Sentences. We all use them. They come in different forms. Some are long; others are short. They describe, explain, question, state or emphasize a thought or idea. They can be beautiful or down right unattractive. They can make us laugh and sometimes cry. They can empower rebellions, topple dictators, create fud, motivate and de-motivate an entire society of readers. Sentences are widely used by every human on the face of the earth either knowingly or unkowingly. They are the building blocks of communication. And using them correctly matters.
Now this blog is not a writing class. It’s not my intention to teach literature. I am not an academic instructor. This website is my personal blog of sorts containing musings, ideations and observations taken from 45 years of experience and counting. It is my goal to form the habit of writing consistently online for two very important reasons. First, I want to do this (simply and to the point). Second, I have in part been writing my entire life. Some of it was pen to loose leaf paper. I’ve filled journals, written on napkins and on the back of memo pads from hotels.
It is for this reason, that I am writing here so as
It all starts with a sentence. A noun followed by an action and a subject. A story comes together when you repeat this process over and over again. If you have the good fortune to have continuity in the words that you put to the page then you are one step closer to being an effective storyteller.
Storytelling is a passion of mine. It started at a very early age with an old typewriter purchased at a garage sale. In the beginning, I actually think that the reward of hearing the typewriter fostered even more imaginative output. To write and tell stories is one of our basic human needs.
I invite you, for a moment, to think of some of your favorite stories. What do they sound like..?
“When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only.”
Henry David Thoreau, “Walden”
…by far one of my favorite introductions. Thoreau masterfully draws us into his story and gives us everything we need to know.
“To the red country and part of the gray country of Oklahoma, the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the scarred earth.”
John Steinbeck, “The Grapes of Wrath”
“He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.”
Ernest Hemingway, “The Old Man and the Sea”
“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Great Gatsby”
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”
George Orwell, “1984”
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
Jane Austen, “Pride and Prejudice”
These opening sentences, famous for their ability to draw the reader in the world of the story, are works of art. And most certainly, these are some of the most recognized sentences in literature.
Each of the above stories, is an introduction into the works of a masterful storyteller. A person who stands the test of time as a legend of their craft. In my life, I have yet to have met many that could be considered a legend. Such people are might actually be as rare as Painite.
Yet through their words, we learn, find enjoyment, and ideate. A person does not become a legend by doing mediocre endeavors; nor by being the 80% version of themselves. Rather by being real, genuine and authentic and trying to live a life that others will celebrate after they pass, a person pursuing such noble achievements in life can be a legend in their own space.
“Life isn’t about what one possesses, rather from the experiences one embraces.”
A personal compilation of thoughts and principles
This site is my own personal curated collection of thoughts, principles, and ideas that I put to paper. It is not to be taken seriously or literally. I mean to use this site to express my own personal creativity and to share things that, perhaps, you will find interesting.
In a world full of things that are artificial and synthetic, I hope that you can take a moment to breathe, relax and engage with the words of a real human.
Until next time.