“Often I'll find clues to where the story might go by figuring out where the characters would rather not go.” Quote by Douglas A. Lawson
“Too many poets write poems which are only difficult on the surface, difficult because the dramatic situation is easily misunderstood. It's not difficult to write poems that are misunderstood. A drunk, a three-year-old-they are easily misunderstood. What is difficult is being clear and mysterious at the same time. The dramatic situation needs to be as clear in a poem as it is in a piece of good journalism. The why is part of the mystery, but the who, what, where, and when should all be understood.” NeedsShouldWritingYearsThreeDifficultSituationClearPiecesMysteryPoetUnderstoodSurfaceDrunkMysteriousCraftsJournalismDramaticThree YearsMisunderstoodThree Year OldsGood JournalismDramatic Situations Author:Miller Williams
“The mere habit of writing, of constantly keeping at it, of never giving up, ultimately teaches you how to write.” GivingWritingTeachHabitGiving UpMereCraftsNever Giving Up Author:Gabriel Fielding
“Let your literary compositions be kept from the public eye for nine years at least.” YearsEyeLiteratureNineCraftsCompositionNine YearsPublic Eye Author:Horace
“Learn punctuation; it is your little drum set, one of the few tools oyu have to signal the reader where the beats and emphases go. (If you get it wrong, any least thing, the editor will throw your manuscript out.) Punctuation is not like musical notation; it doesn't indicate the length of pauses, but instead signifies logical relations. There are all sorts of people out there who know these things very well. You have to be among them even to begin.” PeopleIfsKnowsWellsLittlesReaderBeatsToolsRelationMusicalCraftsLengthLogicalEditorsPausesSignalsEmphasisManuscriptsPunctuation Author:Annie Dillard
“Any claim to actual identification as a drama must rest upon the construction of a plot independent of the assignment of affliction to the protagonist.” DramaClaimsIndependentCraftsPlotConstructionAfflictionIdentificationAssignmentsProtagonists Author:David Mamet
“There are significant moments in everyone's day that can make literature. That's what you ought to write about.” WritingMomentsLiteratureOughtSignificantCraftsSignificant Moments Author:Raymond Carver
“And yet, we know how fatal the pursuit of liveliness may be: it may result in ... tiresome acrobatics. ... Flashy effects distract the mind. They destroy their persuasiveness; you would not believe a man was very intent on ploughing a furrow if he carried a hoop with him and jumped through it at every other step. ... When virtuosity gets the upper hand of your theme, or is better than your idea, it is time to quit.” IfsKnowsMenMindBelieveMayIdeasHandsResultsStepsKnow HowEffectsQuittingPursuitCraftsThemeTiresomeFlashyUpper HandVirtuosityPloughingAcrobatics Author:Katherine Anne Porter
“Write a novel if you must, but think of money as an unlikely accident. Get your reward out of writing it, and try to be content with that.” IfsThinkingWritingTryingNovelRewardsAccidentsCraftsUnlikely Author:Pearl S. Buck
“Nobody wants to see the village of the happy people.” PeopleWantCraftsVillageHappy People Author:Lew Hunter