I took a sick day today; it takes a lot to get to me to the point where I recognize that staying home is a better option than staying with my kids. Needless to say, other than dragging my lifeless body to the doctor to pick up my yearly prescription for a Z-Pack, I did little else today.
While I was waiting in the doctor’s office I picked up Ralph Fletcher’s new book, Pyrotechnics on the Page, and attempted to break through the fever that was plaguing me, long enough to focus on the book. I didn’t get very far but I did come across this quote,
Like a sly crow who stashed tidbits in his nest, I pay homage to these writers by copying their words into my notebook. In this regard, my notebook becomes a pit stop where I can refuel and replenish my energy.
I love that Ralph Feltcher, children’s book author and word-man extraordinaire, admits to writing other’s words in his notebook. While I encourage my students to do this in the classroom, I don’t do it enough on my own. That is I don’t stop when I’m reading a good novel and copy down words I love into my journal. Thanks to Ralph Fletcher I’ve moved my journal and placed it right next to my Kindle in hopes that I’ll be more inclined to capture writing I love.
To loving words and how they move and speak in our lives; to stopping to pause to stash them away.
2 replies on “stopping to pause”
This blog reminds me of “A Walk to Remember”. The girl, Jamie, always kept the journal of her mother (who had died) with her. It gave her inspiration, peace, and hope. It also gave her a sense of knowing her mother when she never really had the opportunity in life. Her mother’s journal consisted of passages and simple quotes that she had come to love and had meaning to her. Jamie lived through the copied words in her mother’s journal, then passed them on to her first true love after she lost her own life to cancer at such a young age. All of your Nicholas Spark’s readers can probably relate to this thought….
Ooo, love the comparison, such a cute movie.