Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Something To Think About

I love quotes. Here are a few I found today that made me think, wonder, shake my head.

Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

I remind myself often that I have exactly the same amount of time as Stephen King. I'm always a little shocked by the thought. 


Talk uses up ideas ... Once I have spoken them aloud, they are lost to me, dissipated into the noisy air like smoke. Only if I bury them, like bulbs, in the rich soil of silence do they grow. ~Doris Grumbach
I have a friend who used to share with me every detail of the novel she planned to write. Color of the heroine's hair. Dimple in the hero's cheek. Plot points, conflict, black moment. Minute details. And then she'd sit down and write the book. She sold about eight or nine Silhouette Romances before she quit writing. I wonder if she was 'verifying' her story before she committed it to publication.

Just get it down on paper, and then we'll see what to do about it.  ~Maxwell Perkins
And when I do this, I have the biggest mess. Revision has turned into a real challenge for me--at least with the book I'm working on now. I think it's because I've taken a Christian romance and tried to change my characters for a secular audience. I've quietened their prayers and they aren't too happy about it. Then again, maybe I'm not skilled at revising. I'm doing more than revising. I'm adding scenes, twisting, turning, manipulating. And I'm not accomplishing anything.

Why shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.  ~Mark Twain
This quote actually makes me angry. I hate that fiction really does have to make sense.

Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book.  ~ Cicero [106 B.C. to 43 B.C.]

This is hilarious.
 What's your favorite quote and how does it speak to you? Share.

6 comments:

Karen Jones Gowen said...

These are wonderful quotes but the best part are your editorial comments.

Jessica Ferguson said...

Awww, thanks, Karen. I've been in a funk all afternoon; you've made my day!

Charles Gramlich said...

I like the first one, about the hours, although it's pretty simplistic. The others not so much. I agree with Twain. Sadly, Fiction does have to make sense. my favorite quote, from a writing perspective is, "Never a day without a line." I can't remember who said it at the moment.

bkbsmiles said...

That Twain quotes reminds me of a friend who was told that her life story would be too unbelievable to publish as so much happened to her that statistically would not be probably for one person.--Barbara Bohan

Unknown said...

This was such a creative post. I try to find a good quote per week, but never thought of adding a response. You make me smile Jess. You are quite creative.

Jessica Ferguson said...

Charles-I looked up your line: Horace. :)

Barbara-thanks for popping in. Tell your friend to read a Danielle Steele book or watch one of her movies then sit down and start writing! :)

Carole-- Thanks for the compliment. I've been in a panic lately because I'm not really THAT creative--just opinionated.