Tuesday, November 2, 2010

An Email From The Bard


Dear Lady,

Why art thou not content to write? Hath thy supply of quills and ink run low? Nay. Me thinketh not. Is it the plague or a cruel debtor's prison? Doth the Queen withhold her favor? Once more, I say nay. Yet, I perceive thou hath hit a wall of impediment. Aye, there's the rub. All the enticements of thine imagination cannot make thy hand write this day. Inconstancy thy name is Roxy Haynie. Get thee to a keyboard. Out, out damn-ed dilly-dallying! Reason not the need for revision, and mend thy ways lest these charges be upon thee proved.

Hold fast to thine resolve, Madam, and thou shalt win the prize. O, for the muse of Daniel Craig that doth ascend to lofty heights! If these words be false then I am but a novice and in my salad days. Boot up thy Mac, sit upon thy crappy, fold-out chair, and put thy story to the test.

We few, we happy few, we band of writers. Let our hearts, and talent, be true, for then no man who readeth our work will call it false.

I await to see thine improvement anon.

Fondly,
Will

It's always nice to receive encouragement from a friend. If you could choose a writer from the past to give you advice, who would it be? How is NaNoWriMo going for you? Have you hit any snags in your WIP?

Have a brilliant Tuesday!

25 comments:

  1. This is great! Thanks for the smile this morning. I think I would like some advice from Anthony Trollope, since he produced unbelievable wordcounts in his time. :-) Right now I am torn between line-editing the first seventeen chapters of my novel and drafting new material. I think I have to edit first, even though that's not typical for me, because I'm about to submit them to my crit partner and they need some polishing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mine would be from Emily Bronte!

    "Your penchant for morbidity does not become you. Now pray, write." Or something! LOL!

    Take care
    x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fun and perfect. Someone not so serious for me, maybe Dr. Seuss?!?!? :O)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Nano seems okay but am writing on paper so i dont know my word count.
    Muse from the past maybe I'll go with Jack Kerouac

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very clever! Love it. I think I would like Mark Twain to send some wise words. He seems like a funny guy.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'd say if I could pick a writer from the past to receive advice from, it would have to be F. Scott Fitzgerald. One, because my current WIP is set during his time period, and two, because for an alcoholic he knew how to create some fantastic work. Who says you can't drink and write fabulous literature at the same time?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Fun post! Someone from the past? Oh gosh... there's so many to choose from isn't there. Maybe Jane Austen...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Way cute! Wallace Stegner, from the not-so-distant past. Maybe Dickens.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Excellent advice from a fabulous source! You go, girl!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love this! Although I can't help thinking that this may be a NaNo procrastination technique.... :p

    I'd go for Sylvia Plath, I think.

    (PS, thanks for the lovely comments on my writing space!)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think we can all take some of this advice, to sit at the keyboard and put our stories to the test! Thanks for the nudge :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ha! This made me snort in a very unladylike way. Will would not approve!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Love it - especially Out damned dilly-dallying! That line made me laugh out loud :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Haha! That's fantastic! I like the little snippets of actual Shakespeare quotes that you've scattered in there for the observant - I managed to spot the Hamlet quote, Macbeth and Henry V. Are there any others?

    A writer from the past hey? What about William Makepeace Thackeray? His middle name is "Makepeace"! And Becky Sharp beats soppy old Miss Elisabeth Bennett anyday!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I would love the Bronte sisters to give me encouragement. They were ahead of their collective time and considered quite scandalous. And I do love myself a good scandal!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hope that pep talk is just what the doctor ordered to get your engines going again.

    Oh to be so creative as you....
    Debi

    ReplyDelete
  17. Rosslyn- Trollope is an excellent choice! He was quite prolific and disciplined. I should follow his example and adhere to a daily word count. I'm also amazed that Trollope had such variety in his writings. Good luck on the editing. I'm with you there.

    Kitty- I always look forward to your comments. (Big grin) Would Charlie be willing to share your time with Ms. Bronte? And what about Mr. Craig? He recently confessed that he's hoping for a muse upgrade. He wants to come live with you.

    Diane- Dr. Seuss was a genius. The first book I ever read independently was Fox in Socks.

    Joanna- Good luck on NaNo. I admire you for writing your story on paper. My penmanship frustrates me to no end.

    Melissa- Mark Twain is one of my favorites. I love the depth of his wit, and yet he is so easy to read.

    Mary Mary- I have to confess, F. Scott Fitzgerald took me a while to like, but once I caught on, I was a goner. His life with Zelda was almost as interesting as his books.

    DL- Love anything Austen. Especially Mr. Darcy.

    Kazzy- I think Dickens was my next choice. It's so good to hear from you!

    Elana- You are one busy lady, Elana. Thanks for stopping by.

    Katie- You caught me. I am a big procrastinator. Congrats on taking the NaNo challenge!

    Joanne- I need to nudge myself into activity more than anyone.

    Talli-Thinking of your unladylike snorting made me laugh aloud.

    Jemi- Thanks for reading my post. I know you are so busy, and I'm glad you found this funny. Does anyone actually use the term dilly-dallying anymore?

    Akseli- You caught the quotes. Awesome! I also put a few words from Will's 116th Sonnet in there and the "reason not the need" bit is from King Lear. How could anyone not like Thackeray with him having the middle name Makepeace? Becky Thatcher is a very clever, resourceful character. Thanks for bringing her to mind.

    Alleged Author- Scandal and talent. Now there's an intriguing combination! Add sisterly competition and family issues to the mix and you have the makings of an epic novel.

    Debi- Thank you for the encouragement! Visiting your blog is a must for me. It's like taking a holiday in the space of a few moments. The photographs and commentaries are always lovely. Hope you and your family are happy and well!

    ReplyDelete
  18. This is awesome! I love it :)

    I'd solicit some help from Madeleine L'Engle. Ah, if only the dead COULD write letters to the living...

    PS: Glad you enjoyed my last post! I'm hoping the naan turns out as good as I remember it :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. This letter is so brilliant! I love it, Roxy.

    Shakespeare is without a doubt one of my favourite writers in the history of this world and beyond. The man was a genius.

    Jai

    ReplyDelete
  20. May we choose more than one? Hugo,Dickens,Shaw, and Goethe from the past and Dahl, S.Silverstein, D. Lee from contemp. And a teenage favourite, Charlotte Bronte for her 'Professor".

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love this letter. :)

    I'd pick Lord Byron.

    ReplyDelete
  22. HaHa! Good one, Roxy. :)
    If I could hear from an author, I'd chose CS Lewis.

    ReplyDelete
  23. LOL! That is the best advice ever. Especially from Shakespeare! Lucky! I think I would happy with any famous writer's encouragement. But I agree with MT, CS would be AWESOME!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Ha!

    I don't get out enough!

    I'd love advice from Balzac (in English though please Mr B, my French is, c**p, if you'll pardon it).

    Have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete