Friday, June 19, 2009

Quotes from Writers for Writers


I've sent questions to several Louisiana authors for my Louisiana Saturday Night postings but so far, no returns. Thought I'd post a few quotes on writing to entertain you. I like quotes. They make me think, encourage me, but they also show me that I'm not the only writer in the world that has doubts, blocks, multiple personalities or black moments. Here are a few that spoke to me today; hope you enjoy them.

Whether or not you write well, write bravely. ~ Bill Stout

Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those, who do not write, compose, or paint can manage to escape the madness, the melancholia, the panic fear, which is inherent in a human condition. ~Graham Greene

Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia. ~E.L. Doctorow

I refuse to write the same story twice. I keep experimenting. I keep learning how to work. I’ve been at it pretty much 50 years, and I’m now beginning to learn how to do the job well.
~Harlan Ellison

Half of being smart is knowing what you're dumb at. ~David Gerrold

Quantity produces quality. If you only write a few things, you're doomed. ~Ray Bradbury

I don't think it is possible to give tips for finding one's voice; it's one of those things for which there aren't really any tricks or shortcuts, or even any advice that necessarily translates from writer to writer. All I can tell you is to write as much as possible. ~Poppy Z. Brite

I get up in the morning, torture a typewriter until it screams, then stop. ~Clarence Budington Kelland

The faster I write the better my output. If I'm going slow, I'm in trouble. It means I'm pushing the words instead of being pulled by them. ~Raymond Chandler

3 comments:

Erica Vetsch said...

Boy that first one is so hard. When I find myself struggling, it's usually because I want to take the easy way out and duck the conflict.

Thanks for the quotes!

Debra Harris-Johnson said...

I would love to make the keys on my computer scream. Lately, I've been refreshing my grammar and keeping a dictionary close by. I'm the one that has been screaming.

Jake Chambers said...

jess.... half of being smart is knowing what you're dumb at... boy oh boy...thats a mouthful...and a true statement.


kind of like my favorite: don't know why they call it common sense when a lot of folks DON'T got it....