“Well, first you have to love writing. A lot of authors love having written. But I enjoy the actual writing. Beside that, I think the main reason I can be so prolific is the huge amount of planning I do before I start to write. I do a very complete, chapter-by-chapter outline of every book I write. When I sit down to write, I already know everything that's going to happen in the book. This means I've done all the important thinking, and I can relax and enjoy the writing. I could never write so many books if I didn't outline them first.” IfsThinkingKnowsWritingFirstsWellsMeanI CanImportantBookReasonDoneHappensEnjoyWrittenHugeAmountPlanningRelaxChaptersOutlines Author:R. L. Stine
“I took the first James Kelman novel, 'The Bus Conductor Hines', home to my dad. I thought, 'My dad will like this; it's written in Scots.' But my dad said: 'I can't read that.' He was reading James Bond and John le Carre. That was part of what attracted me to crime - the idea of getting a wide audience.” FirstsSaidI CanIdeasHomeReadingNovelAudienceWrittenCrimeDadMy DadWideBusConductorScots Author:Ian Rankin
“My dreams are the usual incoherent nonsense. Like most writers, at some point in my career I thought, well, I have these great dreams but I always forget them in the morning so I’ll leave a pad on my bedside table so I can write it down, and then you have some incredible dream and you write it down and the next morning you wake up and you’ve written ‘purple socks’.” WritingWellsI CanDreamNextForgetCareersMorningWrittenWake UpDown AndTablesIncrediblesNonsenseUsualPurpleSockPads Author:George R. R. Martin
“Sometimes an idea from six years ago will come to me out of the blue. And maybe I haven't even seen the lyrics I wrote down, but I'll just have this physical memory of having written it, and in my mind I can see the piece of paper, and the words I wrote down, and then by muscle memory, I'll remember the chords that go along with it.” YearsMindI CanIdeasSometimesRememberMemoriesPiecesWrittenHavensPaperSixYears AgoDown AndBlueMusclesChordsMuscle Memory Author:Ryan Adams
“I still feel like if I can get a song to work with, say, a basic beat, a rhythm, some chord changes, and a melody, a vocal melody - if it works with that, then I feel it's written and there's something there.” IfsFeelsStillsI CanSongWrittenBeatsRhythmMelodyChordsVocal Author:David Byrne
“You've got to remember, the older you get the slower you get. I've seen a lot of players get old ... if I can have a good season in 1972 and come back with another good one, well, that's different. I might not quit. But two bad ones back to back and staying home would be written on the wall.” IfsWellsI CanTwoDifferentHomeMightWould BeRememberPlayerWrittenWallSeasonsQuittingStaying Author:Hank Aaron
“For me and most of the other writers I know, writing is not rapturous. In fact, the only way I can get anything written at all is to write really, really shitty first drafts.” KnowsWayWritingFirstsI CanFactsWritten Book:Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life Source: Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life