Best Rewriting Quotes | Short & Famous Sayings

“Maybe we’re okay kid? I’ll rewrite this whole life and this time there’ll be so much love, you won’t be able to see beyond it. You won’t be able to see beyond it, I’ll rewrite this whole life and this time there’ll be so much love. Maybe we’re okay kid...”

Love Past Poetry History Poem Rewriting Changing Changing The Past Changing History

Author:Warsan Shire

“It takes one person to rewrite the history book.”

Historic One Story Of My Life Rewriting History Of Mankind Book Of Life Rewriting History Written In The Stars Rewrite Storybook Writer Inspiration One Lifetime Written In Verse It Takes One One Moment

Author:J.R. Rim

“You become a great writer by writing lots and lots of stories, not by rewriting the same story over and over again.”

Writing Practice Great Writers Great Writing Rewriting

Author:Scott William Carter

“Rebels revel in rewriting reality's restrictions.”

“I do so much writing. But so much of it never goes anywhere, never sees any light of day. I suppose that's like gardening in the basement. I don't publish so much of what I write. I just seem to plow it back into the soil of what I write after it, rewriting and rewriting, thinking that somehow it gets better after the fifty-second-time around. I need to learn to abandon my writing. To let go of it. Dispose of it, like tissue.”

Writing Rewriting

Author:J.R. Tompkins

“Write at a pace that doesn't surpass your creative flow. Don't be hasty; don't be sloppy. Don't forfeit impressive writing for an impressive word count. Because eventually it will all have to be edited, and you'll find that it is harder to make bad writing good than to make good writing better.”

Writing Richelle Goodrich Writers Richelle Good Writing Rewriting Sloppy Hasty Bad Writing

Author:Richelle E. Goodrich

“It's okay to write a cliché in a first draft; it sets a marker that you can get far, far away from in the rewrites.”

Writing Originality Writing Process Writing Advice Rewriting Clichés Writing Advice Process First Drafts Rewrites

Author:Stewart Stafford

“I know when a story is finished when there is not a single thing more I can think to do to it. And since I know at the start what the last line will be, I know when I've reached that point as logically as I can that it's finished. As for the rewriting-it's not foolproof, of course, but if you're honest about having thought of every possibility and you still come back to what you have, what more can you do?”

Ifs Thinking Knows Writing Stills I Can Stories Lasts Courses Lines Honest Possibility Finished Rewriting Foolproof

Author:Amy Hempel

“When you perform in front of an audience after only two days of rehearsal, you're flying by the seat of your pants - particularly when they're rewriting the show right up to the moment the camera goes on.”

Two Moments Shows Audience Fronts Goes On Cameras Flying Seats Pants Rehearsal Two Days Rewriting

Author:Michael Richards

“Rewriting is the essence of writing well - where the game is won or lost.”

Writing Wells Games Lost Essence Rewriting Writing Well

Author:William Zinsser

“The biggest challenge for me has been in coping with my perfectionism. I have a stiflingly hard time moving forward in a project if it's not 'just right' all along the way. The trap I so easily fall into is rewriting and rewriting the same scenes over and over to make them perfect, instead of continuing on into the wild unknown of the story.”

Ifs Way Has Beens Hard Stories Moving Fall Challenges Perfect Scene Projects Moving Forward Hard Times Continuing Traps Coping Perfectionism Rewriting Continuing On

Author:Laini Taylor

“Rewriting is the essence of writing well: it's where the game is won or lost. The idea is hard to accept. We all have emotional equity in our first draft; we can't believe that it wasn't born perfect. But the odds are close to 100 percent that it wasn't.”

Writing Firsts Believe Wells Ideas Hard Games Lost Born Perfect Accepting Emotional Percent Essence Odds Equity Rewriting Writing Well

Author:William Zinsser

“Once I get over maybe a hundred pages, I won't go back to page one, but I might go back to page fifty-five, or twenty, even. But then every once in a while I feel the need to go to page one again and start rewriting.”

Needs Feels Might Five Pages Hundred Twenties Fifty Get Over Rewriting

Author:Joan Didion

“[Writing is] largely a matter of application and hard work, or writing and rewriting endlessly until you are satisfied that you have said what you want to say as clearly and simply as possible. For me that usually means many, many revisions.”

Want Writing Mean Said Matter Hard Language Hard Work What You Want Satisfied Application Revision Rewriting

Book:The house of life: Rachel Carson at work

Source: The house of life: Rachel Carson at work

“We're here to make a dent in the universe. Otherwise, why even be here? We're creating a completely new consciousness, like an artist or a poet. That’s how you have to think of this. We're rewriting the history of human thought with what we're doing.”

Thinking Humans Artist Universe Consciousness Poet Creating Rewriting Human Thought

Author:Steve Jobs

“Rewriting to me means, if I work on it for three days, I've rewritten it.”

Ifs Mean Three Rewriting

Author:Jules Shear

“My books are based on the "what if" principle. "What if you became invisible?" or "What if you did change into your mother for one day?" I then take it from there. Each book takes several months in the long process of writing, rewriting, writing, rewriting, and each has its own set of problems. The one thing I dislike about the writing process is the sometimes-loneliness of it all. Readers only get to see the glamour part of a bound book, not some of the agonizing moments one has while constructing it.”

“The purest case of an intelligence explosion would be an Artificial Intelligence rewriting its own source code. The key idea is that if you can improve intelligence even a little, the process accelerates. It's a tipping point. Like trying to balance a pen on one end - as soon as it tilts even a little, it quickly falls the rest of the way.”

Ifs Way Trying Littles Ideas Ends Would Be Fall Process Cases Source Keys Balance Code Pens Artificial Intelligence Artificial Explosions Accelerate Rewriting Tipping Tilt Tipping Point

Author:Eliezer Yudkowsky

“It has been said, "History is written by the victors." I take this to mean we can make ourselves victorious by writing, and then rewriting our own stories. In a country and culture so dominated by media, by the manipulation of words and stories, telling the tales of people whose stories historically have not been told is a radical act and I believe an act that can change the world and help rewrite history.”

People World Writing Believe Mean Has Beens Said Country Helping Stories Culture I Believe Written Media Tales Radical Changing The World Manipulation Rewriting

Author:Jennifer Beals

“I am a technophile, so there is no such thing as a first draft. The first draft plunges on, and about a quarter of the way through it I realise I'm doing things wrong, so I start rewriting it. What you call the first draft becomes rather like a caterpillar; it is progressing fairly slowly, but there is movement up and down its whole length, the whole story is being changed. I call this draft zero, telling myself how the story is supposed to go.”

Way Firsts Whole Stories Progress Movement Changed Length Zero Realising Quarters Up And Down Plunge Rewriting Caterpillars

Author:Terry Pratchett

“By the time you write the last page you have done half the book. The other half tends to get done in about five weeks; I do several drafts, very, very furiously rewriting. I literally do more or less nothing else and I stick with it and go through it and I begin to hate it.”

Writing Book Done Lasts Hate Half Five Week Pages Sticks Other Half Rewriting

Author:Terry Pratchett

“The danger is not only that these austerity measures are killing the European economies but also that they threaten the very legitimacy of European democracies - not just directly by threatening the livelihoods of so many people and pushing the economy into a downward spiral, but also indirectly by undermining the legitimacy of the political system through this backdoor rewriting of the social contract.”

“Collaboration is being open to each other's ideas and benefiting from each other's perspectives in an open way. Collaboration is all about rewriting and rewriting and rewriting and helping each other to constantly improve a piece. And, it's also about spurring each other on to doing really great, hard work - it's easier to do it in a collaboration than on your own.”

Way Ideas Hard Helping Pieces Hard Work Perspective Easier Working It Collaboration Really Great Helping Each Other Rewriting

Author:Alan Menken

“Too many are focused on rewriting the past, invent the future!”

Past Focused Rewriting

Author:Philippe Kahn

“I think I became a better writer after I started writing for the New Yorker. Well, I know I did. And part of it was having my New Yorker editor and part of it is that was when I started really going on tour and reading things in front of an audience 30 times and then going back in the room and rewriting it and reading it and rewriting it. So you really get the rhythm of the sentences down and you really get the flow down and you get rid of stuff that's not important.”

Thinking Knows Writing Wells Important Reading Stuff Rooms Audience Fronts Flow Down And Sentences Rhythm Editors New Yorkers Rewriting

Author:David Sedaris

“Good writing is writing and rewriting and rewriting and rewriting. Sometimes, it happens to work right away, and that's amazing. But most of the time, it happens to work, and then you rewrite and rewrite and rewrite, and maybe it even comes back to the thing it was in the first place, but then you know for sure that it is good, and it's what you wanted to do.”

Knows Writing Firsts Sometimes Happens Wanted Good Writing Rewriting

Author:Kate Beaton

“Studying writing to me means reading and also rewriting obsessively. That's the best way to learn.”

Way Writing Mean Reading Study Best Way Rewriting

Author:Jami Attenberg

“My novels tend to take a long time to become exactly what they're going to be. They're fluid messes until I've done a ton of editing and refining and rewriting. When I write novels, I always make related scrapbooks to help me organize and test my intentions.”

Writing Long Done Helping Novel Long Time Tests Intention Mess Related Help Me Editing Organize Fluid Rewriting Refining

Author:Dennis Cooper

“I didn't like people rewriting my dialogue. I didn't like the fact that we'd start a comic with the Joker, and by the time we inked it, he would have turned into the Scarecrow.”

People Facts Dialogue Comic Rewriting Scarecrow

Author:Neil Gaiman

“Particularly in my early days, I did very little rewriting.”

Littles Rewriting

Author:Jimmy Webb

“I love rewriting because that is where and how you discover the story. Its like you have this skeleton, and you get to put flesh on it and hair and clothes and really wonderful jewelry.”

Stories Wonderful Like You Hair Clothes Flesh Jewelry Skeletons Rewriting

Author:Caroline Leavitt

“In a poem, the words happen; they just come. I let them. Otherwise, I wouldn't write. To interfere with what is happening is to distort the poem. Just a very small degree of intelligence and supervision is necessary. Very tactful. Any revision later that violates the text as it came, that begins rewriting the words, is fake.”

Writing Happens Degrees Happenings Fake Interfere Revision Rewriting Supervision

Author:Louis Dudek

“The only kind of writing is rewriting.”

Writing Kind Rewriting

Author:Ernest Hemingway

“Multiculturalism is a campaign to lower America's moral status by defining the American experience is terms of myriad repressionsand their victims. By rewriting history, and by using name calling ("Racist! Sexist! Homophobe!") to inhibit debate, multiculturalists cultivate grievances, self pity and claims to entitlements arising from victimization.”

“Rewriting isn't just about dialogue, it's the order of the scenes, how you finish a scene, how you get into a scene. All these final decisions are best made when you're there, watching. It's really enjoyable, but you've got to be there at the director's invitation. You can't just barge in and say, "I'm the writer."”

Made Order Decision Scene Directors Finals Dialogue Invitations Enjoyable Rewriting Barges

Author:Tom Stoppard

“So much of the effort that goes into writing prose for me is about making sentences that capture the music that I'm hearing in my head. It takes a lot of work, writing, writing, and rewriting to get the music exactly the way you want it to be.”

Way Want Writing Effort Hearing Sentences Prose Capture Rewriting

Author:Jonathan Lethem

“During improvisations, I'll hear people bringing back up details from something I heard about at breakfast or something somebody was saying that they were thinking about, and it informs a rewriting of a scene.”

People Thinking Heard Scene Details Breakfast Improvisation Rewriting

Author:Joe Swanberg

“That is as true for fiction or non-fiction. The writer has to really know their subject. It is really important to remember that the readers are a lot smarter than the writer. Also, good writing has to do with rewriting. You will never get it right the first time. So you rewrite and rewrite again until you get it right. Until you, and the reader, will be able to visualize what you're writing about.”

Knows Writing Firsts Important Able Remember Fiction Subjects Reader First Time Smarter Non Fiction Good Writing Rewriting

Author:Michael Scott

“I think most presidents are amazed at the overwhelming responsibility they have when they enter office and the tremendous amount of work there is. See, a modern president has far more responsibility than a president years ago. And if I were rewriting the Constitution, I would suggest a president be more like a monarch and then have a prime minister under him.”

Ifs Thinking Years President Responsibility Modern Amount Office Years Ago Constitution Ministers Prime Overwhelming Amazed Prime Minister Monarchs Rewriting

Author:Billy Graham

“When I am writing a novel, though, then it's usually three or four hours a day. Ideally, right after lunch until three or four, but sometimes picking up again around ten, going until a touch after midnight. I rarely write in the morning, unless I'm on deadline. I do like rewriting in the morning, though. Guess it's the way my brain's put together. Or, the way it's falling apart.”

Way Writing Sometimes Together Fall Three Hours Brain Morning Novel Four Ten Lunch Midnight Falling Apart Deadline Rewriting

Author:Stephen Graham Jones

“When rewriting, move quickly. It's a little like cutting your own hair.”

Writing Littles Moving Cutting Hair Crafts Rewriting

Author:Robert Stone

“The book really comes to life in the rewriting.”

Book Rewriting

Author:Philip Roth

“When I have a first draft, I have a floor under my feet that I can walk on. And then, especially with the help of the computer, rewriting is so easy to do with the computer, much easier than it used to be with the typewriter. So the books go through numerous drafts.”

Firsts I Can Book Helping Used Easy Walks Feet Easier Computer Used To Be Typewriters Rewriting

Author:Philip Roth

“I think we're always in the process of writing and rewriting the story of our lives, forming our experiences into a narrative that makes sense. Much of that work involves demythologizing family myths and cultural myths - getting free of what we have been told about ourselves.”

Thinking Writing Has Beens Stories Process Our Lives Myth Narrative Make Sense Rewriting

Author:Sam Keen

“Rewriting is when writing really gets to be fun. . . . In baseball you only get three swings and you're out. In rewriting, you get almost as many swings as you want and you know, sooner or later, you'll hit the ball.”

Knows Want Writing Three Fun Baseball Balls Swings Sooner Or Later Rewriting

Author:Neil Simon

“If somebody asked for the first draft of something I'd written, it'd probably be pretty close to whatever got published. I get enjoyment out of writing, but I get absolutely no enjoyment out of rewriting, so I don't do much of it. The more you work on something, certainly, the better it gets. But there's also a pretty clear law of diminishing returns.”

Ifs Writing Firsts Law Clear Written Return Enjoyment Rewriting Diminishing Returns

Author:Chuck Klosterman

“As you continue writing and rewriting, you begin to see possibilities you hadn't seen before. Writing a poem is always a process of discovery.”

Writing Process Possibility Discovery Rewriting

Book:Collected Prose

Source: Collected Prose

“There is no good writing; there is only good rewriting.”

Writing Good Writing Rewriting

Author:Louis D. Brandeis

“Writing in journalism teaches you to be very comfortable taking criticism, being edited, and rewriting.”

Writing Teach Comfortable Criticism Journalism Rewriting Edited

Author:Neil Drumming

“Writing for me is largely about rewriting.”

Writing Rewriting

Author:Khaled Hosseini

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Rewriting Quotes