If one mouse is a spark...then ten thousand are a conflagration. Carmen Agra Deedy More Quotes by Carmen Agra Deedy More Quotes From Carmen Agra Deedy I have been ineluctably drawn to libraries ever since I entered that sanctum sanctorum. It was a place of quietude. In a world where things go beep and ding and ring, where you’ve got mail and you’ve got messages, when I enter a library, I feel that I am still entering a temple. Carmen Agra Deedy library entering temples Because there is no nation so powerful it cannot be wounded, nor a people so small they cannot offer mighty comfort. Carmen Agra Deedy generosity powerful people There are constant cycles in history. There is loss, but it is always followed by regeneration. The tales of our elders who remember such cycles are very important to us now. Carmen Agra Deedy important loss remember Whatever we perceive as good in the world has always endured, and it always will. Carmen Agra Deedy good-in-the-world perceive world I began telling stories as a volunteer in my daughters' school. But I grew up hearing stories from Cuban and Southern storytellers, and I learned a great deal by just being quiet and listening. Carmen Agra Deedy daughter mother school I find that it takes a lot of years of living, and many more of reckoning, to come up with one worthwhile paragraph. And when a deadline looms, prayer doesnt hurt, either. Carmen Agra Deedy hurt prayer years Listen to great storytellers; slowly, you will learn about voice, timing, tension, structure, climax - all the things you need to tell stories that will capture the imagination of your audience. Carmen Agra Deedy great you voice imagination Listening to others does not mean you should sound like them; find your own voice by telling stories as authentically as possible. Carmen Agra Deedy own you voice listening If you tell stories you love, you will never tell them with indifference - take it to the bank. Carmen Agra Deedy will never you love Read, read, read. Read good books. You will strengthen your understanding of story. Your vocabulary will be the richer for it. Carmen Agra Deedy story good you understanding You're more likely to finish a book you enjoy, than one that feels like literary drudgery. Carmen Agra Deedy finish you enjoy book The hardest part is making the time to write. Not finding the time to write, mind you. Making. Carmen Agra Deedy finding you mind time I cannot always write at the same time, in the same place. I work, travel and have a vigorous family life. If I'm stranded in an airport lobby - I write. If I have to wait in a doctor's office - I write. If I have a morning or evening to myself - I write. Carmen Agra Deedy myself family work life