January 18, 2007

thursday thirteen (#2)


Thirteen Quotations About Writing
  1. Writing, at its best, is a lonely life.
    Ernest Hemingway
  2. 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
  3. Writing books is the closest men ever come to childbearing.
    Norman Mailer
  4. The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business.
    John Steinbeck
  5. Sometimes I think [my writing] sounds like I walked out of the room and left the typewriter running.
    Gene Fowler
  6. I always start writing with a clean piece of paper and a dirty mind.
    Patrick Dennis
  7. 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
  8. In writing and politicking, it’s best not to think about it, just do it.
    Gore Vidal
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.
    Gloria Steinem
  13. 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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4 comments:

BlondeBrony said...

I'm always on the look out for good quotes. Maybe I'll use some of these in my writing classes.

Happy TT!

PJ said...

Hi PJD,
Great quotes there. Writing is a strange and seductive past-time. Check out my TT if you have a min: The Urban Recluse

Caylynn said...

Great list! Those are terrific quotes. :) I'm laughing at #3 and 4.

Happy T13. :)

Jeannine said...

Great list!
Here is my favorite:

Writing is a lot easier if you have something to say.
Sholem Asch