thursday thirteen (#2)

Thirteen Quotations About Writing

Writing, at its best, is a lonely life. — Ernest Hemingway Writing [for the novelist] is not an activity, but a condition. That is why one simply can’t resume the work when one has a job and a free half-day. — Robert Musil Writing books is the closest men ever come to childbearing. — Norman Mailer The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business. — John Steinbeck Sometimes I think [my writing] sounds like I walked out of the room and left the typewriter running. — Gene Fowler I always start writing with a clean piece of paper and a dirty mind. — Patrick Dennis No stile of writing is so delightful as that which is all pith, which never omits a necessary word, nor uses an unnecessary one. — Thomas Jefferson In writing and politicking, it’s best not to think about it, just do it. — Gore Vidal Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand. For all one knows, that demon is simply the same instinct that makes a baby squall for attention. — George Orwell Writing stopped being fun when I discovered the difference between good writing and bad and, even more terrifying, the difference between it and true art. And after that, the whip came down. — Truman Capote The writing of a poem is like a child throwing stones into a mineshaft. You compose first, then you listen for the reverberation. — James Fenton Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else. — Gloria Steinem 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

And, as a bonus, a revival of a post I made some time ago related to Evil Editor's remarks on brevity in writing.

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