10-03-2015, 01:31 PM | #46 |
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"Anthony Burgess once said that the dream seldom survives the first paragraph. And Edith Wharton, quoting an old French proverb, wrote, 'I Dream of an eagle, I give birth to a hummingbird.' All Writing is about that gap -- no that chasm -- between expectation and final product.
A veritable Grand Canyon. It is the very thing that induces writer's block. I say that we writers should just expect that disappointment, not be surprised by it. Expect it, sidestep it, move on." - Jane Yolen Interlude I Dream of an Eagle from Take Joy. Last edited by kennyc; 10-03-2015 at 03:23 PM. |
11-20-2015, 04:49 PM | #47 |
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I'm not sure it is really a quote, but is advice that worked well for me.
It is the seven rules for beginning writers from VS Naipaul: "1. Do not write long sentences. A sentence should not have more than ten or twelve words. 2. Each sentence should make a clear statement. It should add to the statement that went before. A good paragraph is a series of clear, linked statements. 3. Do not use big words. If your computer tells you that your average word is more than five letters long, there is something wrong. The use of small words compels you to think about what you are writing. Even difficult ideas can be broken down into small words. 4. Never use words whose meaning you are not sure of. If you break this rule you should look for other work. 5. The beginner should avoid using adjectives, except those of colour, size and number. Use as few adverbs as possible. 6. Avoid the abstract. Always go for the concrete. 7. Every day, for six months at least, practice writing in this way. Small words; short, clear, concrete sentences. It may be awkward, but it’s training you in the use of language. It may even be getting rid of the bad language habits you picked up at the university. You may go beyond these rules after you have thoroughly understood and mastered them." Tom |
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11-20-2015, 04:51 PM | #48 |
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Good advice.
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11-20-2015, 05:02 PM | #49 |
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"Planning to write is not writing. Outlining, researching, talking to people about what you’re doing,
none of that is writing. Writing is writing." - E. L. Doctorow, The New York Times (20 October 1985) |
11-22-2015, 05:28 PM | #50 |
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Yup.
(Oh, my post was too short; so much for using few and short words!) |
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11-23-2015, 08:41 AM | #51 |
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"If you want to write, if you want to create, you must be the most sublime fool that God ever turned out and sent rambling. You must write every single day of your life. You must read dreadful dumb books and glorious books, and let them wrestle in beautiful fights inside your head, vulgar one moment, brilliant the next. You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads. I wish you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon you. May you live with hysteria, and out of it make fine stories — science fiction or otherwise. Which finally means, may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world."
- Ray Bradbury |
12-01-2015, 07:57 AM | #52 |
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"If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy."
– Dorothy Parker |
12-01-2015, 02:40 PM | #53 |
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Kenny, you've found some great quotes!
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12-01-2015, 03:35 PM | #54 |
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12-03-2015, 12:20 PM | #55 |
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A couple from Jayne Anne Phillips:
I don't outline; I listen to a kind of whisper inside the material. - Jayne Anne Phillips I tell my students that being a writer is like being a member of a medieval guild and that what we are doing is very subversive and very important. - Jayne Anne Phillips |
12-04-2015, 02:30 AM | #56 |
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"Write what should not be forgotten."
Isabel Allende |
12-04-2015, 02:32 AM | #57 |
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"There no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you."
Maya Angelou |
12-04-2015, 02:34 AM | #58 |
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"Go to the edge of the cliff and jump off.
Build your wings on the way down." Ray Bradbury |
12-04-2015, 06:47 AM | #59 |
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12-04-2015, 09:20 AM | #60 |
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You're welcome.
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