Sunday, May 26, 2013

Blog About a Quote

I'm doing this blogging exercise as a practice for Bryan Hutchinson's guest post on The Write Practice. For the exercise we need to pick a quote and blog about it. Here's the quote I picked:

"Only in the darkness can you see the stars." -- Martin Luther King Jr.

Writer's Challenge

The reason I picked that one is because, well, there are a lot of reasons. First off, I just love the quote. I think Martin Luther King Jr. had a lot of great things to say. Secondly, in my current WIP, Cosmo, I always have a quote at the beginning of a chapter. The quote always has something to do with what happens in that chapter, which is difficult a lot of the time. There's a chapter where something truly awful happens--I won't give away what--and this quote is at the beginning of the chapter.

So what does it mean?

Well, one could take it literally and say, "It has to be dark outside for you to go stargazing." And while that's all good and true, I don't think that was what Dr. King was going for when he said this.

To me, this quote means that in your darkest and most awful times, you can find something good. It might not pop up right in front of you, singing a TV jingle, and dancing in a sparkly dress, but you'll find it eventually, and when you do it'll be great.

Here's a chapter excerpt from that particular chapter (don't worry, there aren't any spoilers):

     Celeste hugged me even tighter.
    "I'm so sorry."
    Celeste didn't ask me any questions. She just sat there next to me on my bed for hours while I cried, holding my hand. I got up to blow my nose in the bathroom and when I came back, there was something written on Celeste's hand.

     Only in the darkness can you see the stars.

    "I can't see any stars at the moment," I said quietly. Celeste gave me another hug.
    "Maybe the city lights are blocking them out."
    "I wish they wouldn't."
    "Give it time. Maybe by then you'll see the moon."

7 comments:

Boquinha said...

Holy crap, that's good!! I really, really like this post. And your excerpt? Color me intrigued! Looks very touching. I'm excited about Cosmo.

The Magic Violinist said...

Thanks! :D That was by far the hardest chapter to write (so far). And it wasn't because I was stuck, because I knew exactly everything was going to happen. It was because it was so dang depressing! Now I have to deal with the aftermath of everything and the sad characters. ;P

Anonymous said...

Wow. This is powerful! I love this quote and excerpt and post! Good job! :)

Dr. Mark said...

That's a great quote, and your insights are really good. I'm intrigued as well. I'm looking forward to your book . . .

Kathleen Caron said...

I like your writing, the book sounds intriguing. I agree with your interpretation of the quote, I think Dr. King was speaking a word of encouragement to the hopeless; when things seem at their darkest, there is still hope glimmering brightly.

Zelia said...

I so want to read Cosmo. You have really have whetted my appetite.
I wish I had one tenth of your talent for writing.

The Magic Violinist said...

Thanks, Bethy! :D

Thanks, Daddy! :D I'll be posting some of the book on here once I finish it.

Thanks, Kathleen! :D I guess he was right in the end.

Thanks, Vavo! :D