“There was the usual dreaminess, I suppose. Also a shyness that caused me - and others - to notice that I could express myself better by writing than by speaking. This is typical of many writers, I think. What is a drawback in childhood is an asset to a literary life. Not being fluent on one’s feet sends one to the page and a habit is born.” ThinkingWritingBornFeetChildhoodHabitPagesAssetsUsualTypicalShynessDrawbacksFluent Author:Lorrie Moore
“In the case of Anathem, most of the research had to do with philosophy and metaphysics. Reading this sort of thing has never been my strong suit, so I actually had to be somewhat more "organized and results-driven" than is my habit. I just made up my mind that I was going to have to read some of these philosophy tomes, and I forced myself to read something like 10 pages a day until I had bashed my way through them.” WayMindMadePhilosophyReadingStrongResultsCasesHabitPagesResearchDrivenSuitsMy WayOrganizedMetaphysics Author:Neal Stephenson
“Reading Don Quixote can be compared to an indefinite visit from your most impossible senior relative, with all his pranks, dirty habits, unstoppable reminiscences, and terrible cronies. When the experience is over, and the old boy checks out at last (on page 846 - the prose wedged tight, with no breaks for dialogue), you will shed tears all right; not tears of relief or regret but tears of pride. You made it, despite all that 'Don Quixote' could do.” MadeLastsReadingBoysBreakImpossibleTearsRegretPrideHabitTerriblePagesChecksDialogueDespiteMade ItDirtyProseReliefRelativeShedSeniorUnstoppablePranksCronies Author:Miguel de Cervantes
“Most readers look at the photograph first. If you put it in the middle of the page, the reader will start by looking in the middle. Then her eye must go up to read the headline; this doesn't work, because people have a habit of scanning downwards. However, suppose a few readers do read the headline after seeing the photograph below it. After that, you require them to jump down past the photograph which they have already seen. Not bloody likely.” PeopleIfsFirstsLooksEyePastSeeingMiddleReaderHabitPagesPhotographBloodyHer EyesHeadlinesScanning Author:David Ogilvy
“You must get into the habit of looking intensely at words, and assuring yourself of their meaning, syllable by syllable-nay, letter by letter... you might read all the books in the British Museum (if you could live long enough) and remain an utterly "illiterate," undeducated person; but if you read ten pages of a good book, letter by letter, - that is to say, with real accuracy- you are for evermore in some measure an educated person.” IfsPersonsLongBookRealEnoughMightHabitTenPagesLettersBritishEducatedMuseumsGood BookAccuracyIlliterateSyllablesEvermoreEducated PersonBritish Museum Book:The Genius of John Ruskin: Selections from His Writings Source: The Genius of John Ruskin: Selections from His Writings
“I had this bad habit of not writing out a first draft and going back. For me it was the first sentence, then the second sentence, and I might be several weeks on the first page instead of writing a draft and trying to figure it out from there.” WritingTryingFirstsMightWeekFiguresHabitPagesSentencesBad Habits Author:Donald Ray Pollock
“I think I was also afraid of the novel. I write line by line, proceeding at snail's pace, rewriting as I go and paring the excess away. This is against all the best advice for writing long form prose, and I have tried over the years to break myself of the habit, but I can't bear to leave anything ungainly on the page and half the fun for me is that tinkering. So the length of a novel was a daunting prospect.” ThinkingWritingYearsLongI CanFormFunLinesHalfBreakNovelAdviceBearsHabitPagesProseLengthPaceExcessProceedingBest AdviceAll The BestRewritingSnailTinkering Author:Debra Dean
“I come from a background of 40 pages a day. The other side of the coin is quality can suffer a bit on those shows and you can get into some bad habits but thanks to those days, I can do memorization in my sleep.” I CanShowsSufferingBitsSidesCan DoSleepQualityHabitPagesBackgroundsThanksCoinsBad HabitsMemorization Author:Sherri Saum
“I hate it when people tell me the end of the story because my mother always read the last page of a novel first to see whether she wanted to read it. It was a strange reading habit.” PeopleFirstsEndsStoriesWantedLastsMotherHateReadingNovelStrangeHabitPagesI HateReading Habits Author:Alice Hoffman
“[Peter Pan] has never broken his terrible habit of eavesdropping. So, maybe that wasn't the rustle of pages you heard while this story lasted, but Peter Pan himself, listening in. In exchanged for a story of yours, he might show you his most prized possession: James Hooks' map of Neverland. In exchange for a smile, he may show you Neverland itself.” MayStoriesShowsMightHeardBrokenListeningHabitTerriblePagesPossessionMapsPeterHookNeverlandEavesdroppingPrized Possessions Author:Geraldine McCaughrean
“You must learn to know the difference between tales and the truth, my Liza, she would say. Fairy tales have a habit of ending too soon. They never show what happens afterwards when the prince and princess ride off the page.” KnowsLifeShowsHappensDifferencesHabitPagesTalesFairyPrincessFairy Tale Book:The Forgotten Garden: A Novel Source: The Forgotten Garden: A Novel