Here are a handful of selected quotes about writing, with my own comments.
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." (true, sadly it's true)
- Douglas Adams
"Most writers can write books faster than publishers can write checks." (and all the authors in the audience said, "amen.")
- Richard Curtis
"Writing is easy; all you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until the drops of blood form on your forehead." (especially when your brain says, "I got nothing.")
- Gene Fowler
"Writing is an occupation in which you have to keep proving your talent to those who have none." (obviously written after a particularly bad review).
- Jules Renard
"A blank piece of paper is God's way of telling us how hard it is to be God." (and now it's a blank computer screen).
- Sidney Sheldon
"There are three rules for writing. Unfortunately, no one can agree what they are." (but when we finally agree on them, Jim Bell will write a book about it).
- Somerset Maugham
Hope you've enjoyed these. Let's hear your own, now.
8 comments:
:) Love the Jules Renard quote, and I would so buy that book if Jim Bell would write it. :)
My own quote? Sadly, I got nothin' today. :(
Thanks, Erica.
Here's another one I forgot to put in: "Some people hear voices when no one's around. They are called mad, and sit in a room all day and stare at the walls. Others are called writers, and they do pretty much the same thing." ~ Meg Chittenden
There was a time I laughed at this one. Now I just nod my head.
Stealing from one sources is plagiarism. Stealing from more than one is research. I can see that a lot of research went into your article :)
I'm paraphrasing the original quote that I heard from my parents a lifetime ago, so I don't know the proper attribute.
"Each story has a beginning middle and end, but not necessarily in that order." That can be looked up, as the braincells I stored that information in were long since destroyed in my latest binge.
Any more writing, and I'll have to post an article of my own, somewhere.
Batman, One corollary (which puts you in the clear) is that paraphrasing is homage, not plagiarism. At least, that's the way I remember it.
I'll look forward to your own blog post about funny lines on film making. Thanks for dropping by.
Never assume that a rejection of your stuff is also a rejection of you as a person. Unless it's accompanied by a punch in the nose. — Ron Goulart
Thanks, Jim. It seems appropriate that you'd leave that quote, since your boxing stories went up on Kindle.
I'll remember to keep my guard up when I'm around reviewers and critics.
Come back often.
It's not specific to writing, but it is to me:
"It's never too late to become what you might have been." - George Eliot
And, of course, there's Michener:
“I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.” ~James Michener
If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do things worth writing about.
-Benjamin Franklin
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