by Virginia Parker Staat
“Tell me the facts and I’ll learn.
Tell me the truth and I’ll believe.
But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.”
~ Native American Proverb
Years ago I attended a literary reading series. After one of the writers finished reading his essay aloud, he asked the audience an intriguing question, Continue reading
By Virginia Parker Staat
“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.”
~ H.E. Luccock
Drawing stick people is a challenge for me. Continue reading
By Virginia Parker Staat
“I love the tradition of Dickens, where even the most minor
walk-on characters are twitching and particular and alive.”
~Donna Tartt
It was a gem of a find. It had rained for six days straight, and we were looking for a diversion. Continue reading
by Virginia Parker Staat
A writer has the duty to be good, not lousy;
true, not false; lively, not dull; accurate, not full of error.
He should tend to lift people up, not lower them down.
Writers do not merely reflect and interpret life, they inform and shape life.
~ E.B. White
I fear I have officially become a grammar ninja. Continue reading
by Virginia Parker Staat
“Words have life and must be cared for.
If they are stolen for ugly uses or careless slang or false promotion work,
they need to be brought back to their original meaning – back to their roots.” ~ Corita Kent
David and I have just returned home from a four-month camping trip through Alaska and Canada. Continue reading
By Virginia Parker Staat
Don’t you see, these words are an earworm. A song you can’t stop humming even after you die.
~Toby Whithouse, Doctor Who: Under the Lake Continue reading
Article & photo by Virginia Parker Staat
“I love everything that’s old – old friends, old times,
old manners, old books, old wine.“
~ Oliver Goldsmith
It’s done… finished… finito. Last week we completed the library we have been building for over two years. Continue reading
By Virgina Parker Staat
“I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.
The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.
I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”
~ Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
One of our favorite Christmas traditions is to watch various movie adaptations of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It occurred to me that the ghosts in this timeless story make a good parallel for writing. I realize that it may be a bit of a stretch, but work with me here… Continue reading
by Virginia Parker Staat
“Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction
is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.”
~Mark Twain, Following the Equator: a Journey Around the World
It was a vision to behold… nearly 100 men, each dressed in white, all dancing, twirling, running, and flapping their arms while the band raucously sang the old Gospel tune, I’ll Fly Away. Continue reading
by Virginia Parker Staat
“I read in a book once that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but I’ve never been able to believe it. I don’t believe a rose WOULD be as nice if it was called a thistle or a skunk cabbage.” ~L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
The candy-apple red Corvette sped by us, easily exceeding 90 miles per hour. We were just able to read the vanity license plate as it flew past: BYBYCOP. Continue reading