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Quote by Chris Offutt

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Chris Offutt
Chris Offutt

Chris Offutt is an American writer known for his short stories and essays, which often explore the complexities of human nature and social change in the American Midwest. Born on August 24, 1958, Offutt's writing career began in the 1980s, and he has published numerous works to date. more

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“My God, this novel makes me break out in a cold sweat! Do you know how much I've written in five months, since the end of August? Sixty-five pages! Each paragraph is good in itself and there are some pages that are perfect. I feel certain. But just because of this, it isn't getting on. It's a series of well-turned, ordered paragraphs which do not flow on from each other. I shall have to unscrew them, loosen the joints, as one does with the masts of a ship when one wants the sail to take more wind.”

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Author:Gustave Flaubert
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“It is worth mentioning, for future reference, that the creative power which bubbles so pleasantly in beginning a new book quiets down after a time, and one goes on more steadily. Doubts creep in. Then one becomes resigned. Determination not to give in, and the sense of an impending shape keep one at it more than anything.”

GivingWritingBookCreativityCreativeDoubtGoes OnShapesDeterminationCraftsBubblesCreepsNew BooksResignedCreative Power
Book:A Writer's Diary
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“You expect far too much of a first sentence. Think of it as analagous to a good country breakfast: what we want is something simple, but nourishing to the imagination. Hold the philosophy, hold the adjectives, just give us a plain subject and verb and perhaps a wholesome, nonfattening adverb or two.”

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Book:Some Can Whistle
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