Shari of Literally Blind-Sided tagged me to do a post about writing.
I’m late responding – my apologies, Shari.
Apparently there are no rules or regulations to this tag (or none that I could see) so I’m doing my own thing.
And my thing is this: A brief list of quotations on the subject of writing that I find humorous, inspirational and to the point.
“Substitute "damn" every time you're inclined to write "very." Your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”
Mark Twain
“Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.”
Author Unknown
“Be obscure clearly.”
E.B. White
“A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the other one.”
Baltasar Gracián
“As to the adjective, when in doubt, strike it out.”
Mark Twain
The quotation below differs from the above – and speaks to me on a very personal level.
“I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.”
Joan Didion
No tagging from Beth on this one – but if you’ve got a good quotation or thought to add, please do.
20 comments:
I don't have a quote to share but I do like these ones you've chosen...I especially like the Didion...how insightful.
Cool. That's neat. I liked that idea of quotes.
I am used to it, because there are so many ways to spell my name, but it was spelt wrong. It's okay. I would rather have it spelled they way you did, though. I had an aunt who put "Cheri" on my Christmas cards. :)
beautiful quotes. next challenge: favourite poem
(something I've been thinking about)
sherry:
Could have chosen from so many of Didion's wonderful words!
shari:
I corrected the spelling. Can't believe I did that! I am (usually) very sensitive as to the spelling of names, etc.
(And I get infuriated when someone calls me "Liz" after I introduce myself as Elisabeth.)
bec:
Do the favourite poem challenge. I'll join in but it will be tough choosing just one.
I am definitely going to try substituting damn for very. Mark Twain is such a gem and damn smart.
One of the assignments I do with my creative writing students is to have them write a two page story using NO adjectives. For teens, this is near to impossible.
I love the synonym quote!
my fave: the synonym quote.
:)
mrs. g:
No adjectives at all?? Never mind the teens - that would be just about impossible for me, too.
(You sound like a damn good teacher.)
pavel:
It's a good one - and probably quite true.
lainey-paney:
Popular choice!
Love the first quote. I am still finding ways to make my writing more concise!
princess pointful:
Your writing style is beautiful - a pleasure to read.
I couldn't write if it weren't for words that mean the same thing. :)
There is an old southern quote that goes: "yall come back now, ya hear". My MIL wanted to get some pens that said that on them so she sent in an order to a company in Michigan. The pens came back saying: "You will come back". Someone corrected it for us. :)
gardener greg:
That Michigan company was a tad over zealous in their compunction to get it right...
Oh my new friend Beth...don't get me going. I love quotes (and writing). Try these:
No man should ever publish a book until he has first read it to a woman. - Van Wyck Brooks
There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein. - Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith
Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.
- William Wordsworth
A metaphor is like a simile.
- Author Unknown
'Fuck' isn't a word, it's really just punctuation.
- Mike Clattenberg, Writer/Producer of Trailer Park Boys
(Sorry if you'd rather not have the F-word here...)
gary:
I love them all - my favourite is #1.
And I'm fine with the F-word (just ask my kids). You probably boosted my blog to an R-rating.
How about this one?
"All first drafts are shit."
Ernest Hemingway
Beth, one of my favorite writing quotes is the following:
"There's 26 letters in the alphabet. I jumble them up."
-- Mordecai Richler --
Is that awesome, or what?
He jumbled them REAL GOOD.
I think Richler is fabulous!
-- Cip
cip:
I love that one! Would that I had the skill to jumble letters as Richler did. (I miss him.)
Hmmmmm. I love that last one so very much. I'm sure that's why I write, too. Thank you for posting those. The Mark Twain quotations are priceless.
Here's one of my favorites:
"Eschew obfuscation; espouse elucidation."
;)
angela:
I can see (from your blog) why the Didion quotation would appeal to you.
And I LOVE the word eschew!
Love these quotes.
And Cippy stole MY fave quote, dammit! I love Richler's take on writing.
patricia:
I can't believe I'd never seen that Richler quotation before.
Thankfully, either via you or Cip, it would have come to my attention!
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