Ciao, amici! Happy Independence Day!
Yes, I’m a day late. But when you think about it, the holiday is kind of arbitrary. Independence was actually declared on July 2. Congress approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4. It wasn’t signed until August 2. So I figure anytime between July 2 and August 2 is fine for celebrating.
Who am I kidding? I thank God every day for the benefits and freedoms this country gives me. Which is why today’s quote is not about writing itself, but it is by some powerful writers (five, to be exact—Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman).
We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
I know we don’t all live in the United States, but I believe we are all endowed with these rights and wish them for all of us.
And if you are lucky enough to live here, I hope you had a wonderful holiday.
And now, this week’s writing links:
Posts by me, about my work, or at sites I contribute to:
Me
Story Empire
- Is Writing in Your DNA? | Mae Clair
- Writing Your Novel’s Blurb | Me
- Five for Friday: Summer Activities | Joan Hall
Posts by others in the industry:
- Stretching the Tension | The Kill Zone
- Chimeras | The Kill Zone
- Conflict Thesaurus: Advice from the Wrong Person | Writers Helping Writers
- Craft Compelling Backstories | Well-Storied
- Testimonial Carousal | Natalie Ducey
- Red Herrings | Sisterhood of Suspense
- The Basic Scene Checklist | K.M. Allan
- How Premise Drives Your Novel | Fiction University
- The Psychology of a Layered Story | Writers Helping Writers
- The Dedication Page | BookWorks
- The Bad Boy | Legends of Windemere
- Bad Boy Part 2: 7 Tips | Legends of Windemere
- How to Keep Readers Reading | Jane Friedman
- Setting the Mood | Ari Meghlen
- Writer’s Block | Become a Writer Today
To make you smile:
- Plenty of Fish in the Sea | Bluebird of Bitterness
- Traffic is Ridiculous | Phoenix Rainez
- Florida Summers | Marcia Meara
- Sunday Funnies | Bluebird of Bitterness
- Monday Funnies | The Storyreading Ape
- Instant Un-Spa | Random Short Stories
- Monday Chuckles | Bluebird of Bitterness
- English Major Jocularity | Bluebird of Bitterness
And when you’re done with these links, don’t forget to check out the sidebar, where you’ll find more links to some of my favorite sites.
Have a great week! Arrivederci!
So late, but great post! And a good reminder that America wasn’t built in a day. The Constitution took a while to hash out as well. Glad you had a good holiday! Hope you are enjoying your summer!
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Such a great reminder. Thanks, Julie.
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A beautiful post, Staci! I’m thankful to live in America!
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Thanks, Jan. You and me, both.
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Reblogged this on Where Genres Collide Traci Kenworth YA Author & Book Blogger.
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Much appreciated. 🙂
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You’re welcome, Staci!
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I wish we all could celebrate the rights quoted above. Maybe one day.
Have a lovely weekend, Staci ❤
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A lofty goal. And one I hope we attain.
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Super links, Staci. Thanks.
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Glad to do it.
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Happy Independence Day, Staci. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of reading that quote and thinking about thr wisdoms behind it. Hope you are having a fabulous holiday weekend.
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It is truly inspiring. I’ll never tire of it, either. Happy weekend, Denise.
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Happy 4th!!! Thanks for including my TKZ post. ❤ We spent the day at the lake to try and escape the humidity, but today is even hotter. Ugh. I see a big honkin’ ice cream in my weekend plans. 😀
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You think it’s hot in the north? Ha!
No, I know it can get hot and humid up there. (In PA, we called it “muggy.”) Try to stay cool. Have a great weekend!
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I hope you had a lovely Fourth, Staci. Early American history is a passion mine, so I was familiar with the dates, but it’s nice to be reminded that such an important document didn’t come into existence overnight. I am awed every time I think about the stand our young nation took with such a bold and brash declaration.
We did most of our celebrating on the third, then had a relaxing pool day on the Fourth. I had Raven outside in her “catio” for a while last night, but she didn’t do well with all the fireworks going off around us, so I had to bring her inside.
Wishing you an awesome holiday weekend!
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I think that all sounds lovely. Other than the frightened cat, of course.
If you like Early American History, you might want to look at the link I commented to Marcia. 11 facts there. It was a fascinating time, wasn’t it?
Here’s hoping your wonderful weekend continues.
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I will check it out. Thanks!
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Amen, Staci, about the wonder of this country we call home. As for the arbitrary date–me too. My husband moved it to the weekend because he couldn’t get himself to bbq hamburgers on a weekday. Yeah, that’s my guy.
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We use our grill all the time. Even in the winter in the north. But I like the way he’s thinking. Make a whole weekend out of the celebration!
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Happy Friday, Staci! I’m with you for an ongoing celebration of these amazing gifts we have. Cheers to that!
Many thanks for another awesome share and for including my blog post. You’re the best! Wishing you a fabulous weekend. 🙂
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If you’re game, I’m game. Maybe we can start a North American trend. 🙂
Glad to include you, Natalie. Happy weekend!
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Like Priscilla, I got a history lesson from you and John this week, Staci. Hope you had a great 4th!
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Well, I used to be a professor. English, though; not history. I guess you can’t take the teacher out of me. 🙂
Happy weekend, Teri.
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I love those words, simple but true, especially the first line – self evident – it does not require discussion of religion or politics, it is just so. And the last line; of course people should be free, but life is more than that and we should all be able to live it to the full.
Of course we know that ideal is not lived up to in any country, but we should all aim for it.
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Beautifully said. ❤
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Hope you had a nice holiday. The dogs and I turned in early. They didn’t care about fireworks at all. Last trip outside, Otto barked at them, but then it was bedtime.
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Max was scared of them, but he’s scared of everything. He was better this year than ever, though. Casey was happy and excited, but he’s always happy and excited. I had to bring them inside because he was about to jump in the pool to chase the reflections of the fireworks, and he still isn’t supposed to get his surgery areas soaked.
But all in all, it was a nice day. Sorry you missed fireworks, but I hope you got a good night’s sleep.
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It was great, thanks. My old English Setter used to get upset. She would nest in the master closet every 4th of July. All I had to do was go in and tell her it was okay. She seemed happy with that.
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Max isn’t that bad. No nesting. Barking. Some cuddling. There used to be trembling. No trembling this year (yay progress) but there was still barking.
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Wonderful post, Staci! I did know about those other dates, but only because Mark is a history buff and passed that along to me years ago. I was glad to see you sharing it here, as well. And I hope your Independence Day was a great one. My neighborhood celebrated like mad last night, fireworks going off in every direction. Some of them were pretty spectacular, and others, simply loud, but all were festive and celebratory and made me smile. (Not so much smiling from our animals, though. They mostly huddled here and there until it was over.)
Great links this week, as always. Thanks for sharing them. And thanks for including my “Florida Summers” post in the mix. Truly, it is almost as bad as some of those jokes make it look. But our winters? Now that’s some fine time to be outdoors!
Have a wonderful weekend, and a great (and productive) week ahead. 🙂 ❤
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I probably watch more History Channel and Science Channel than anything else. I love learning facts like that.
I work with a writer who lives in Florida and can’t hate on the summers enough. Gotta just focus on the balmy winters and appreciate air conditioning, I guess. It’s pretty miserable here, too, so I feel your pain.
Sorry your furry family members were scared yesterday (one of mine was, too), but you’re right about the celebratory spirit. I love it when we can all come together for something.
Happy weekend!
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I just looked. I used this same quote before. Mark might like this post from several years ago: https://stacitroilo.wordpress.com/2013/07/01/11-fun-facts-about-independence-day/ Then again, he probably already knows all this.
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Oooh, that’s a good one, for sure! I’ll send him the link. He’ll enjoy reading it, even if he knows some of it already. Thanks, Staci!
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Happy Independence to all who celebrate it! Thanks for the information, which was new to me, and the links. Have a lovely upcoming weekend 🙂 Reblogged on: https://harmonykent.co.uk/author-inspiration-and-this-weeks-writing-links-11/
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Yeah, I would imagine your schools don’t study the subject to the extent our schools do.
Happy weekend, Harmony!
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Wishing you, and all my American neighbors a belated Happy 4th! My country, Canada, just celebrated its own founding on July 1st.
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And Happy Belated Canada Day! Wouldn’t it be cool if someday the whole first week of July was a North American celebration? (I wonder if Mexico has anything to celebrate this week.)
Thanks, Mark.
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Happy belated 4th! Hope you had an enjoyable day.
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Well, I worked, so… Honestly, I can’t complain. Would have been nice to have been with more of my family, but that’s really the only thing I regretted. Hope you had a good day, too.
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Hey, I got a history lesson today. I didn’t know about the July 2, July 4, August 2 thing! I hope you had a nice 4th, too!
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I’m no history expert, but I do love to learn historical facts. My husband and I don’t agree on many television shows, but we can (and do) almost always agree on the History Channel.
Have a great weekend, Priscilla.
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