Well, I don’t see any threads under this category, but I assume that’s because I don’t have permission to access them? Anyway, here’s an article I cooked up that might be good material for the site; it’s up to you all to decide, obviously.
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Lewis Carroll, On Being A Writer

He said, “I look for butterflies
That sleep among the wheat;
I make them into mutton-pies,
And sell them in the street.
I sell them unto men,” he said,
“Who sail on stormy seas;
And that’s the way I get my bread—
A trifle, if you please.”
~ I’ll Tell Thee Everything I Can

I don’t know about anyone else, but ever since I re-read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland a few years ago, I’ve been a huge fan of Lewis Carroll. When I first read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in elementary school (second grade, perhaps?), I gave up after a few chapters because it was so nonsensical, and unlike a Dr. Seuss book, had not enough entertaining illustrations to compensate for that fact. I read it again in high school, though, and having finally developed the attention span to wade through such nonsense, and also having been through a lot of nonsense myself, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also noticed (maybe this is a poor reflection on my mental condition) that on occasion the book was so nonsensical as to make sense. And that’s what I now find truly enjoyable about Lewis Carroll’s writing. I hope I’m not alone in this conclusion, because otherwise Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass wouldn’t be considered classics, right? Right?

But anyway, the poem excerpt at the top is just one of those passages that made sense to me in a unique way, and I thought I’d share it because, in a writer’s community, it will hopefully apply to you, too. The poem I’ll Tell Thee Everything I Can can be read in its entirety here: http://www.poetry-archive.com/c/ill_tell_thee_everything_i_can.html. As you can see, it’s a completely ridiculous poem that really makes no sense whatsoever. But the more I think about this stanza, the more I get that strange, tingly, and vaguely pleasant feeling that comes with recognition. Let’s dissect it bit by bit.

He said, “I look for butterflies
That sleep among the wheat;

As writers, what else are we doing but looking for sleeping butterflies? Cynicism aside, butterflies are beautiful and seemingly miraculous creatures that come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. They’re fleeting and elusive, yet oftentimes friendly and comforting presences. And as we all know, they start out as rather unattractive and awkward caterpillars which can only be transformed through a long and tedious process. One of the hardest parts of writing is “capturing” your inspiration, whatever that may be. You have to sneak up on a sleeping butterfly that hides in some otherwise ordinary wheat. And more often than not, your inspiration turns out to be a caterpillar that you have to painstakingly raise into butterfly-dom.

I make them into mutton-pies,
And sell them in the street.

Gross as this may sound when we’re talking about butterflies, when it comes to writing, it’s the truth. You’re taking your fragile, lovely inspiration and fleshing it out until it becomes something tangible and practical. Oftentimes, to your distress, this may involve grinding it up and mixing it with things you never intended when you saw the adorable butterfly asleep on its little stalk. But you must remember that the point is to sell the mutton pies in the street, if you’re writing anything greater than an exercise! Things that may make sense to you, or sound good in your head, might completely baffle or turn off an audience. If they don’t like your main ingredients themselves, then so be it. But many times you have to tweak your recipe or technique a tad (or a ton) in order to achieve a delicious result.

I sell them unto men,” he said,
“Who sail on stormy seas;

As I emphasized in the last segment, writing is so much about interacting, through the story, with your audience. People have life experiences. They’ve sailed on stormy seas. And there’s nothing they like better than to feel that they’re not alone. It’s very important that your characters and plot are developed well, and developed realistically, so that your audience can relate and allow themselves to be drawn into the story. Books both validate and force us to think about ourselves and our actions; they help us navigate those stormy seas. Perhaps that’s why they’re so perennially popular.

And that’s the way I get my bread—
A trifle, if you please.”

Although writing is a full-time career for a very lucky few, it can bring at least some profit into your life, if you’re very persistent and you play your cards right. If you have a gleaming, polished manuscript and you’re serious about being a published author, keep searching, searching, searching and sending, sending, sending. You are almost guaranteed to get several rejections, but there is always the chance that such mettle-testing might one day result in success. And even before you’ve managed to wrangle a contract from a publisher, or even polish your manuscript, you will probably run into people who are less than respectful of your closet hobby of penning novels (or whatever it is you scribble furtively on your secret notepad in the wee hours of the morning). Such an often unrewarding pursuit can certainly seem like a trifle to those who have never tried it. But since you have, you know the truth. You know that the sight of that butterfly and the taste of that mutton-pie is worth every agony you endure for their sake. And you know that a desperate sailor tossed about by raging waves will be even more grateful for your creation. Write on, I say, if not for yourself, then for him.

So I’ve probably told you a bunch of stuff that you already knew, but I thought presenting it in an interesting way might help it sink in just that little bit more. I hope you enjoyed this article, and I hope that you don’t think I’m completely bat-shit bonkers for finding meaning in the poetry of Lewis Carroll.

Thanks for the pointer, Steph :) I will heed your excellent advice.
And thanks again. Glad you liked it.

Yeah. It shows a lot of understanding. I doubt I could’ve figured out the mutton-pie thing.

-Oh. And you want to put this in the ‘Article Workshop’ category.

@Steph— I did, but it somehow got randomly moved to the Writing category.

@Sly— I’d love some detailed feedback, if you have the time/inclination. After all, as Steph said, your new article needs some time to shine so I’m definitely up for editing mine before it goes to the presses.

Good call about the pedophilia, Sly. I’ll see what I can do about the intro and repost the edit.

Yes, that’s better. I’m going to push through some updates, and then let’s post your article when they are finished. It’ll kick us off to a nice new start.

He wasn’t a pedophile. Photographing naked little girls was what EVERYONE did back in the day.

No, actually, I’m deadly serious. Little girls represented as ‘purity’ and ‘innocence’ to the Victorians. Plus, if they grew up and didn’t want those photos, they could tell him to burn them and he did. Also, some people just are more comfortable around kids. After all, they don’t threaten you the way adults do. (Although they can be threatening.)

You may or may not have a point there... but I guess if you can't find inspiration, LSD sure as hell helps.

Good thing I'm usually creative. Math would be a fate worse than death.

Oh dear, the last thing I would want to do is offend Sly... but then again I think he understands my feelings about math... hopefully...

I know, right? Between Mel Brooks and Sean Connery alone, it should have exploded the world's awesome quotient. I thought Blazing Saddles was tons better.

Oh, Princess Bride. You know a movie is made of epic win when it has two of the most boring main characters in history and yet still manages to be AWESOME. I guess that also makes PotC: Curse of the Black Pearl full of epic win. Which it is.

BarBOSSa was a BOSS. And you’re right, at least Wesley wasn’t some sparkly abusive bastard. And Buttercup didn’t pretend to be intelligent, either.

Well, I’m not saying that I’d like to build a summer home here, but the trees are actually quite lovely.

I didn’t think the main characters were boring.

Stop that rhyming now, I mean it!

Once word leaks out that a pirate has gone soft, people begin to disobey you, and then it’s nothing but work, work, work all the time.

mostly, I think, SWQ :P

That word means what you think it means, but I don’t think you meant to use it.

Well, I was going to, but I didn't want to be cliche.

Get away, or I call the Brute Squad.

VIZZINI: You go behind the rock, and when he comes in sight, you throw the rock at his head! (or something like that. I suck at remembering quotes)

FEZZIK: My way is not very sportsmanlike.