Writing Quotes | Beyond Motive 8/27

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Writing Quotes

"Tech Jacket shares the same tone as Invincible, but the subject matter is very different. Where Invincible is about perfection, Tech Jacket is about flaws."

"Tech Jacket shares the same tone as Invincible, but the subject matter is very different. Where Invincible is about perfection, Tech Jacket is about flaws."

Robert Kirkman, American Writer

Writing, Flaws, Perfection

34

"It is not about writing those hits again. I am sure I could write them, but it is about the sensibilities."

"It is not about writing those hits again. I am sure I could write them, but it is about the sensibilities."

Alison Moyet, British Musician

34

"I started writing when I was about thirteen."

"I started writing when I was about thirteen."

Al Purdy, Canadian Poet

34

"To write is to reveal oneself.When I write something, fiction or non - fiction, I do not expect you to accept what I write, nor to agree with what I propose.I expect you to spend at least a tenth of a second to think about it - may be not about the characters, nor about the piece, but at least about the idea."

"To write is to reveal oneself.When I write something, fiction or non - fiction, I do not expect you to accept what I write, nor to agree with what I propose.I expect you to spend at least a tenth of a second to think about it - may be not about the characters, nor about the piece, but at least about the idea."

Sanhita Baruah, Indian Writer

Writing, Expression, Reflection, Thought

34

"I worked for half a cent a word. I'm not a fast writer to begin with, so for the first few years I had do other things."

"I worked for half a cent a word. I'm not a fast writer to begin with, so for the first few years I had do other things."

Jack Vance, American Author

Writing, First, Word, Writer, Years

34

"I called it a baptism in flaming ink that forced me to shed my shyness about recognizing myself as a poet and to accept the fact that life had never given me any choice in the matter. And then I had to discover exactly what that meant."

"I called it a baptism in flaming ink that forced me to shed my shyness about recognizing myself as a poet and to accept the fact that life had never given me any choice in the matter. And then I had to discover exactly what that meant."

Aberjhani, American Historian

Writing, Poetry, Expression, Identity, Creativity

34

"I'm only 24 so I like to think I'm still close enough to 17 to still remember what it was like. Besides, I could just fake it and get away with it... it's not like there are any teenagers that still read comics."

"I'm only 24 so I like to think I'm still close enough to 17 to still remember what it was like. Besides, I could just fake it and get away with it... it's not like there are any teenagers that still read comics."

Robert Kirkman, American Writer

Writing, Teenagers

34

"In writing, you must kill all your darlings."

"In writing, you must kill all your darlings."

William Faulkner, American Novelist

Writing, Editing, Discipline, Art

34

"When I was a teenager, I got into SF, quite heavily, and that too has had a major impact on my writing."

"When I was a teenager, I got into SF, quite heavily, and that too has had a major impact on my writing."

George Stephen, Canadian Businessman

34

"The poet is in command of his fantasy, while it is exactly the mark of the neurotic that he is possessed by his fantasy."

"The poet is in command of his fantasy, while it is exactly the mark of the neurotic that he is possessed by his fantasy."

Lionel Trilling, American Critic

Writing, Fantasy

34

"I don't begin a novel or a screenplay until I know the ending. And I don't mean only that I have to know what happens. I mean that I have to hear the actual sentences. I have to know what atmosphere the words convey."

"I don't begin a novel or a screenplay until I know the ending. And I don't mean only that I have to know what happens. I mean that I have to hear the actual sentences. I have to know what atmosphere the words convey."

John Irving, American Novelist

Writing, Ending, Words

34

"Verse satire indeed is entirely our own."

"Verse satire indeed is entirely our own."

Quintilian, Roman Educator

Writing, Satire

34

"A writer gets to live yet another life every time she creates a new story."

"A writer gets to live yet another life every time she creates a new story."

Pawan Mishra, Indian Author

Writing, Imagination, Identity, Creation

34

"You cannot write if you are not angry."

"You cannot write if you are not angry."

Bangambiki Habyarimana, Rwandan Author

Writing, Anger, Expression, Creativity

34

"I was editor of my high school literary magazine and a reporter for the school newspaper."

"I was editor of my high school literary magazine and a reporter for the school newspaper."

Jeffery Deaver, American Writer

Writing, Literary, School

34

"Ideally a book would have no order to it, and the reader would have to discover his own."

"Ideally a book would have no order to it, and the reader would have to discover his own."

Mark Twain, American Author

34

"I've been to a lot of places and done a lot of things, but writing was always first. It's a kind of pain I can't do without."

"I've been to a lot of places and done a lot of things, but writing was always first. It's a kind of pain I can't do without."

Robert Penn Warren, American Novelist

Writing, First, Pain

34

"We do not write in order to be understood; we write in order to understand."

"We do not write in order to be understood; we write in order to understand."

C. Day Lewis, English Poet

34

"They're mostly done before we went into the studio, although I do like writing in the studio."

"They're mostly done before we went into the studio, although I do like writing in the studio."

Keith Urban, American Musician

33

"Writers spend three years rearranging 26 letters of the alphabet. It's enough to make you lose your mind day by day."

"Writers spend three years rearranging 26 letters of the alphabet. It's enough to make you lose your mind day by day."

Richard Price, American Writer

Writing, Day, Letters, Mind, Writers

33

"I don't believe in kicking away ladders. By that, I mean the ladders by which I ascended as a young writer, small magazines that didn't pay anything, and that sort of thing."

"I don't believe in kicking away ladders. By that, I mean the ladders by which I ascended as a young writer, small magazines that didn't pay anything, and that sort of thing."

George Woodcock, Canadian Writer

33

"I'm passionate again about writing. This is important to me; it's got to be the comeback book."

"I'm passionate again about writing. This is important to me; it's got to be the comeback book."

Jeffrey Archer, English Politician

33

"I think Americans like the practical; they like the human. And I like both those things myself, and I try and put them into my books."

"I think Americans like the practical; they like the human. And I like both those things myself, and I try and put them into my books."

John Keegan, English Historian

Writing, Americans, Books

33

"We sometimes received - and I would read - 200 manuscripts a week. Some of them were wonderful, some were terrible; most were mediocre. It was like the gifts of the good and bad fairies."

"We sometimes received - and I would read - 200 manuscripts a week. Some of them were wonderful, some were terrible; most were mediocre. It was like the gifts of the good and bad fairies."

Marilyn Hacker, American Poet

Writing, Fairies, Gifts

33

"I liked Sartre's views but not his writing."

"I liked Sartre's views but not his writing."

Tahar Ben Jelloun, French Poet

33

"I don't paint anymore. I haven't since I abandoned it at 19, in order to begin writing seriously."

"I don't paint anymore. I haven't since I abandoned it at 19, in order to begin writing seriously."

Jonathan Lethem, American Writer

33

"Rule number four for me as a writer? Plotlines are like sharks: They either keep moving or they die."

"Rule number four for me as a writer? Plotlines are like sharks: They either keep moving or they die."

J.R. Ward, American Author

Writing, Plot, Observation, Creativity

33

"What Writing Is: Telepathy, of course."

"What Writing Is: Telepathy, of course."

Stephen King, American Author

Writing, Inspirational, Power, Wisdom, Today

33

"Writing is learning to say nothing, more cleverly each day."

"Writing is learning to say nothing, more cleverly each day."

William Allingham, Irish Poet

Writing, Day, Learning, Nothing

33

"In the writing process, the more a story cooks, the better."

"In the writing process, the more a story cooks, the better."

Doris Lessing, English Writer

33

"I think my mistakes were kind of common - leaning on cliches and adjectives in the place of clear, vivid writing. But at least I knew how to spell, which seems to be a rarity these days."

"I think my mistakes were kind of common - leaning on cliches and adjectives in the place of clear, vivid writing. But at least I knew how to spell, which seems to be a rarity these days."

Dick Schaap, American Journalist

Writing, Cliches, Mistakes

33

"The poet may be used as a barometer, but let us not forget that he is also part of the weather."

"The poet may be used as a barometer, but let us not forget that he is also part of the weather."

Lionel Trilling, American Critic

Writing, Forget, May, Weather

33

"The trajectory started when I was on the roof of our house looking out at a swamp when I was 19. I had written for several years, starting at about 15, but that day on the roof I took my vows and acknowledged my calling."

"The trajectory started when I was on the roof of our house looking out at a swamp when I was 19. I had written for several years, starting at about 15, but that day on the roof I took my vows and acknowledged my calling."

Jim Harrison, American Writer

Writing, Day, Years

33

"This does make me very very careful, particularly in the second draft, to get it right, because you do feel that somebody in the future who may be extremely important for everybody, is going to have me behind them, and this is a responsibility, a huge one."

"This does make me very very careful, particularly in the second draft, to get it right, because you do feel that somebody in the future who may be extremely important for everybody, is going to have me behind them, and this is a responsibility, a huge one."

Diana Wynne Jones, English Writer

Writing, Draft, Future, May, Responsibility

33

"I don't start writing a script until I can see it all in my head, then it's a matter of getting it down in white heat."

"I don't start writing a script until I can see it all in my head, then it's a matter of getting it down in white heat."

J. Michael Straczynski, American Producer

33

"If you can't annoy somebody, there's little point in writing."

"If you can't annoy somebody, there's little point in writing."

Kingsley Amis, English Novelist

33

"Like everything, what compels one to put pen to paper is a great question."

"Like everything, what compels one to put pen to paper is a great question."

Todd Solondz, American Writer

Writing, Pen, Question

33

"For a director and a producer to be named on the writing credits is practically unheard of."

"For a director and a producer to be named on the writing credits is practically unheard of."

Terry Southern, American Writer

33

"For your born writer, nothing is so healing as the realization that he has come upon the right word."

"For your born writer, nothing is so healing as the realization that he has come upon the right word."

Catherine Drinker Bowen, American Writer

Writing, Healing, Nothing, Right, Word

33

"I did know that the book would end with a mind-boggling trial, but I didn't know exactly how it would turn out. I like a little suspense when I am writing, too."

"I did know that the book would end with a mind-boggling trial, but I didn't know exactly how it would turn out. I like a little suspense when I am writing, too."

James Patterson, American Author

Writing, End, Mind, Suspense

33

"I write in the afternoon, from about 12 until 6 or 7. I use an upstairs room as my office. Once I get going I keep at it, and it usually takes about six months from the first blank screen until 'The End.'"

"I write in the afternoon, from about 12 until 6 or 7. I use an upstairs room as my office. Once I get going I keep at it, and it usually takes about six months from the first blank screen until 'The End.'"

Lee Child, British Writer

Writing, End, First, Months, Office

33

"Don't go overboard in avoiding "said. Basically, "said is the default for dialogue, and a good thing, too; it's an invisible word that doesn't draw attention to itself."

"Don't go overboard in avoiding "said. Basically, "said is the default for dialogue, and a good thing, too; it's an invisible word that doesn't draw attention to itself."

Diana Gabaldon, American Author

Writing, Truth, Expression, Observation

33

"The things that the novel does not say are necessarily more numerous than those it does say and only a special halo around what is written can give the illusion that you are reading also what is not written."

"The things that the novel does not say are necessarily more numerous than those it does say and only a special halo around what is written can give the illusion that you are reading also what is not written."

Italo Calvino, Italian Journalist

Writing, Literature, Truth, Observation, Insight

33

"I've been getting into Nick Drake lately, the folk singer. Sad, gorgeous stuff."

"I've been getting into Nick Drake lately, the folk singer. Sad, gorgeous stuff."

Anthony Doerr, American Writer

33

"Today I began the novel that I determined to be great."

"Today I began the novel that I determined to be great."

Zane Grey, American Author

33

"It is surely easier to confess a murder over a cup of coffee than in front of a jury."

"It is surely easier to confess a murder over a cup of coffee than in front of a jury."

Friedrich Durrenmatt, Swiss Author

Writing, Coffee, Jury, Murder

33

"But then of course you reach a point where you have to say, I've got to figure out how this book's going to end. Otherwise, you're going to write yourself into so many dead-ends."

"But then of course you reach a point where you have to say, I've got to figure out how this book's going to end. Otherwise, you're going to write yourself into so many dead-ends."

Anthony Doerr, American Writer

33

"Writing sharpens life, life enriches writing."

"Writing sharpens life, life enriches writing."

Sylvia Plath, American Poet

Writing, Life, Reflection, Creativity

33

"Any suggestion that I'm writing about political operatives because I'm interested in political operatives misses the entire point."

"Any suggestion that I'm writing about political operatives because I'm interested in political operatives misses the entire point."

Bob Woodward, American Journalist

33

"True authors don't write for fame or to make a name or money, they write to make impact."

"True authors don't write for fame or to make a name or money, they write to make impact."

Bernard Kelvin Clive, Ghanaian Author

Writing, Impact, Purpose, Expression

33

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