I went looking for some writing tips, some inspiration, some real words from “the greats” this morning. As with anything you look up on the web there were a gazillion things to click on. There were many repeated quotes; write what you know, every sentence should advance the story, be a sadist and kill your darlings, don’t correct or rewrite until you are done with the entire piece. Wonderful advice to be sure, always timely and valuable.
There has to be more than that, what else do they say? John Steinbeck and Kurt Vonnegut and Mark Twain. Even Benjamin Franklin had something to say on the subject. Some may recognize the old quote (or some variation of it) “If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write something worth reading or do things worth the writing,” by Benjamin Franklin, but he also coined this one: “Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.” Both are good but the second says a lot more to me as an author.
Here’s some of what I found, of course there isn’t room to list all of their wise words!
Kurt Vonnegut – “Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about. It is this genuine caring, not your games with language, which will be the most compelling and seductive element in your style.”
John Steinbeck – “Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down. Rewrite in process is usually found to be an excuse for not going on. It also interferes with flow and rhythm which can only come from a kind of unconscious association with the material.”
(This one is another of the well-known quotes, but he qualified it with the last two sentences, I found it valuable).
Oscar Wilde – “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
Phyllis Whitney – “You must want to enough. Enough to take all the rejections, enough to pay the price in disappointment and discouragement while you are learning. Like any other artist you must learn your craft – then you can add all the genius you like.”
~ Last but not the least is my favorite, by none other than Mark Twain.
“Write without pay until somebody offers pay; if nobody offers within three years, sawing wood is what you were intended for.”
Do you have a favorite quote, something you like to keep by your desk when you write?
Limebird Writers 