From today's Summer Blog Challenge:
July 4--To celebrate Independence Day, you are "free" to post whatever you want.
This Spring I started a writing project that has become something of an obsession for me.
It has fast become one of my favorite subjects: Women Writers in Literary History
These women writers are our grandmothers.
They are our mothers and our great aunties. They are our tias, our Godmothers, our long-lost cousins. They are our lovers, they are our role models, they are our she-roes (sometimes called heroines).
They are the women writers who stepped out before we did and made their way in a world dominated by male wordsmiths.
Whenever I start to write like this, I feel compelled to apologize and say, “I love men. Please don’t read these words and declare ‘Man Hater’.” On the contrary, I have four brothers – who I love even when quirky. I have a son – who is among the greatest gifts I have ever received. I have many many many male friends. I love the way men smell, I love to learn how their minds work, I love to catch the sparkles in their eyes when they think I am not looking.
AND I am sad that most of our “Writing Guides” are men.
I sometimes feel like a writing orphan of sorts.
I was looking for writing quotes by women today. I simply googled “Writing Quotes”. I would scroll through page after page of quotes. The average ratio of women writer quotes to men writer quotes is easily 18 to 2 out of 20.
What does this say, oh so subtly and not oh so subtly, to women who write or girls who want to write?
“The wisest writers are men.”
“It would be best for me to learn to write from a man.”
“Imitating a man is the best way to go for me, as a writer.”
I am on a mission to spread the wisdom of women writers so that our daughters – or the next generation of women writers – will not have this same experience.
Last week I posted a list of quotes by Writing Women – you may find them here. Feel free to print them out. I am going to add ten more quotes here for you to use as inspiration for writing no matter what gender you may be.
I am also including links to five writing women whose names may be completely unfamiliar to you. Please let your curiosity have its way with you today. Click on one, read about her, be inspired.
Get to know the women of your Writing Wisdom family tree: not just the Emily Dickinsons, the Jane Austens and the JK Rowlings.
1. Put your ear down close to your soul and listen hard. --Anne Sexton
2. The writer should never be ashamed of staring. There is nothing that does not require his attention. --Flannery O'Connor
3. Loving, like prayer, is a power as well as a process. It's curative. It is creative. --Zona Gale
4. To stand at the edge of the sea...is to have knowledge of things that are as eternal as any earthly life can be." -- Rachel Carson
5. "My world did not shrink because I was a black female writer. It just got bigger." --Toni Morrison
6. "It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth, and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up, that we will begin to live each day to the fullest; as if it was the only one we had."
"There are no mistakes, no coincidences. All events are blessings given to us to learn from." Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
7. "If you have knowledge, let others light their candles at it." Margaret Fuller
8. "There must be those among whom we can sit down and weep and still be counted as warriors." --Adrienne Rich
9. “I love bright words, words up and singing early.” Elinor Wylie
10. “Every mother should endeavor to be a true artist.” Frances EW Harper
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© 2012 by Julie Jordan Scott
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an award winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield. She leads Writing Camp with JJS & this Summer will be traveling throughout the US to bring this unique, fun filled creative experience to the people wherever she finds the passion & the interest.
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