“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” – John Steinbeck
“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” – Henry James
“Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.” ― William Shakespeare
“A careful and honest writer does not need to worry about style. As you become proficient in the use of language, your style will emerge, just as you yourself will emerge, and when this happens you will find it increasingly easy to break through the barriers that separate you from other minds, other hearts – which is, of course, the purpose of writing, as well as its principal reward.”
~ excerpt from The Elements of Style by Strunk & White
Do you agree with this quote?
What is the difference between writing style and writing voice?
I found this article on the topic:
One of the first composition principles a student of photography learns is the rule of thirds.
Storytelling, too, can rely on the rule of three, using repetition of a part of the story to build and then resolve tension.
But what about the number three applied to life and people?
When it comes to a trio of children, the general rule is usually FUN!
Born into a family of three children, I already know this.
Of course, I also know the mischief three little people can get up to.
I was looking after my grandchildren one day, when they and their friend asked me if they could paint their faces. Thinking that the girls, being older, had the good judgement not to use markers, I said “Sure, go ahead.”
Off they went to their playroom. To make a long story short, it took quite a bit of soap and elbow grease that night to erase most of the wonderful face art by marker (so my daughter informed me). Our little boy ended up sporting green eyebrows for a couple of weeks!
Oh dear. My bad.
The moral of the story? Grandmas can make boo-boos sometimes too.
Fun is not limited to children, of course. Get the right three adults together and laughter will surely ensue.
When that trio includes my husband and his sister Julie,
who both love hamming it up for the camera, fun is guaranteed.
Three’s a crowd? Not around here. We just needed more wine.*
“There is something magical about three, you know – a trio is tight and nicely economical.” ~ Ian Williams
“If two wrongs don’t make a right, try three.” ~ Laurence J. Peter
“To succeed in life, you need three things: a wish bone, a back bone and a funny bone.” ~ Reba McEntire
What trio comes to your mind when you think of fun and camaraderie?
WPC: Trio
WTT: Camaraderie
* “Photos of us” taken by Paul Sautter
Luminous: radiating or reflecting light; shining, bright.
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Direct observation of the luminous essence of nature is for me indispensable. – Robert Delaunay
Be luminous. Don’t adapt yourself to the circumstances around you but change them to be better. Always take your sunshine wherever you go. – Islam Elnady
I believe there is luminosity hiding in the shadow of the mundane. And things that hover on the periphery of our vision. If that’s magic, then I believe in it. – Natasha Mostert
When Menchies opened in St. John’s a few years back,
it was an instant hit with my grandchildren.
Not actually ice cream but frozen yogurt, it still makes for terrific sundaes.
As if you couldn’t tell by those mega-watt smiles! Ha ha 😀
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Ice cream is happiness condensed. – Jessi Lane Adams
Stressed spelled backwards is desserts. Coincidence? I think not! – Anonymous
The best way to teach children about taxes is to eat 30% of their ice cream.
– Bill Murray
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What’s your favourite treat when you like to reward yourself?
This Week’s Photo Challenge: Treats
Three Day Quote Challenge
What is it that inspires our desire to create?
What moves an artist to draw or to paint a picture? What sparks the passion in a writer to pen a poem or a story? What is it that prompts a photographer to run for her camera and try to capture that perfect shot?
Here are a few things that give me continued inspiration:
1. The ocean, which surrounds me… (No surprise there, right? 😉 )
Every day, it is a slightly different colour, morphing between shades of blue sapphire, steel grey, or deep, dark navy with racing waves and frothy white-caps. On other days, it is as calm and flat as a mirror.
The sea is a living thing: mercurial, organic, merciless, and endlessly beautiful.
2. I’ve always had a passion for all animals (no, not just my cats! 😉 ).
Horses, dogs, whales, and birds…
…natural beings of the forest and untamed creatures of the sea and sky.
3. My granddaughter inspires me with her sunny smile, her boundless energy and curiosity, and her sweet innocent, loving heart.
4. My grandson inspires me with those impossibly long eyelashes, his sense of humour, his quick wit, and his infectious laughter (even when he teases his crinkly Nanny).
5. Teaching children about Nature, and why we need to respect it, appreciate it and care for it is a spark for my imagination. I love answering their many questions…
… and listening to them tell of their own experiences in the beautiful, natural world.
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Have you ever noticed how Children and Nature go so happily together?
“Children are born naturalists. They explore the world with all of their senses, experiment in the environment, and communicate their discoveries to those around them.”
~ Audubon Nature Preschool“As a child, one has that magical capacity to move among the many eras of the earth; to see the land as an animal does; to experience the sky from the perspective of a flower or a bee; to feel the earth quiver and breathe beneath us..”
~ Valerie Andrews, A Passion for this EarthDo you have special childhood memories of exploring Nature?
What fills you with inspiration? Do tell!
Just a quick note tonight, friends, to let you know I will be away for two weeks starting this weekend.
I’m not sure if I’ll have the time to blog before I come home again, but I do know I will enjoy this break to renew and refresh, soak up some summer fun around the province, and look for new inspiration.
I finally received my editor’s developmental review of my manuscript this past week, and am pleased to say most of the changes are not actual changes, but additions to what I have, so my laptop will go with me.
But you know what? That isn’t work because, to me, it is a labour of love.
Take care, and see you in a couple of weeks! 🙂
– Jennifer ❤
I used to think I was a bit of a dork for liking Young Adult literature, even though my years as a young adult are long gone.
Not so anymore. Although some may be too shy to admit to it or call it a guilty pleasure, YA fiction has a huge fan base among grownups; in fact, a recent study states that 55% of its readers are actually adults. And while I also choose from a variety of other genres and often crave the more literary and classic offerings as well, I particularly enjoy writing Young Adult fiction, as two of my upcoming novels will attest.
Why do I and so many others love reading YA novels? I don’t believe it implies immaturity, but rather suggests a more “young at heart” sensibility of the reader. And I am careful about not lumping all of them together; as in every genre there is great writing and not-so-great writing. With that in mind, here is what I find appealing about most of the YA and coming-of-age literature I have read:
Still not convinced to give Young Adult a try? Peruse these quotes taken from bestselling YA fiction:
What do you think of the Young Adult genre?
Do you have any favourite YA quotes to share?
Good afternoon, all of you precious peeps out there!
Whether you’re of the furry variety of friend or not, welcome back to Jennifer’s Journal. Maisie and I LOVE when you drop by for a visit, and even more so when we are allowed to be front and centre.
Jennifer woke up with a pesky migraine this morning and couldn’t concentrate on writing, so I suggested she relax, look at some pretty pictures of us, and let me do the talking. So here I am.
As many of you already know, my sister and I have enjoyed being the centre of attention in Jennifer’s “animal-loving world” since 2007, when she and our “dad” rescued us as kittens from the pound. Are we spoiled? Nah. How can one be spoiled by too much love?
And guess what? She hardly misses an opportunity to tell us how she adores being woken up each morning by our soft nudges and warm cuddles, and how much happiness we bring to her life in general.
When she leaves us to go in town for nine or ten days at the end of this week, I know for certain she will miss our fluffy, friendly, purring cuteness more than she’s willing to admit.
We, on the other hand, will muddle through somehow until she gets back.
At least our “dad” will be here with us most of the time.
Jennifer will have to make do with these other critters for animal companionship at her daughter’s house…
Can you imagine? Such a profound sacrifice!
Something tells me, however, that she kind of likes that other cat — and stranger still, that big, curly, doggie creature. Go figure. And I’ll bet you dollars to dentabone treats she’s going to smell like him too, when she comes home. (Ugh!)
But that’s par for the course when you own a human who loves all animals, not just her own. She knows we understand. And she knows we will be waiting here with eager purrs and sandpaper smooches when she returns.
Signing off now, so until next time, thanks for reading, everyone!
~ head bumps & nose kisses,
Vivian ❤
“You know, sometimes the world seems like a pretty mean place. That’s why animals are so soft and huggy.” – Bill Watterson
This has been our contribution to Ailsa’s photo theme: Centre
at wheresmybackpack.com
and
this week’s entry in:
Do you ever have to go away and leave your fur babies behind?
Do you miss them when you do?
To trace the remote in the immediate; the eternal in the ephemeral; the past in the present; the infinite in the finite; these are to me the springs of delight and beauty. ~ H. P. Lovecraft
Captured from our doorstep last weekend…
…and a few minutes later.
Photo Challenge: Ephemeral
Jennifer's Journal 