Beth Rodgers's Blog: A Fresh Perspective: A Blog by Beth Rodgers, Author of "Freshman Fourteen" - Posts Tagged "writing-craft"
Quotes to Write By
Some of my favorite quotes are just the inspiration I need to pursue my love of writing. Here are five of my favorites to help you contemplate your own writing craft:
1. "Only connect." -- E.M. Forster
How do you connect with your writing? With your subject matter? With your thoughts and emotions? If you are not able to connect, what is causing the disconnect and how do you plan to remedy it?
2. "Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." -- Samuel Beckett
Keep trying. No matter how much you don't believe in yourself or your writing anymore, don't give up. You will only be cheating yourself.
3. "I have often rewritten -- often several times -- every word I have ever published. My pencils outlast their erasers." -- Vladimir Nabokov
Your pencils should outlast their erasers. If you erase, you might lose something that later on would have proven useful. If you must erase, draw a thin line through the words you don't like, or rip out the pages and put them aside. Just don't permanently discard any material.
4. "You write a book and it's like putting a message in a bottle and throwing it in the ocean. You don't know if it will ever reach any shores. And there, you see, sometimes it falls in the hands of the right person." -- Isabelle Allende
Your writing may not be meant for everyone. However, there are many people out there who will love your writing and find it inspirational for them, just as these quotations or other writings you have read may be inspirational for you.
5. "One of the most difficult things is the first paragraph. I have spent many months on a first paragraph, and once I get it, the rest just comes out very easily." -- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
This quote definitely applies to me. Don't despair if it applies to you, too. If you have ideas about where the rest of the story will go, write them down. The first paragraph will come to you eventually. Then you can alter the rest of what you've written to accommodate your beginning.
What are some of your favorite quotes and how do they inspire you in your writing or otherwise? Share in the comments!
Feel free to check out Freshman Fourteen by Beth Rodgers, available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. You can also visit www.BethRodgersAuthor.com or www.facebook.com/bethrodgersauthor.
1. "Only connect." -- E.M. Forster
How do you connect with your writing? With your subject matter? With your thoughts and emotions? If you are not able to connect, what is causing the disconnect and how do you plan to remedy it?
2. "Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." -- Samuel Beckett
Keep trying. No matter how much you don't believe in yourself or your writing anymore, don't give up. You will only be cheating yourself.
3. "I have often rewritten -- often several times -- every word I have ever published. My pencils outlast their erasers." -- Vladimir Nabokov
Your pencils should outlast their erasers. If you erase, you might lose something that later on would have proven useful. If you must erase, draw a thin line through the words you don't like, or rip out the pages and put them aside. Just don't permanently discard any material.
4. "You write a book and it's like putting a message in a bottle and throwing it in the ocean. You don't know if it will ever reach any shores. And there, you see, sometimes it falls in the hands of the right person." -- Isabelle Allende
Your writing may not be meant for everyone. However, there are many people out there who will love your writing and find it inspirational for them, just as these quotations or other writings you have read may be inspirational for you.
5. "One of the most difficult things is the first paragraph. I have spent many months on a first paragraph, and once I get it, the rest just comes out very easily." -- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
This quote definitely applies to me. Don't despair if it applies to you, too. If you have ideas about where the rest of the story will go, write them down. The first paragraph will come to you eventually. Then you can alter the rest of what you've written to accommodate your beginning.
What are some of your favorite quotes and how do they inspire you in your writing or otherwise? Share in the comments!
Feel free to check out Freshman Fourteen by Beth Rodgers, available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. You can also visit www.BethRodgersAuthor.com or www.facebook.com/bethrodgersauthor.
A Fresh Perspective: A Blog by Beth Rodgers, Author of "Freshman Fourteen"
Check back often for tips on writing, including ways to deal with getting past writer's block, as well as posts by the characters of "Freshman Fourteen," Beth Rodgers' new young adult novel.
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