Pat Conroy loved his Enlish teachers

 cj Sez:  Author Pat Conroy credited his English teachers . . . no, make that lauded the “genius of” his English teachers for instilling in him a love of the English language.  As he is quoted on Goodreads (http://bit.ly/1ldfCg2 ): 

“I've been in ten thousand cities and have introduced myself to a hundred thousand strangers in my exuberant reading career, all because I listened to my fabulous English teachers and soaked up every single thing those magnificent men and women had to give. I cherish and praise them and thank them for finding me when I was a boy and presenting me with the precious gift of the English language.” 

  Me? I was too business-oriented to get that inspired by my high school and college English teachers (who were, nevertheless inspiring, wonderful, and quite funny).

  Despite my apparent lack of interest in writing during those years, I was, am, and will always be fascinated with words and syntax. I love, love, love the task of putting words together to create a story full of pictures and emotions. I especially like to lure readers into conjuring up the images of characters and places in their imaginations. My goal is that they make each of my stories their own. Deep point of view is my preferred style. Though sometimes I'm not quite where I need to be when I'm in the angst of creating the story, I revise, revise, and revise again.

  Still, calling myself a writer is a grand title I long hesitated to give myself despite being an author published in several genres (and being paid for it) for several years.

  But what really draws me to Mr. Conroy today is 
something he wrote in his memoir My Losing Season: A Memoir: 

“Do you think that Hemingway knew he was a writer at twenty years old? No, he did not. Or Fitzgerald, or Wolfe. This is a difficult concept to grasp.  . . .  But they had to take the first step. They had to call themselves writers. That is the first revolutionary act a writer has to make. It takes courage. But it's necessary.”

  That’s what it’s all about. We have to learn to call ourselves “writers.” Now that I’ve claimed the title, guess what? It feels good.

  Whether you’re a published or not-yet-published author, you should say it: “I am a writer!” Try it. Celebrate it. I bet you’ll like it too.

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Etcetera and P.S.A.

  Readers: If you’re looking for something to add to your ToBeRead pile (in addition to the suggestions I’ve listed below) but don’t connect with BookBub, here’s a link to get you to some wonderful books and specials … www.BookBub.com  

  Writers: Passing along a link to Jane Friedman’s popular blog and a guest post https://www.janefriedman.com/use-telling-details-to-connect-description-to-character/

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cj's Reading Suggestions:

  The following themed anthology ebooks priced at $1.99 are chock full of short stories that are entertaining to read all year long:

 

VALENTINE’S DAY PIECES BUY NOW

  

MARDI GRAS PIECES BUY NOW   

LAISSEZ LES BONS TEMPS ROULER

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  My suspense/thriller novels, THE DAWGSTAR and DEATH ON THE YAMPA, are priced at $2.49 through Feb. 19. These Jane Bond-ish adventures with a touch of romance are available at your favorite eBook seller and print copies are available locally in Mobile and via the internet at The Haunted Bookshop.

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  That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.

 

cj

P.S.  The Haunted Bookshop has signed paperback copies of my stories in stock. TO ORDER my author-graphed books or any book of your choice on-line from a favorite, indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us

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