Tags
Art of War, book decor, bookcases, Books, bookshelvs, Dorothy Parker, literature, NaNoWriMo, Stanley Bing, Sun Tzu
Some time ago, I lamented at the state of my bookshelves. I wanted new ones, but couldn’t find the right one for the right price. The other weekend, I discovered two bookcases that fit the bill. They were actually taller than 6 feet, and they didn’t wobble like my old shelves.
I’ve been busy going through my book collection and deciding what would stay and what would go. I’ve arranged and rearranged books, and I think I am now ready to share the Before and After pictures.
Before
My very inexpensive Wal-mart shelves.
After
My new and improved book holder.
This one looks like the little sister.
Sun Tzu Emerges.
I immersed myself in the pleasant task sorting my books into various categories. As I carried armloads of books between rooms, I discovered, or rather, I rediscovered books I had forgotten about. I found these three little books on the philosophy of conflict.
Apparently, I like Sun Tzu.
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
The Art of War For Writers by James Scott Bell
Sun Tzu Was A Sissy by Stanley Bing.
If you’ve never heard of The Art of War or Sun Tzu then you may not have been listening closely enough because there are lots of references to this guy in pop culture. Sun Tzu was a military general who lived about 2000 years (or more) ago. He penned The Art of War, which has influenced military leaders, conquerors, and businesspeople — so basically, anybody who wants to win a conflict.
Cymraeg: Sun Tzu. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Of Strategic Assessments, Master Sun says: Military Action is important to the nation– it is the ground of death and life, the path of survival and destruction, so it is imperative to examine it.
On Spies, Master Sun says: It is essential for a leader to know about the five kinds of espionage, and this knowledge depends on reverse spies, so reverse spies must be treated well.
Does this sound like it could be applicable in the work place? It can be. Sun Tzu Was a Sissy (Conquer your Enemies, Promote your Friends and Wage the Real Art of War) takes some of these principles and modifies them for waging war in the real world, like the workplace.
The Art of War for Writers is a clever play on Sun Tzu’s tips for conquering one’s adversary, which in some cases can be the writing process. Dorothy Parker has said “I hate writing, I love having written.” Since it’s NaNoWriMo, a lot of you are hunkering down to bring your novel to life. I salute you. I’ve never participated in this event (it looks like a lot of fun), and some day I hope to. Right now, there are a lot of other things competing for my time and attention. In support of all those participating, let me share a few writing tips from The Art of War for Writers.
- Deploy a character who reveals both inner struggle and inner conflict.
- The innovative writer will sometimes write dialogue only, then fill in the blanks.
- Finish your novel, because you learn more that way than any other.
What do your bookshelves hold? Or perhaps you are also preparing for NaNoWriMo? Good luck!
Related articles
- Sun Tsu – The Art of War (lugenfamilyoffice.com)
- A lesson from Sun Tzu (arinzephotography.wordpress.com)
- Writer Wednesday – Interview with Chris Baty (founder of NaNoWriMo) (writermummy.wordpress.com)
- My NaNoWriMo Thoughts (writermummy.wordpress.com)
The Tiger's Eye 
Beautiful shelves!
Well thank you so much. I can see that you have a very discerning eye! 🙂
Your new bookshelves look similar to the ones we have. 🙂
I’m glad you had the chance to sort through your books and hope you find that your new shelves last longer and hold more books than your old ones. 🙂
I think they will. Finding something to hold one’s books is so important, no? Of course, it also gave me the opportunity to decide what books would stay and what should go. I found that I was holding on to books that I didn’t really care for anymore, and maybe someone else could enjoy them more. So I donated them. 🙂
I am planning a NaNo — stayed tuned. Our bookshelves are an eclectic array of cookbooks, comic book treasuries (snoopy, Calvin and Hobbes), nutrition, and hunting. I hope no one judges us by our covers;)
Oh, but if I were to judge your shelves by the covers, I couldn’t possibly give you a bad review because I have all sorts of categories on my shelves too!
How delicious and stunning! 😉 I love the depth and opulence of your new shelves… You must be overjoyed..!
I’ve been hearing tons about the NaNoWriMo. I’m certainly not prepared for such a task at present, however the seed is definitely sown… Perhaps, next year..!
I’m with you, Carolyn. Maybe next year for NaNoWriMo. I have to say that all the excitement and hullaballoo surrounding it makes me want to join the crowd. 🙂 Thank you for your kind comment about the shelves.
Ooooh lovely bookshelves! 🙂
Thank you! Finally, right? 🙂
I am preparing for NaNo!
You go!
Love your bookshelves. I should share pics of mine. And, those are some deep classics you’ve got laying around.
Please do share pics of yours! I’m thinking of asking for how other people’s shelves look like and posting them. 🙂 I’d love to start with yours!
Love the shelves! They show you respect your books and that makes me oddly happy.
My bookcases have a lot of volumes on wildly different subjects, arranged in a way that only makes sense to me. My wife marvels at the shelves’ contents. “So,” she asks, “what are you interested in this week?”
I think it makes sense to arrange your shelves according to reading topic. I do the same thing. When I arranged my shelves this time, I was surprised to find that I had quite a bit of young adult literature. part of the reason was that I bought a lot of my childhood favorites when Borders went out of business, but still . . . I didn’t know how much I had until you move books from point A to point B. 🙂
Wow, nice new shelving! Since my old apartment has built-in book shelves, I’m trying to decide what I want to do for book storage in my new apartment 🙂
Oh what a fun exercise! 🙂 How lucky to have had built in bookshelves for a little bit though. 🙂
Like everyone else…I love the new book holders…wooo hoo
And …I need a tip for not OVER planning for NaNoWriMo lol…ackkkk.
Don’t over plan and write your little heart out!
I LOVE the new shelves, so sleek and minimal- lets the books be the focus.
I wish I wish I would join the writing month- I’ve even been given permission by my husband to write about his family- as long as he gets a cut of the profits- but I don’t feel I have the talent or, more importantly, the discipline. So, I’ll just keep reading and ciritquing the work of others but kudos to everyone who tries it.
Your husband sounds like mine. 🙂 At least you’ve got a topic ready for you. Someday, someday… maybe next year I will participate!
I don’t believe that Dorothy Parker really hated writing. I think she liked saying (or writing) stuff to get other people’s attention. Of course, I didn’t know her or anything, so I could be way off.
Hah, you could be right about that, but then again, I didn’t know her either.
Oh, I forgot… The new bookshelves are cool!
Thanks!