thoughts | Inklings http://www.margothovley.com The writing and adventures of Margot Hovley Sun, 28 Oct 2018 02:17:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.2 http://www.margothovley.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/cropped-OldSchoolMarmBig-1024x698-32x32.jpg thoughts | Inklings http://www.margothovley.com 32 32 doing it anyway http://www.margothovley.com/2016/06/02/doing-it-anyway/ http://www.margothovley.com/2016/06/02/doing-it-anyway/#respond Thu, 02 Jun 2016 19:48:25 +0000 http://www.margothovley.com/?p=4521
There are so many things that are scary about being a writer. I pride myself on having a tough skin when it comes to criticism about my work, but it’s still hard when people peek into your proverbial stroller and say “gee, that baby’s ugly.”

Writers agree that even a hundred positive comments have a hard time blotting out the one negative one.

So, most of the time, it’s like this:

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one life http://www.margothovley.com/2015/07/28/one-life/ http://www.margothovley.com/2015/07/28/one-life/#respond Wed, 29 Jul 2015 02:11:08 +0000 http://www.margothovley.com/?p=4510

Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.

–Author Unknown

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the path http://www.margothovley.com/2015/05/22/the-path/ http://www.margothovley.com/2015/05/22/the-path/#comments Fri, 22 May 2015 17:37:57 +0000 http://www.margothovley.com/?p=4502

Do I choose the less difficult path even when it’s not best?

The easy sentence instead of the perfect one?

“Having my children was the best thing I did for many reasons, including that it taught me to write a single, perfect sentence. Having a big family forced me to make every second of my writing time count. It taught me to write spare and taut, to write each word as if it were special, precious, to write a sentence that nobody else in the world had written.”  –Martine Leavitt

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some things never change (for authors, that is) http://www.margothovley.com/2013/06/04/some-things-never-change-for-authors-that-is/ http://www.margothovley.com/2013/06/04/some-things-never-change-for-authors-that-is/#comments Wed, 05 Jun 2013 04:28:18 +0000 http://www.margothovley.com/?p=4401 Anne Bradstreet was born March 20, 1612, in Northampton, England–yet she and I are sisters. So many years later, I feel just as she did.

Here is her poem: The Author To Her Book

Thou ill-form’d offspring of my feeble brain,
Who after birth did’st by my side remain,
Till snatcht from thence by friends, less wise than true,
Who thee abroad expos’d to public view,
Made thee in rags, halting to th’ press to trudge,
Where errors were not lessened (all may judge).
At thy return my blushing was not small,
My rambling brat (in print) should mother call.
I cast thee by as one unfit for light,
Thy Visage was so irksome in my sight,
Yet being mine own, at length affection would
Thy blemishes amend, if so I could.
I wash’d thy face, but more defects I saw,
And rubbing off a spot, still made a flaw.
I stretcht thy joints to make thee even feet,
Yet still thou run’st more hobbling than is meet.
In better dress to trim thee was my mind,
But nought save home-spun Cloth, i’ th’ house I find.
In this array, ‘mongst Vulgars mayst thou roam.
In Critics’ hands, beware thou dost not come,
And take thy way where yet thou art not known.
If for thy Father askt, say, thou hadst none;
And for thy Mother, she alas is poor,
Which caus’d her thus to send thee out of door.

 

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happy new year http://www.margothovley.com/2013/01/01/happy-new-year/ http://www.margothovley.com/2013/01/01/happy-new-year/#respond Tue, 01 Jan 2013 18:26:06 +0000 http://www.margothovley.com/?p=4346 Jonathan Swift: “May you live all the days of your life.”

Jon Foreman: “I want to thrive, not just survive.”

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if money were no object http://www.margothovley.com/2012/11/28/if-money-were-no-object/ http://www.margothovley.com/2012/11/28/if-money-were-no-object/#respond Wed, 28 Nov 2012 15:31:53 +0000 http://www.margothovley.com/?p=382

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I finally learned http://www.margothovley.com/2012/05/21/i-finally-learned/ http://www.margothovley.com/2012/05/21/i-finally-learned/#respond Mon, 21 May 2012 23:27:16 +0000 http://www.margothovley.com/?p=316

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”

– Albert Camus

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lighting a fire http://www.margothovley.com/2012/04/01/lighting-a-fire/ http://www.margothovley.com/2012/04/01/lighting-a-fire/#comments Sun, 01 Apr 2012 19:42:34 +0000 http://www.margothovley.com/?p=299 Somehow I need to regain my burn to write.

No one can do this for me. I need to do it for myself. As shown.

credit: bent objects
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i’ve got my nose in a book http://www.margothovley.com/2012/03/07/ive-got-my-nose-in-a-book/ http://www.margothovley.com/2012/03/07/ive-got-my-nose-in-a-book/#comments Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:09:49 +0000 http://www.margothovley.com/?p=288 I’m trying to learn how to keep people’s noses where they belong–in a great book. How can I make my book so interesting, my readers won’t feel like sniffing around for something else?

source

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word http://www.margothovley.com/2012/02/04/word/ http://www.margothovley.com/2012/02/04/word/#respond Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:35:48 +0000 http://www.margothovley.com/?p=273

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