“I've always been creative verbally, had a flair, my teachers said - wrote great expository essays in elementary school, scribbled little poems, embraced all writing assignments. And all along I read voraciously - first in Russian and then, after we left the USSR, in English, and even Spanish.” WritingFirstsLittlesSaidSchoolLeftCreativeTeacherEssaysAssignmentsElementary SchoolFlairUssr Author:Vera Nazarian
“The act of sharing with readers was at first too much of an intimate thing. But it evolved into an intense necessity to share.” FirstsToo MuchShareReaderIntenseIntimate Author:Vera Nazarian
“Marion Zimmer Bradley took apart my first submission to her, covered the manuscript in red ink revisions, and told me to try her again. I had never been so reeling with authorial joy as I had been that day, holding Marion's letter and seeing that ravaged manuscript - finally, it meant that someone cared!” TryingFirstsJoySeeingRedLettersCoveredSubmissionInkManuscriptsRevision Author:Vera Nazarian
“I sat down and wrote a short story in two weeks and submitted it to Marion Zimmer Bradley. And Marion bought "Wound On The Moon" .My first sale and my first pro sale rolled into one.” FirstsTwoStoriesWeekMoonDown AndWoundsSatShort StoryTwo Weeks Author:Vera Nazarian
“However I will never forget what Marion [Zimmer Bradley] did for me by accepting that first story from a stupid enthusiastic kid.” FirstsStoriesKidsForgetAcceptingStupidNever ForgetEnthusiastic Author:Vera Nazarian
“It is right here, all of it, here for the taking, right before our eyes - happiness, fulfillment, hope, peace, justice. And most of all, there is truth, ordinary and simple, just sitting there to be plucked, if only we get our lazy rear ends off the pillow of complacency. But first, we need to open our eyes to this banal fact. And for that we need a periodic bit of shakeup in the form of an infusion of wonder - fantastic literature.” IfsNeedsFirstsEndsFactsEyeFormLiteratureBitsJusticeSimpleWonderOrdinarySittingFantasticFulfillmentLazyComplacencyPillowPeace JusticeInfusion Author:Vera Nazarian
“I was nurtured on Greek Mythology and the classical epics. I lived and breathed Homer. Other mythologies - the Russian, the Norse, the Persian, the Indian, Egyptian, etc. - all came later. First and foremost were the Greeks, and they were all living in my head as though I were Zeus and they were a clamoring Chorus of Athenas.” FirstsMythologyIndianGreekEtcEpicGreek MythologyChorusEgyptianPersianZeusAthenaGreek MythNorse Author:Vera Nazarian
“Consolation has been wrongly reviled. Consolation is not apathy or inaction. It is not closing one's eyes to the evils of the world. Rather, consolation is the first step in regaining personal equilibrium and strength, which necessarily precedes the ability to act.” WorldFirstsHas BeensEyeEvilAbilityStepsApathyFirst StepsConsolationClosingInactionEquilibrium Author:Vera Nazarian
“My advice for aspiring writers is threefold.First, read as much as possible, both within and outside the genre you arem working in. By reading you hone your internal ear for style. Second, write. Everything comes down to it; unless you write, you are not a writer. Third, submit your work. But - stop chasing every seductive new market out there, and stop trying to write for the tastes of specific established professional markets and editors. That way lies mediocrity and eventual dissolution of your true voice, no matter how embryonic or pronounced it may be now.” WayWritingTryingFirstsMayMatterLyingReadingVoiceAdviceStyleTasteEarsThirdsGenreInternalsEditorsMediocritySubmitChasingSeductiveStop TryingDissolutionAspiring Writers Author:Vera Nazarian
“Frost grows on the window glass, forming whorl patterns of lovely translucent geometry. Breathe on the glass, and you give frost more ammunition. Now it can build castles and cities and whole ice continents with your breath’s vapor. In a few blinks you can almost see the winter fairies moving in . . . But first, you hear the crackle of their wings.” GivingFirstsWholeMovingGrowsCitiesWindowBreathsWingsWinterGlassesPatternsBreatheLovelyIceFairyContinentsCastlesGeometryFrostBlinkMoving InAmmunitionVapor Author:Vera Nazarian
“Was it you or I who stumbled first? It does not matter. The one of us who finds the strength to get up first, must help the other.” FirstsDoeMatterHelpingGuiltGet Up Author:Vera Nazarian
“You cannot be fair to others without first being fair to yourself. Know that a well-honed sense of justice is a measure of personal experience, and all experience is a measure of self. Know that the highest expression of justice is mercy. Thus, as the supreme judge in your own court, you must have compassion for yourself. Otherwise, cede your gavel.” KnowsFirstsWellsSelfJusticeCompassionExpressionJudgingHighestFairsMercyCourtSupremePersonal ExperiencesCompassion For YourselfGavel Author:Vera Nazarian
“A boomerang returns back to the person who throws it. But first, while moving in a circle, it hits its target. So does gossip.” FirstsPersonsDoeMovingReturnCirclesTargetGossipMoving InBoomerangReturn Back Author:Vera Nazarian
“SUN, MOON, AND STARRY SKY Early summer evenings, when the first stars come out, the warm glow of sunset still stains the rim of the western sky. Sometimes, the moon is also visible, a pale white slice, while the sun tarries. Just think -- all the celestial lights are present at the same time! These are moments of wonder -- see them and remember.” ThinkingFirstsStillsSometimesMomentsLightRememberStarsWhiteWonderSunSkyMoonSummerWesternWarmEveningVisibleSunsetPaleCelestialStainsRimsSun MoonStarry SkySummer EveningWestern Sky Author:Vera Nazarian
“The Gingerbread House has four walls, a roof, a door, a window, and a chimney. It is decorated with many sweet culinary delights on the outside.But on the inside there is nothing-only the bare gingerbread walls.It is not a real house-not until you decide to add a Gingerbread Room.That's when the stories can move in.They will stay in residence for as long as you abstain from taking the first gingerbread bite.” FirstsLongRealStoriesMovingHouseRoomsFourDoorsSweetWallWindowAddDelightCulinaryBitesRoofChimneysResidenceFour WallsGingerbread Author:Vera Nazarian
