#TeamWill

My current heroine is high school drama teacher with a particular fondness for Shakespeare.

I studied the Bard quite a bit as a part of my double English major at university. (I'm still miffed that my professor was not swayed by my theory that the tragedy of Hamlet truly lies in the lives and fates of Ophelia's family. Sweet, Laertes...)  I was a super fan long before that. In fact I credit Kenneth Branagh's Henry V as being one of the major stepping stones that led me to being a writer today.  When he says, "You have witchcraft in your lips" - oh my.

All of which will no doubt colour my heroine's rather dramatic view of the world.

For those of you who love a little Shakespeare, do you have a favourite romantic quote?

I started searching for some favourite romantic lines and lost a blissful hour of my life swimming in them. The man is such a master of sharp wit and subtle pain.  Of warm gooiness and grand proclamation.

How about a quote to live by?  Again - too many to count.  The man just knew how to put words together in a way that made sense!

And funny?  So so funny.

How about a favourite character?

My heroine likes Will's men :).  (She does spring from my head after all.)  When she gets a gander at her hero she thinks something like this:

Up close and personal he’d been rather intimidating.  All darkly scowling eyes and that muscle ticing in his impossibly square jaw he’d appeared to be a Hamlet shoe in.  Now, from a distance, with those curls and proud square shoulders he’d make a fine Laertes. Then again she’d had a good grip on that which was hidden beneath the suit.  A dashing Mercutio, perhaps?

 

Where do you fall on the Shakespeare Scale - from "Don't Know Him, Don't Care To" all the way to "#TeamWill"?

Favourite Quotes that Inspire Us

If there is one thing a writer needs, besides coffee and chocolate, it is inspiration.  We find it in those aforementioned stimulants. We find it in books, by binging on a favourite TV series, browsing Pinterest, when walking or gardening or sitting in a cafe people-watching.

And we find it in the pithy sayings shared every day on social media and often printed and attached to a pinboard right above our desk. 

Today the LoveCats share some of our favourite pieces of inspiration...not only for writing but for life in general.


STEFANIE LONDON:  "We see things not as they are, but as we are."  
I love this Anais Nin quote because it reminds me that we all see things through our own lenses of experience, and that not everyone will see things the same as we do. It's like my little self-check to be more understanding of the different opinions that I encounter in life. Trying to be more open minded is never a bad thing, IMO!

SUE MACKAY:  Mine is short and to the point: "No one can stop you if you don't stop yourself." (Man Chen)

AMY ANDREWS: "If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write." I think Stephen King is a wise guy and I love this quote of his because I think its easy to forget and where a lot of newbie writers get it wrong. My first advice to people asking what they should do to become a writer is always - READ!

Courtesy of Red Tractor Designs

BRONWYN JAMESON: "It always seems impossible until it is done." (Nelson Mandela)
There are many times--many, many times--when I doubt myself and what I am attempting.  This is a reminder to keep trucking on, to push through the barriers, to get to that magical word:  DONE.

BARBARA DELEO:  I can’t find the origin of my favourite so it’ll have to be our old friend Anon:  “Every kick’s a boost!”


YVONNE LINDSAY:  "Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go." (Hermann Hesse)
My quote resonates because it’s a reminder that sometimes when the door you’re knocking on doesn’t open, it’s because there’s another door you should be opening. I tend to get blinkered with an idea of something I want, to the expense of other things that might work better for me.

MICHELLE DOUGLAS: "Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." (Howard Thurman)
I love this quote because it reminds me that there's more to life than making money and doing housework. Obviously, we need to pay the bills, but we need to make time for our passions too…and we shouldn't feel guilty for following them. I'm pretty certain that on my deathbed I'm not going to be saying, "Oh, I wish I'd done more housework." Life is for living. This quote inspires me to continue living my life as fully as I know how.

KANDY SHEPHERD:  "Just do it." 
My favourite inspirational quote for writers came to me via my husband who stuck the Nike quote on the pinboard above my desk. I am a born procrastinator so this quote is particularly apt for me. It’s such good advice! (That’s not to say that I always follow it!)

ANNIE WEST:   "Day by day, what you choose, what you think and what you do is who you become." (Heraclitus)

 I saw this recently and it appealed to me enormously, I suppose because it’s a reminder that we hold so much in our own hands, if only we take to time to think about what we do and how we choose to live.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Do you have a favourite quote that informs your life at the moment?  Do you "collect" quotes and inspirational messages?  Do they help you, inspire you, motivate you?