Writer’s Quote Wednesday – Ernest Hemingway and Paulo Coelho

Writer’s Quote Wednesday is organised by Colleen from Silver Threading, and is a wonderful weekly series in which bloggers share the quotes which inspire them.

My first quote today, is by Ernest Hemingway.

Most readers can relate to that, even if they don’t fully understand the process (how many times has someone looked at you sideways, when you talk about a character as though they are a living, breathing person?) But regardless, we accept there are some writers with the extraordinary ability to bring characters to life. When that happens, we get so caught up in the adventure we can forget, at least for a time, that they’re not ordinary people. They become our friends; people we enjoy to spend time with. The same applies to a writer. Our characters feel real to us, and the magic happens when we can reflect that on the page – take a two-dimensional character and bring them to life.

But it’s also about sharing, about connection, which is why I chose another quote for today.

It’s the reason so many writers can’t help but talk about the people in their head. We want to share them, to talk about and describe the worlds we visit so often.

So, with that in mind, and if I may take advantage of the sharing vibe, Colleen also tagged me in the Lucky 777 Writing Challenge. These are the rules:

The 777 challenge requires you go to Page 7 of your work-in-progress, scroll down to Line 7 and share the next 7 sentences in a blog post. Once you have done this, you can tag 7 other bloggers to do the same with their work-in-progress.

I decided to keep with the seven theme, and tag the last seven commenters (as of writing this) to take part. There is no obligation, but if you feel like sharing your work in progress, my readers and I would love to hear what you’re working on. So, I tag Jazz Feathers, Patricia Lynne (who you will find featured at Writing Room 101 today), Rose F, dkchronicles2013, Charles Yallowtiz (who is guest posting at Writing Room 101 this weekend), Jacqui Murray and Callum McLaughlin.

Here is my (777) contribution from my work in progress:

By the time they reached their destination, Obadiah’s powers were fully restored. He could have removed the flimsy barrier in front of him, but he found himself waiting patiently for the door to open.

Maddison was tapping her foot, as impatient as he, though he felt no need to expel the useless energy. The itch beneath his skin was growing stronger, and with it the tether of control was wearing thin.

He felt her before she opened the door, and he wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of emotion. He had to lock it down tight. Zara was small, though her petit form did nothing to mask her potency. Her pale gold hair hung in a curtain around her face, a stark contrast against rich mahogany coloured eyes. Those eyes were pinning him to the ground, suspicion and just a touch of concern clouding their glorious shade.

They flicked to Maddison and narrowed like laser beams. “What’s going on?” she demanded.

“I was hoping you could tell me,” Maddison said, stepping forward. “He’s one of you guys, obviously.”

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed the quotes, and would love to hear from you.

Mel