Writing Quotes | Beyond Motive 5/27

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Writing Quotes

"For me, writing a short story is much, much harder than writing a novel."

"For me, writing a short story is much, much harder than writing a novel."

Lynn Abbey, American Author

40

"I got a book deal without even turning in one shred of a writing sample."

"I got a book deal without even turning in one shred of a writing sample."

Janice Dickinson, American Model

40

"Every writer has to figure out what works best - and often has to select and discard different tools before they find the one that fits."

"Every writer has to figure out what works best - and often has to select and discard different tools before they find the one that fits."

Nora Roberts, American Author

Writing, Tools, Writer

40

"I was about 13, in some ways, when I wrote the first book. Approximately 18 when I wrote the second."

"I was about 13, in some ways, when I wrote the first book. Approximately 18 when I wrote the second."

Jonathan Franzen, American Novelist

40

"The fiction writer is an observer, first, last, and always, but he cannot be an adequate observer unless he is free from uncertainty about what he sees. Those who have no absolute values cannot let the relative remain merely relative; they are always raising it to the level of the absolute. The Catholic fiction writer is entirely free to observe. He feels no call to take on the duties of God or to create a new universe. He feels perfectly free to look at the one we already have and to show exactly what he sees."

"The fiction writer is an observer, first, last, and always, but he cannot be an adequate observer unless he is free from uncertainty about what he sees. Those who have no absolute values cannot let the relative remain merely relative; they are always raising it to the level of the absolute. The Catholic fiction writer is entirely free to observe. He feels no call to take on the duties of God or to create a new universe. He feels perfectly free to look at the one we already have and to show exactly what he sees."

Flannery O'Connor, American Author

Writing, Observation, Wisdom, Creativity, Art

40

"That isn't writing at all, it's typing."

"That isn't writing at all, it's typing."

Truman Capote, American Novelist

40

"Also, they don't understand - writing is language. The use of language. The language to create image, the language to create drama. It requires a skill of learning how to use language."

"Also, they don't understand - writing is language. The use of language. The language to create image, the language to create drama. It requires a skill of learning how to use language."

John Milius, American Director

Writing, Drama, Language, Learning, Skill

40

"I was thinking about what I wanted to write next, after my first novel, and had decided that I wanted to write a story with a lot of strong female characters in it."

"I was thinking about what I wanted to write next, after my first novel, and had decided that I wanted to write a story with a lot of strong female characters in it."

Joan D. Vinge, American Author

Writing, First, Thinking

40

"When I'm writing, I am concentrating almost wholly on concrete detail: the color a room is painted, the way a drop of water rolls off a wet leaf after a rain."

"When I'm writing, I am concentrating almost wholly on concrete detail: the color a room is painted, the way a drop of water rolls off a wet leaf after a rain."

Donna Tartt, American Novelist

Writing, Rain, Water

40

"Once I've got the first draft down on paper then I do five or six more drafts, the last two of which will be polishing drafts. The ones in between will flesh out the characters and maybe I'll check my research."

"Once I've got the first draft down on paper then I do five or six more drafts, the last two of which will be polishing drafts. The ones in between will flesh out the characters and maybe I'll check my research."

Colleen McCullough, Australian Author

Writing, Draft, First, Research, Will

40

"A sentence should be read as if its author, had he held a plough instead of a pen, could have drawn a furrow deep and straight to the end."

"A sentence should be read as if its author, had he held a plough instead of a pen, could have drawn a furrow deep and straight to the end."

Henry David Thoreau, American Author

Writing, Strength, Work, Commitment

40

"Titles are not only important, they are essential for me. I cannot write without a title."

"Titles are not only important, they are essential for me. I cannot write without a title."

Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Cuban Novelist

Writing, Titles

40

"I try to write everyday. I do that much better over here than when I'm teaching. I always rewrite, usually fairly close-on which is to say first draft, then put it aside for 24 hours then more drafts."

"I try to write everyday. I do that much better over here than when I'm teaching. I always rewrite, usually fairly close-on which is to say first draft, then put it aside for 24 hours then more drafts."

Marilyn Hacker, American Poet

Writing, Draft, First, Teaching

40

"A little talent is a good thing to have if you want to be a writer. But the only real requirement is the ability to remember every scar."

"A little talent is a good thing to have if you want to be a writer. But the only real requirement is the ability to remember every scar."

Stephen King, American Author

Writing, Truth, Wisdom, Happiness, Today

40

"I'm very involved in the writing on every level."

"I'm very involved in the writing on every level."

Fran Drescher, American Actress

40

"I never feel really comfortable unless I am either actually writing or have a story going. I could not stop writing."

"I never feel really comfortable unless I am either actually writing or have a story going. I could not stop writing."

P. G. Wodehouse, English Writer

Writing, Creativity, Expression, Life

40

"If there's true emotional content in a situation between characters, all you do is reveal it."

"If there's true emotional content in a situation between characters, all you do is reveal it."

Diana Gabaldon, American Author

Writing, Emotion, Truth, Revelation

40

"The suspense of a novel is not only in the reader, but in the novelist, who is intensely curious about what will happen to the hero."

"The suspense of a novel is not only in the reader, but in the novelist, who is intensely curious about what will happen to the hero."

Mary McCarthy, American Author

Writing, Suspense, Will

39

"Readers are what it's all about, aren't they? If not, why am I writing?"

"Readers are what it's all about, aren't they? If not, why am I writing?"

Evan Hunter, American Author

39

"Rock is all about writing your own script; it's all about pioneering."

"Rock is all about writing your own script; it's all about pioneering."

Courtney Love, American Musician

39

"Ah, take the Cash in hand and waive the Rest."

"Ah, take the Cash in hand and waive the Rest."

Edward Fitzgerald, English Poet

39

"So writing is a very, very difficult position to obtain... and retain."

"So writing is a very, very difficult position to obtain... and retain."

Leon Uris, American Writer

39

"So I decided to start writing plays, and went to Yale."

"So I decided to start writing plays, and went to Yale."

Richard Foreman, American Playwright

39

"I am still interested in the long or serial poem, but have written a few smaller things. I may start sending to journals again in a year or so... that's about it."

"I am still interested in the long or serial poem, but have written a few smaller things. I may start sending to journals again in a year or so... that's about it."

George Murray, Canadian Poet

39

"However, I began to submit poems to British magazines, and some were accepted. It was a great moment to see my first poems published. It felt like entering a tradition."

"However, I began to submit poems to British magazines, and some were accepted. It was a great moment to see my first poems published. It felt like entering a tradition."

Helen Dunmore, British Poet

Writing, First, Poems, Tradition

39

"I got done writing Ports of Call and suddenly realized I have far too much material for the book."

"I got done writing Ports of Call and suddenly realized I have far too much material for the book."

Jack Vance, American Author

39

"My book has a very simple surface, but there are layers of irony and paradox all the way through it."

"My book has a very simple surface, but there are layers of irony and paradox all the way through it."

Mark Haddon, English Novelist

Writing, Irony, Paradox

39

"Write something, even if it's just a suicide note."

"Write something, even if it's just a suicide note."

Gore Vidal, American Novelist

Writing, Suicide

39

"From the night, his solitude, the poet finds day and starts a diary that is lethal to the inert. The dark landscape yields a dialogue."

"From the night, his solitude, the poet finds day and starts a diary that is lethal to the inert. The dark landscape yields a dialogue."

Salvatore Quasimodo, Italian Author

Writing, Day, Night, Solitude

39

"I know many writers who first dictate passages, then polish what they have dictated. I speak, then I polish - occasionally I do windows."

"I know many writers who first dictate passages, then polish what they have dictated. I speak, then I polish - occasionally I do windows."

Edward Koch, American Politician

Writing, First, Windows, Writers

39

"Vigorous writing is concise."

"Vigorous writing is concise."

William Strunk, Jr., American Writer

Writing, William Strunk

39

"I do not usually revise much, though I often cut, particularly the end or toward the end of a poem."

"I do not usually revise much, though I often cut, particularly the end or toward the end of a poem."

James Schuyler, American Poet

39

"You are just in the middle of a struggle with words which are really very stubborn things, with a blank page, with the damn thing that you use to write with, a pen or a typewriter, and you forget all about the reader when you are doing that."

"You are just in the middle of a struggle with words which are really very stubborn things, with a blank page, with the damn thing that you use to write with, a pen or a typewriter, and you forget all about the reader when you are doing that."

Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Cuban Novelist

Writing, Forget, Pen, Struggle, Words

39

"Every author really wants to have letters printed in the papers. Unable to make the grade, he drops down a rung of the ladder and writes novels."

"Every author really wants to have letters printed in the papers. Unable to make the grade, he drops down a rung of the ladder and writes novels."

P. G. Wodehouse, English Writer

Writing, Letters

39

"I read the novel I had been writing for several months with an odd sense that it was the work of a stranger. I usually work in the dead hours of night and surprising the manuscript mid-morning revealed the flaws and excesses it was trying to conceal."

"I read the novel I had been writing for several months with an odd sense that it was the work of a stranger. I usually work in the dead hours of night and surprising the manuscript mid-morning revealed the flaws and excesses it was trying to conceal."

Chloe Thurlow, British Novelist

Writing, Observation, Discovery, Reflection

39

"The way I outline has changed quite a bit from when I first started writing."

"The way I outline has changed quite a bit from when I first started writing."

George Stephen, Canadian Businessman

39

"Luckily, in my case, I have managed, by writing, to do the one thing that I always wanted to do."

"Luckily, in my case, I have managed, by writing, to do the one thing that I always wanted to do."

Jonathan Coe, English Novelist

39

"I would advise anyone who aspires to a writing career that before developing his talent he would be wise to develop a thick."

"I would advise anyone who aspires to a writing career that before developing his talent he would be wise to develop a thick."

Harper Lee, American Novelist

Writing, Advice, Skill, Observation

39

"I was burned out. I think I was just exhausted. It was a very intense five years. We didn't stop. It was constant touring, constant writing, recording."

"I was burned out. I think I was just exhausted. It was a very intense five years. We didn't stop. It was constant touring, constant writing, recording."

Roger Andrew Taylor, English Musician

39

"The first draft is just you telling yourself the story."

"The first draft is just you telling yourself the story."

Terry Pratchett, English Author

Writing, Creativity, Truth, Process

39

"But usually I'll wake up and start writing about nine o'clock. I'll probably write for about three hours, and I'll do that over the next month and a half."

"But usually I'll wake up and start writing about nine o'clock. I'll probably write for about three hours, and I'll do that over the next month and a half."

Stanley Tucci, American Actor

38

"With my own memoirs, they are truthful, and I write everything fully expecting to some day end up televised on Court TV, and I'm fully prepared to be challenged legally on it."

"With my own memoirs, they are truthful, and I write everything fully expecting to some day end up televised on Court TV, and I'm fully prepared to be challenged legally on it."

Augusten Burroughs, American Writer

Writing, Court, Day, End

38

"If you're writing a novel, you're in a room for three or four years. There's not much coming in from the outside."

"If you're writing a novel, you're in a room for three or four years. There's not much coming in from the outside."

Mordecai Richler, Canadian Novelist

38

"Even this vein of writing is so foreign to me that I am amazed."

"Even this vein of writing is so foreign to me that I am amazed."

David O. Selznick, American Producer

38

"Writing with you is the only thing that keeps me alive."

"Writing with you is the only thing that keeps me alive."

David Hackworth, American Soldier

38

"You can get stale writing with each other for a while."

"You can get stale writing with each other for a while."

Barry Mann, American Musician

38

"Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go."

"Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go."

E. L. Doctorow, American Author

Writing, Exploration, Nothing

38

"When you try to unravel something you've written, you belittle it in a way. It was created as a mystery."

"When you try to unravel something you've written, you belittle it in a way. It was created as a mystery."

Don DeLillo, American Novelist

Writing, Mystery

38

"I've always liked new writing."

"I've always liked new writing."

Imelda Staunton, English Actress

38

"I try not to observe myself in the process of composing a poem because I don't want to come up with a formula, which I would then be unscrupulous in using."

"I try not to observe myself in the process of composing a poem because I don't want to come up with a formula, which I would then be unscrupulous in using."

Thom Gunn, British Poet

Writing, Formula, Want

38

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