20 Quotes

During my seven decades, I have filled several file drawers and countless folders with quotes about writing from well-known authors whom I admire.  Thus, I claim the right to offer my own quotes under the following title and with my tongue only partially planted in my cheek:

20 QUOTES ABOUT WRITING THAT SURELY WOULD BE FAMOUS IF ONLY I WERE

1. Your path becomes much clearer when you realize that writing is essentially rewriting.
2. While there are many POVs, all writing is first person.
3. Be certain that when you “kill your darlings,” they actually deserve to die.
4. Good writers are good counters. Count anything you can think of, except your number of drafts.
5. “But” carries more weight than “and.” It signifies controversy.
6. Research is like a tempting appetizer. Too much of it can spoil the main course.
7. Write as if pulling out a single word would cause your entire manuscript to collapse upon itself.
8. “Hackneyed” is a proper synonym for “overused,” as in thesaurus.
9. When trying to write imaginative dialogue, be aware that real people tend to speak in idioms and adages. Sorry to burst your bubble.
10. Creativity knows no bounds when thinking of reasons not to sit down and write today.
11. You are a writer if you write. You are an author if you publish. Both are worthwhile passions that are not necessarily connected.
12. If the words don’t come easy, you are making progress. It’s not supposed to be easy.
13. “Show don’t tell” is the most misunderstood phrase in the writer’s toolbox. It’s also the most important. You will only understand it if you keep at it long enough.
14. It may be true that everybody has a book in them. Dragging it out into the light, kicking and screaming, is where it gets tricky.
15. Computer. Typewriter. Fountain Pen. Pencil. Chisel and stone. It doesn’t matter how you get there, only that you arrive.
16. Living to write and writing to live are both admirable pursuits. One is not in conflict with the other.
17. That blank page you’re staring at should cause excitement, not fear.
18. Talking about your next book is like telling your lover how good tonight is going to be.
19. Only when you know all the writing rules can you break some of them.
20. A manuscript happens when the not writing becomes more painful than the writing.

NOTE TO READERS: Don’t bother filing away these quotes. Make up your own. You’re a writer.

Tagged: Essays