Thinking about a middle grade book....
I have tried only a couple of times to write a longer book, but the expanse of the project seemed so daunting
I stopped. And today I came across this quote by one of my favorite authors:
"The secret of getting started is breaking
your complex, overwhelming tasks into
small manageable tasks, and then
starting on the first one."
- Mark Twain
I have heard it before, but it's always so relevant.
ON THE ENLIGHTENMENT SIDE:
This I have not heard before, but found very enlightening, and interesting, and character-usable. I found it n Merriam-Websters Online Dictionary:
#1: Retrosexual
Definition: a man who adopts a traditional masculine style in dress and manners
Example:
"Think of him as the anti-metrosexual, the opposite of that guy who emerged in the 1990s in all his pedicured, moussed-up, skinny-jeans glory. That man-boy was searching for his inner girl, it was argued. The retrosexual, however, wants to put the man back into manhood." - Lini S. Kadaba, Philadelphia Inquirer, Apr. 7, 2010
Editor's Note:
Retrosexual is a word that has been used in two very different ways.
It sometimes describes an old-fashioned "manly man" - e.g. a beer and football-loving guy who cares little for his appearance.
But it has also been used, as in the example above, to describe someone who self-consciously adopts traditional masculine styles - e.g. old-fashioned manners and clothes typical of the early 1960s (think Mad Men).