“Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That's why it's so hard." (Interview with NEH chairman Bruce Cole, Humanities, July/Aug. 2002, Vol. 23/No. 4)” ThinkingWritingThoughtClarityCreative ProcessPrecision Author:David McCullough
“No harm's done to history by making it something someone would want to read." (The Course of Human Events, NEH Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities 2003)” WritingHistory Author:David McCullough
“The source of our suffering has been our timidity. We have been afraid to think....Let us dare to read, think, speak, write.” ThinkingWritingHas BeensSufferingSpeakSourceDareTimidity Book:John Adams Source: John Adams
“Once I discovered the endless fascination of doing the research and of doing the writing, I knew I had found what I wanted to do in my life. Every book is a new journey. I never felt I was an expert on a subject as I embarked on a project.” WritingBookWantedFoundFeltJourneySubjectsProjectsResearchEndlessExpertsFascinationNew Journey Author:David McCullough
“You have to get inside the people you are writing about. You have to go below the surface. And that's to a very large degree what all writers are doing - they're trying to get below the surface. Whether it's in fiction or poetry or writing history and biography. Some people make that possible because they write wonderful letters and diaries. And you have to sort of go where the material is.” PeopleWritingTryingFictionWonderfulMaterialsDegreesLettersSurfaceBiographiesDiariesBelow The SurfaceWriting History Author:David McCullough
“When you start to write, things begin to come into focus in a way they don't when you're not writing. It's a very good way to find out how much you don't know because you learn specifically what you need to know that you don't know at the moment by writing.” KnowsWayNeedsWritingMomentsFocusVery GoodGood Way Author:David McCullough
“I write on the typewriter. I like it because I like the feeling of making something with my hands. I like pressing the key and a letter comes up and is printed on a piece of paper. I can understand that.” WritingI CanFeelingsHandsPiecesKeysPaperLettersCome UpPrintedTypewriters Author:David McCullough
“There are people who are trying to write history for the general reader who can be quite tedious. That said, I do feel in my heart of hearts that if history isn't well written, it isn't going to be read, and if it isn't read it's going to die.” PeopleIfsFeelsWritingTryingWellsHeartSaidDiesWrittenReaderMy HeartTediousWell Written Author:David McCullough
“I feel that what I do is a calling. I would pay to do what I do if I had to. I will never live long enough to do the work I want to do: the books I would like to write, the ideas I would like to explore.” IfsWantFeelsWritingLongBookIdeasEnoughPayCalling Author:David McCullough
“I could not do what I do without the kindness, consideration, resourcefulness and work of librarians, particularly in public libraries... What started me writing history happened because of some curiosity that I had about some photographs I'd seen in the Library of Congress.” WritingKindnessHappenedCuriosityLibraryPhotographCongressConsiderationLibrarianPublic LibraryResourcefulnessWriting History Author:David McCullough
“There are innumerable writing problems in an extended work. One book took a little more than six years. You, the writer, change in six years. The life around you changes. Your family changes. They grow up. They move away. The world is changing. You're also learning more about the subject. By the time you're writing the last chapters of the book, you know much more than you did when you started at the beginning.” KnowsWorldWritingYearsLittlesBookProblemLastsMovingGrowsGrowing UpSubjectsSixOur FamilyChaptersLearning More Author:David McCullough
“You can't learn to play the piano without playing the piano, you can't learn to write without writing, and, in many ways, you can't learn to think without thinking. Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That's why it's so hard.” ThinkingWayWritingWellsHardPlayPiano Author:David McCullough
“We all know the old expression, "I'll work my thoughts out on paper." There's something about the pen that focuses the brain in a way that nothing else does. That is why we must have more writing in the schools, more writing in all subjects, not just in English classes.” KnowsWayWritingDoeSchoolBrainClassSubjectsExpressionPaperPensMy ThoughtsEnglish Class Author:David McCullough
“One of the things about the arts that is so important is that in the arts you discover the only way to learn how to do it is by doing it. You can't write by reading a book about it. The only way to learn how to write a book is to sit down and try to write a book” WayWritingTryingArtImportantBookReadingDown And Author:David McCullough
“When a friend of Abigail and John Adams was killed at Bunker Hill, Abigail's response was to write a letter to her husband and include these words, "My bursting heart must find vent at my pen.” WritingHeartGriefHusbandLettersResponseHillsPensBurstingLosing A Loved OneBunkersAbigailBunker Hill Author:David McCullough
“According to Adams, Jefferson proposed that he, Adams, do the writing [pf the Declaration of Independence], but that he declined, telling Jefferson he must do it. Why?" Jefferson asked, as Adams would recount. Reasons enough," Adams said. What can be your reasons?" Reason first: you are a Virginian and a Virginian ought to appear at the head of this business. Reason second: I am obnoxious, suspected and unpopular. You are very much otherwise. Reason third: You can write ten times better than I can.” WritingFirstsSaidI CanReasonEnoughOughtTenThirdsIndependenceDeclarationDeclaration Of IndependenceObnoxiousVirginians Author:David McCullough
“I can fairly be called an amateur because I do what I do, in the original sense of the word - for love, because I love it. On the other hand, I think that those of us who make our living writing history can also be called true professionals.” ThinkingWritingI CanHandsLove IsOriginalsWriting History Author:David McCullough
“I had been writing for about twelve years. I knew pretty well how you could find things out, but I had never been trained in an academic way how to go about the research.” WayWritingYearsWellsResearchAcademicTwelve Author:David McCullough
“I work very hard on the writing, writing and rewriting and trying to weed out the lumber.” WritingTryingHardWeedMarijuanaRewritingTrying HardLumber Author:David McCullough
“There's an awful temptation to just keep on researching. There comes a point where you just have to stop, and start writing.” WritingTemptationAwful Author:David McCullough
“To write is to think, and to write well is to think well.” ThinkingWritingWells Author:David McCullough
“Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That's why it's so hard.” ThinkingWritingWellsHardPurposeClarity Author:David McCullough
“In time I began to understand that it's when you start writing that you really find out what you don't know and need to know.” KnowsNeedsWriting Author:David McCullough
“My shorthand answer is that I try to write the kind of book that I would like to read. If I can make it clear and interesting and compelling to me, then I hope maybe it will be for the reader.” IfsWritingTryingKindI CanBookAnswersInterestingClearReaderCompellingShorthand Author:David McCullough
