Observations From Hadleyville: WRITERS IN THE FAMILY

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

WRITERS IN THE FAMILY

I came across some poems written by by grandfather, Charles G. Patterson. Here are two of them

MAN

Who climbed the mountain to say a prayer?
All alone with his God in cool clean air.
And with all his wisdom and reason
he was hanged to a cross.
Yeah,
Even a half-wit can see who was Boss.

HIS MAJESTY

There, on yonder hill stands a big oak tree.
Sturdy and strong, alone and free.
With no malice, no greed, no hatred
-unlike you and me.
He's king of the hill - His Majesty.
He has been standing there
many a year, and many a day.
Keeping watch on us and the foolish
games we play;
digging and scratching, going to and fro.

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WORDS OF WISDOM FOR WRITERS

The secret of becoming a writer is that you have to write. You have to write a lot. You also have to finish what you write, even though no one wants it yet. If you don't learn to finish your work, no one will ever want to see it. The biggest mistake new writers make is carrying around copies of unfinished work to inflict on their friends.

I am sure it has been done with less, but you should be prepared to write and throw away a million words of finished material. By finished, I mean completed, done, ready to submit, and written as well as you know how at the time you wrote it.
-Jerry Pournelle

WHAT'S THIS HADLEYVILLE THING?

Those of you familiar with Mark Twain’s works might recognize my blog title. As Samuel Clemons grew older, he became increasingly disillusioned with humanity. Towards the end he began referring to the Damned Human Race; employing the secular and religious epithet at one stroke.

I find I’ve not reached that level of despair myself. I still believe in redemption and I still see signs of nobility even among we fallen, damned creatures. So, I could not bring myself to call this blog “On the Damned Human Race.” I do however, resonate with another of Clemmons stories; “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg.” And viola, there you have it. “Observations From Hadleyville.”