Category: Quotes N Notes

Writer’s Quote Wednesday – James Earl Jones

Welcome back everyone to another Writer’s Quote Wednesday post on The PBS Blog as Hosted by Colleen of Silver Threading. As the thunder rolls and the rain floats from the sky your weekly cup of inspiration today comes from James Earl Jones:

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So of course I snagged this one from Google, but what a great quote. If not for the genius of creative written expression, there is so much of our history we would not have with us. Where would we be without books? Or the people who felt obligated enough to record their lives on paper or to think up new worlds? As a fellow book worm I don’t even wanna think about it!

About The Author:

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You don’t need an about section, of course you know James! (Right??)

 

Wikipedia:

 
James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor who in a career of more than 60 years has become known as “one of America’s most distinguished and versatile” actors and “one of the greatest actors in American history.” Since his Broadway debut in 1957, Jones has won many awards, including a Tony Award and Golden Globe Award for his role in The Great White Hope. Jones has won three Emmy Awards, including two in the same year in 1991, and he also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role in the film version of The Great White Hope. He is also known for his voice acting, most notably as Darth Vader in the Star Wars film series and Mufasa in Disney’s The Lion King, as well as many other film, stage, and television roles.

 
As a child Jones had a stutter. In his episode of Biography, he said he overcame the affliction through poetry, public speaking, and acting, although it lasted for several years. A pre-med major in college, he went on to serve in the United States Army during the Korean War, before pursuing a career in acting.

 
On November 12, 2011, he received an Honorary Academy Award.

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That’s it for this week’s episode of Writer’s Quote Wednesday and as always, don’t forget to visit the links or click on the pic to see how your blog can join the fun.

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Writer’s Quote Wednesday – Ralph Ellison

For today’s episode of Silver Threading’s Writer’s Quote Wednesday my pick is from another one of my favorite authors, Ralph Ellison:

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Woa, that picture came out wayy too big, but I digress 🙂

“By and large, the critics and readers gave me an affirmed sense of my identity as a writer. You might know this within yourself, but to have it affirmed by others is of utmost importance. Writing is, after all, a form of communication.”

– Ralph Ellison

So I love this quote, such wonderful advice about the importance of a writing identity as it is seen through the eyes of others. While you may know this within yourself (and I hope that you do) I think it’s also important to understand, as a writer, that it’s not just about you. The readers and even critics of your work play an important part in the molding and shaping of it as well. When someone who is not closely knit to you, not just a family friend or relative but a devoted reader, when he or she affirms who you are as a writer it isn’t to say you are dependent on that affirmation, it means you have properly communicated your message over to the reader. In a way it reminds me of Blog Awards. One of the most positive things about them, especially when different people nominate you for the same award, is that they prove that you have succeeded in communicating your blogging identity over to your readers. If your purpose was to create a creative blog for instance and you received a Creative Blog Award, it means you were successful in conveying that over to your readers, even if it’s just one person who gets it.

About The Author:

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Ralph Ellison was born on March 1, 1914 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and studied music before moving to New York City and working as a writer. In his book of essays Shadow and Act, Ellison described himself and several of his friends growing up as “young Renaissance Men, people who looked to culture and intellectualism as a source of identity”. Ellison took up the cornet at the age of 8 and years later, as a trumpeter, attended Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, where he studied music with his eye on becoming a symphony composer. I was first introduced to Ellison’s work while attending Chicago State University and reading his bestselling novel Invisible Man for one of my English classes, which he published in 1952, and was hooked ever since. Ellison’s unfinished novel Juneteenth was published posthumously in 1999.

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And that’s it for Writer’s Quote Wednesday. Be sure to click the picture (or the links) to find out how you can join the fun. 🙂

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