charleswiegand.bsky.social
Charles wrote "Heartbeats Across Borders" and many short stories, some have been published in many different journals/anthologies as well has his own two collections - "Daydreaming" and "Uncharted Realities". All three of his books are available on Amazon
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A genuine question invites understanding; a cruel opinion shuts it down. Many today would benefit from remembering the difference. Some of us have thick skin, others don't, and that makes respectful curiosity all the more vital.
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In an age where offense is easily taken, especially online, Bornstein's words ring clear: questions are not the enemy, assumptions and cruelty are. It’s not the act of asking that causes pain, but the intent behind it.
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That’s why her words matter now more than ever: faith in your ability isn’t optional, it’s survival.
So keep learning, keep writing, and most of all, keep believing in your voice. Your audience may be small at first, but if your work is honest and persistent, it will grow.
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just a story they believe in and the passion to keep writing it.
The truth is, writing well isn’t enough anymore. Discoverability is a battle all its own, especially for new authors navigating platforms like Amazon, where algorithms often bury books without early reviews or a fanbase.
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In today’s publishing landscape, even the most talented voices can go unheard simply because they don’t have the marketing reach or resources to break through the noise. Mugo’s advice speaks to those who may not have a million-dollar platform or industry connections,
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Many aspiring writers lose heart when their work is rejected, especially by traditional publishers. Micere Githae Mugo’s words serve as a gentle but powerful reminder: don’t let rejection define your worth as a writer. Instead, see it as part of the journey.
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It speaks especially to women who are often marginalized: women of color, poor women, LGBTQ+ women, sex workers, and others who have historically been excluded from mainstream feminist movements because they didn’t fit the "respectable" mold.
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Kendall pushes back against this idea, asserting that a woman’s humanity and worth are not conditional on how well she performs those social expectations.
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This quote challenges the long-standing societal notion that a woman must conform to traditional ideas of respectability—modesty, politeness, heterosexuality, maternal instincts, socioeconomic status—in order to be seen as worthy of dignity, rights, and value.
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Maybe success is found in dog-eared pages, worn spines, and late-night readers saying, “just one more chapter.”
Let the critics sneer. The readers know better.
Critics may sneer, but readers turn pages. Du Maurier knew: success isn't applause from the elite—it's writing stories people can't put down
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Critics bring literary insight - but readers bring passion, emotional resonance, and, ultimately, support that keeps authors writing.
Perhaps success isn’t being admired by a handful of literary gatekeepers.
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This divide still exists today. Too often, books that are devoured, shared, and reread by thousands are brushed off as too “accessible,” too “mainstream.” But who gets to decide the value of a story?
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Daphne du Maurier’s words echo the quiet conflict many writers feel: the divide between critical acclaim and popular success. She was a bestseller, beloved by readers, but often dismissed by critics who clung tightly to their ideals of what literature should be.
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Creativity isn’t about effort; it’s about awareness. The world is whispering. Writers are just the ones who stop to listen.
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I get ideas from random words on a screen, the rhythm of a walk, or something as simple as the way shadows fall on a bench. While others look straight ahead, I glance sideways, and that’s where the story lives.
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Writers don’t have a monopoly on ideas, we just notice them.
They show up when we're bored, drifting off, watching dust float through sunbeams. The trick is paying attention when imagination taps your shoulder. Most people brush it off. Writers turn around and say, “Go on, give me some more…”
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Over time, though, many writers come to realize that not every project needs to reach its completion. Some stories serve their purpose halfway through. Others teach us something in the writing, even if they never become a finished product. Knowing when to walk away is a skill, not a failure.
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-Formal training, which often emphasizes discipline and completion
-A personal rule, possibly rooted in perfectionism or a sense of loyalty to the process
-A fear of giving up, equating an unfinished book with failure
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J.M. DeMatteis’s quote captures something many creatives grow into with age and experience: the release of obligation. When he says he no longer feels compelled to finish every book, it suggests that in earlier years, he did, perhaps due to:
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And yes - it’s completely valid (and often more powerful) to write what flows out of your fingertips. That’s where the real voice lives.
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Writing for the reader implies tailoring your content to appeal to perceived tastes, often for commercial success. Writing to the story means you follow the heart of the tale - even if it surprises, challenges, or strays from expectation.
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"cozy small-town mystery," because that's what's selling. Others, like Tamaki, focus on what the story needs - letting the narrative, characters, and emotion evolve naturally, even if it crosses genres or defies categories.
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When she says, “I try to write to the story, as opposed to writing for the reader,” she’s advocating for authenticity over formula. Some authors feel pressured to mold their stories to fit a specific genre, trope, or audience, such as writing a "YA dystopian romance" or a
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I just write what flows out of my fingertips, and it is what it is.
M. Tamaki is expressing a core truth of creative writing: the story itself should guide the writer, not market trends or reader expectations.
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To me, this quote means that some authors try to write their stories to fit a very particular genre or sub-genre, or is it even possible to write more specifically for a certain type of reader? I don't even know what that means, let alone how to do it.
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Stories don’t plant evil in readers. But they do challenge, provoke, warn, and explore. That’s their power, and their point.
Let’s stop blaming fiction for the world’s problems. And instead, let’s use it to better understand them.
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Because they’re afraid. Not of the violence itself, but of what it might mean. And because it’s easier to blame a book than to look at the larger complexities of society, family, or psychology.
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The above quote is a powerful rebuttal to the oversimplified argument that fictional violence begets real-world violence.
So why do some insist that fiction, especially when written for children, needs to be scrubbed clean of anything dark or difficult?
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Fiction doesn't plant evil or cause violence - it reflects human nature, exploring fear, violence, and choice safely. Stories like Cain and Abel in the bible are taught to children as a history lesson, yet those children don't go out and kill their brothers, or anyone, because of what they learned.
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We stand on the shoulders of those long buried. Dead writers may be distant, but they shaped the very tools we use to write. Eliot reminds us: they’re not past, they’re part of us.
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So, even if the writers themselves are long gone, their influence remains alive and present in our language, in our craft, and in the very questions we still ask as writers.
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They’re not behind us - they’re within us. Their words, structures, and insights formed the foundation of our modern understanding of literature.
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“Precisely - and they are that which we know.”
He’s saying:
Yes, we may “know more” than the dead writers in terms of accumulated knowledge or technology.
But everything we know is built on their work.
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T. S. Eliot is directly challenging the idea that "we’ve outgrown the old writers" simply because we live later in time or know more facts. His response?
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Only Peter Pan could look at death and call it an adventure. It’s innocence. It’s courage. It’s a reminder that fear is a choice, and perspective shapes everything.
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Of course, as adults reading it, we recognize the bittersweet depth beneath it. Peter’s innocence shields him from fear, but also from full understanding. That’s part of what makes the line so powerful.
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The quote above is spoken by Peter Pan himself, and it perfectly captures his character: fearless, imaginative, emotionally detached, and perpetually childlike. In the story, he says this line when he believes he is about to die, yet instead of despair, he greets the moment with curiosity and wonder
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"The I Don't Like Reading Book" - for lists, doodling, starting fires, etc -
www.amazon.com/dp/B0F4XJTYN8
For more info visit:
author.wiegand.org
#writerslift #books #reading #publishedauthor #author #charleswiegand
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This isn’t new, but it's more visible than ever. We've created a world where presentation trumps depth and being seen matters more than being right.
We’ve built a culture where who speaks matters more than what they say. Deshpande saw it clearly. Fame gives weight, even when the words are hollow.