Life of the Mind Consortium

LIFE OF THE MIND CONSORTIUM

VOICES OF ART>

The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is you really want to say. ~Mark Twain

Twenty-six Harvard Institute for Learning in retirement members, aged 62-85 years, have enrolled in Anne Pirrera's course on Postmodernism. The 19 women and seven men are eager to explore the concept that has lately bedeviled fields such as art and architecture, aesthetics and culture, politics and feminism—areas in which many of them have labored with distinction in their lives and careers. Once a week for 13 sessions of the semester, they come prepared for vigorous debate, having wrestled with one more demanding chapter in their assigned textbook.

Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known. ~Oscar Wilde

The work of art may have a moral effect, but to demand moral purpose from the artist is to make him ruin his work. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Essentially, every image is nothing but a dab of colour, a hunk of stone, a trick of light on the retina that triggers the illusion of discovery or recollection, just as we are nothing more than a multiplicity of infinitesimal spirals in whose molecules, we are told, every one of our traits and tremors are contained. And yet, such reductions offer no explanation, no clue as to what is constellated in our mind when we see a work of art that,implacably, seems to demand reaction, translation, learning of some kind -- and perhaps, if we are lucky, a small epiphany. ~Alberto Manguel

True art is too complex to reflect the party line. Art that tries hard to tell the truth unretouched is difficult and often offensive. It tears down our heroes and heart-warming convictions, violates canons of politeness and humane compromise. ~John Gardner

History, real solemn history, I cannot be interested in.... I read it a little as a duty; but it tells me nothing that does not either vex or weary me. The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars and pestilences in every page; the men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all - it is very tiresome. ~Jane Austen (spoken by Catherine Morland in 'Northanger Abbey')

Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression. The chasm is never completely bridged. We all have the conviction, perhaps illusory, that we have much more to say than appears on the paper. ~Isaac Bashevis Singer

Virtual Connections to Writing Resources

Each of us has ideas worthy of sharing. Writing, whether online or on paper, is still a primary means of such sharing. It is a matter of courtesy to present your writing to others in a generally accessible style, recognizable, consistent, etc. For those who need assistance and/or confirmation in developing their writing skills, several links to writing labs are included. Style manuals provide guidelines for this; then you must just keep writing enough to develop your own personal style. The increased use of citations from various electronic sources raises new issues, thus, a number of links to details on electronic citation are provided.

Seniors take linking seriously!

"Do not put statements in the negative form. And don't start sentences with a conjunction. If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do. Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all. De-accession euphemisms. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. Last, but not least, avoid cliches like the plague." ~William Safire, "Great Rules of Writing"

Writing Resources

Purdue Online Writing Lab One of the most accurate and outstanding websites on writing and verification of language and information. An absolutely essential tool.

Fiction Addiction Website Resources include links for publishers, literary agents, workshops, books, message boards, etc. Check Listings as the link on top of webpage for publishers websites among other useful links.

Gotham Writer's Workshop Classes listings Writer’s Workshops, both online and at NY city site.

Writer's Digest Site Bookstore, book club, school, online workshops, writer’s market. Very comprehensive.

Fiction Factor Every month this site features tips on writing better fiction, articles on improving your writing, writing a novel and getting published, promoting and marketing your fiction and much more! Free newsletter, listing of recommended books, etc.

Universe Fiction Site with a specialty section for fiction writing! Here you'll find links to fiction markets, resources for fiction writers, research resources, articles and discussion. Sponsored by iUniverse and tends to be genre-oriented.

Lit.Org This is a community site. For writers by writers. Your work gets seen and often commented on by writers giving you advice, praise and criticism. This open forum style lets you get your works out fast and get feedback instantly. Readers also get a good bit out of the site. They get the newest stories and poets from aspiring writers delivered quickly.

Writing Center Handouts: University of North Carolina Clever approach with a large chart of topics that leads to printable handouts on the topic. The handout on Revising Drafts is an example of useful approaches.

Writing Center Handbook: University of Wisconsin This larger website presents a breat deal of useful tools. Offers a precise set of instructions and explanations for writers within a wide range of areas from poetry to reviews to research papers.

Poets & Writers, Inc. It is a primary source of information, support, and guidance for creative writers. Founded in 1970, it is the nation's largest nonprofit literary organization. Our national office is located in New York City. Our California branch office is based in Los Angeles.

Science Fiction Fantasy Post your writing for reviews, critique interesting work by others, read and learn from our monthly Editors' Choices, participate in our discussions, and use our extensive list of resources for writers. You retain all rights to your work and choose your own level of participation. Our costs are as low as we can make them--$49 a year, or 94 cents a week.

SFF Writer's Community is the world's premier site for genre fiction - science fiction, fantasy, horror, romance, mystery, and young adult fiction. SFF Net is a large, bustling online community of authors, publishers, editors, and - above all – readers Membership Community

PBS American experience website is most useful to anyone wanting to work in the area of historical fiction where facts are underlying story.

History Net.com is well designed website that offers facts and interpretations that might help an author of historical fiction.

Classics website This list is intentionally selective. A summa summarum of sorts, it is not meant to replace existing directories of online classics resources, but rather to point to them.

Voice of the Shuttle website is one of the strongest in placing connections in your hands.

The Victorian Web is one of the largest and most used resource collections related to the Victorian period.

Big Dog's Grammar This is a bare bones guide. Note the addition of self-assessment tests.

On-Line Grammar is useful for fundamentals and offers some assistance for English as a Second Language.

Guide to Grammar and Style Professor Jack Lynch has compiled one of the best online reference tools on these issues.

The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say. ~Anaïs Nin

"One of the wonderful things about a museum is how you're jolted into confronting art from strange and wonderful civilizations and you look and learn and expand your horizons." ~~Sister Wendy Beckett

2009 Last Update