a symptom of a medical condition. You do not have a disease. You have laziness. You have fear or insecurity. Perhaps you're out of ideas. Or, maybe you just can't write. Maybe, deep down, you don't really want to...