One Hit Wonders and ImaginationFun With Quotes

So how, exactly does one have fun with quotes?
Glad you asked! If you’re like me, you start by exchanging quotes on a daily basis with your Best Bud. But not just any quotes, writing quotes, to give each other inspiration. And then you pick the two best quotes of the week to share with the rest of the world - because ... why not? :-D

My quote from Jamie this week really tickled my fancy:

My sole literary ambition is to write one good novel, then retire to my hut in the desert, assume the lotus position, compose my mind and senses, and sink into meditation, contemplating my novel.
- Unknown

Isn’t this what writing is all about? You write a best-selling novel and then sit back and watch the money roll in. That’s how it works, right? Maybe not ...

You’d be surprised at the number of famous authors who only wrote one novel. Anna Sewell wrote Black Beauty, one of my childhood favourites, and was able to enjoy her novel’s success for a brief time before passing away due to illness.

Despite the fact that Edgar Allan Poe was a prolific author, he only wrote one full novel. Margaret Mitchell hated the fame that came with Gone With the Wind and refused to write another novel. Wuthering Heights was the sole novel of Emily Bronte. J.D. Salinger penned The Catcher in the Rye and after enjoying its success for a brief time retreated from the public eye.

For the curious, Goodreads has a list of 120 authors who wrote one-hit wonders.

The quote I picked of those I sent this week is a little different:

Closed in a room, my imagination becomes the universe, and the rest of the world is missing out.
― Criss Jami

Honestly, it wasn’t until I looked the author of this quote up that I realized I’ve quoted him before. I also featured Criss Jami in my first quotes post.

At first glance this really appealed to my hermit-like nature. I mean, I’d love to be locked away in a room with only my imagination for company, maybe a laptop as well (without an internet connection) to write on.

But then I looked at the quote from another angle. Perhaps it is not a person, but only the imagination that’s closed in a room, and the room could be one’s own mind. The rest of the world can be kept at bay, until you choose to let it in.

Food for thought.