One of my favorite authors of sci-fi, mystery and humor, Ray Bradbury, passed away on June 5, at the transit of Venus. He was 91 years old.
If you're Ray Bradbury fan, that will make sense to you.
A few of his greats were Fahrenheih 451 and the Martian Chronicles.
I don't know too many facts about the man's personal life other than the only person he ever dated became his wife and they had four daughters. He won a Pulitzer. He wrote many, many books and seemed to be nice fellow.
I do know he said some inspiring things about writing.
Here are a few:
“I don’t believe in being serious about anything. I think life is too serious to be taken seriously.”
"If you don't like what your doing, then don't do it."
"If you don't like what your doing, then don't do it."
"My stories run up and bite me on the leg- I respond by writing down everything that goes on during the bite. When I finish, the idea lets go and runs off."
" I spent three days a week for 10 years educating myself in the public library, and it's better than college. People should educate themselves - you can get a compolete ecucations for no money. At the end of 10 years, I had read every book in the library and I'd written a thoughsand stories."
"I don't need an alarm clock. My ideas wake me."
“Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that diet have very pleasant careers.”"Remember: Plot is more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations."
Cindy, I always enjoyed Ray Bradbury's works. I loved learning that he wrote the original short piece that became "Fahrenheit 451" at the UCLA library on a typewriter that cost a dime for a half hour's rent. I can't remember how much it cost him, maybe it was something under ten dollars [$9.80], but the lesson was that he was willing to pay the price to produce his work.
ReplyDeleteI found "The Martian Chronicles" to be especially intriguing. However, the one that scared me out of my wits was "Something Wicked This Way Comes." What an imagination he had!
Mr. Bradbury was a very good friend of Gene Roddenberry, but declined to write for the Star Trek series. He said he wasn't any good at adapting other people's work.
R.I.P., Mr. Bradbury. You've left an unforgettable legacy.
Thanks Marsha for your information. Quite a loss for sure.
ReplyDeleteI love his writing. Thanks for the great quotes, Cindy!
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