Five Minute Friday: "Writer" + Weekends with Chesterton

Five minutes on "writer."

No editing, no over thinking.~~

Go:

We are all failures.

At least the best of us are.

Words credited to  JM Barrie, writer. Simply, a writer. A man whose genius brought us  sparkling words, some of the most beautiful of our language some hundred years ago. 

Have you read the original script penned by this master of words? No, not that  version. Please, no. <gasp> Green clad, blondish flying imp, mini fairy, croc eschewing captain. No. Please, not the version which destroyed his. Have you read this gem of a script, performed  Christmas Day, 1904, London.

 Beauty? Awe? Stealth mastery of the language? It's all there. Right there in print and it's the quintessence of perfection in writing.  Like nothing I've ever read,  felt, been swept away by. 

Not  character development, plot, setting.  Here's the gem: dozens of pages of stage directions before act 1 even opens. Descriptions of furniture placement, characters' social standing, lighting spilling from the nursery, shadow angle at window, wow.  life altering experience for me to read as we readied our kids for the stage production of this theatrical piece. Just awe. Just jaw dropping. 

And yet, failure? To read these words, this thought by a man whose creative genius parlays the ordinary word into sheer elegance to me, is, well, humbling. It's  frightening, maddening. And aren't these the feelings that creep, that wrap, that beg to be noticed as we writers attempt our art in the margins of our lives, as we craft our posts, our poems, our days? As we write our stories?

 The things that are most important to us are the things that are mostly hidden, that we mostly think we're not good at, that we mostly feel like failures around. Am I right? These cathedrals we're building as Moms, these words we craft around these lives, the capture of the crazy and the everyday, the moments?
 Mommas, wives..... they are beautiful words. They are  gripping, they are powerful, they are dignified, they are sumptuous, they are you. If one who's considered a master of the language, felt defeated, failed, well, let that be our ammo. When we feel creatively bankrupt, when we think there's nothing to remember and jot on those tough days, no. There is.  We live it, we write it, we remember, we are graced by the words that recall the blessed lives we are given, the blessed souls we are charged with. By the Author of all. He has faith is us. 

That does it for my five minutes!

I could go on...but isn't that always the way with FMF??

Please visit Lisa Jo for more five minute musings around "WRITER"

What an amazing community of writers pondering and 

focusing for just five minutes on one word!

Our writing, our art, our creative selves.....

well talk around this reminded me of a quote I once read 

penned  by our man,  GKC.

I did a quick search and here's his gem, his thoughts to those

who are  artists...  crafters, creaters~~ 

Art is limitation. 

The essence of every picture is the frame.

Please visit Sarah and her band of Chesterton junkies

from whom I learn so much each weekend 

for more quotes, wisdom and fun!

And just for fun....

JM Barrie, Peter Pan?
Gotta share a photo (one of dozens) 
from the production in which my kids were involved

a few years ago:

Yup, one son had the dual role of  Capt Jas Hook and Mr. Darling.

The other, a Lost Boy, Tootles.

Did you know that this original script, in addition to its beauty of course,

actually contains murder, mayhem, scheming and suicide?

I told you this wasn't the disneyfied version......!!

Ah, but for  love of the stage.......

Friends, as always,  

thank you for stopping over and 
spending some of your precious time here at my home on the web!

If you have a chance, 
please visit  my Friday photo dump/weekly wrap
and  Artful Friday this week for fun and original
perler bead designs  that my kids created! 
Lord knows I can't come up with this stuff...
Aren't our kids something?

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Until next time,

~Chris

I am gratefully posting to  the  First Friday Link Party for Writers.