Best Writing Quotes | Short & Famous Sayings Page 23

“GOOSE, n. A bird that supplies quills for writing. These, by some occult process of nature, are penetrated and suffused with various degrees of the bird's intellectual energies and emotional character, so that when inked and drawn mechanically across paper by a person called an "author," there results a very fair and accurate transcript of the fowl's thought and feeling. The difference in geese, as discovered by this ingenious method, is considerable: many are found to have only trivial and insignificant powers, but some are seen to be very great geese indeed.”

Source: The Devil's Dictionary: The Devil World

“Writing a column, a weekly column for the New York Times, is really tough, and I wasn't prepared for the demands that that involved.”

Writing New York Involved Demand Tough Prepared Columns New York Times

Author:David Plotz

“When you're writing for the New York Times someone reading it knows the topic better than you do and knows when you've messed up.”

Knows Writing Reading New York Topics New York Times Better Than You Messed Up

Author:David Plotz

“I'm so grateful to Hugo Lindgren, Jon Kelly, and the people who gave me the opportunity to write a weekly column. It's an amazing thing to do, and when I started they both said, you know, the problem with columns is they just exist forever.”

People Knows Writing Said Problem Opportunity Forever Grateful Things To Do Columns Amazing Things So Grateful

Author:David Plotz

“I get an urge, like a pregnant elephant, to go away and give birth to a book.”

Giving Writing Book Birth Urges Going Away Pregnancy Pregnant Elephants

Author:Stephen Fry

“The fact of picking up an instrument and writing a song and expressing yourself publicly has a powerful political dimension.”

Writing Facts Political Song Powerful Instruments Dimensions Express Yourself

Author:J. Robbins

“It's very important, at least to me as a writer, that there be some rules on the table when I'm writing. Rules come from genres. You're writing in a genre, there are rules, which is great because then you can break the rules. That's when really exciting things happen.”

Writing Important Happens Break Exciting Tables Things Happen Genre Exciting Things

Author:Lev Grossman

“I'd like to find a creative way to write a book that incorporates every Depeche Mode song ever.”

Way Writing Book Song Creative Depeche Mode

Author:David Crabb

“I start with fear. It comes in so many forms. When I write, some of the fear goes away. So I write into the fear, and even more dissipates. I want to be scared while writing. I want to bring it to the surface so I can banish it.”

Want Writing I Can Form Scared Surface

Author:Mat Johnson

“I'd love to be able to write crazy epic plots. I'm working on it.”

Writing Able Crazy Plot Epic

Author:Jami Attenberg

“I've been writing forever, 20 years.”

Writing Years Forever

Author:Mat Johnson

“It is a little out of touch to presume that someone wants to follow your every observation and insight over the course of hundreds of pages without any sort of payoff. That's why writing isn't a one-way street. You have to give something back: an interesting plot, a surprise, a laugh, a moment of tenderness, a mystery for the reader to piece together.”

Way Want Giving Writing Littles Moments Together Courses Interesting Laughing Pieces Mystery Streets Reader Pages Surprise Insight Observation One Way Plot Tenderness Payoff

Author:Christopher Bollen

“The very best parts of me go into my writing, it is the best version of myself, and I don't think it's hubristic to believe that that's worth something, worth someone else's time. It's the most I have to offer the world.”

Thinking World Writing Believe Offers Versions

Author:Jami Attenberg

“I like to think of myself at home in the armchair, writing, smoking and occasionally wandering down the shop.”

Thinking Writing Home Wander Smoking Shops Marijuana Armchairs

Author:Stephen Fry

“It's hard if you're just touring constantly. It's like, "What am I going to write about? I'm in the van, I'm playing another show..." I'm still writing about heartbreak that happened years ago. I don't see the point of writing and putting out another record until I can do something else.”

Ifs Writing Years Stills I Can Hard Shows Can Do Records Happened Years Ago Vans Touring Can Do Something

Author:Sharon Van Etten

“My life, at least, is divided between writing and performing and mixtures of the two.”

Writing Two Performing Divided Mixtures

Author:Stephen Fry

“Somehow, as a writer, you tend to use words to paper over structural cracks.”

Writing Use Paper Cracks

Author:Stephen Fry

“You don't sit down and write a wish list about the person you are going to fall violently in love with. It just doesn't work like that.”

Writing Persons Fall Wish Down And Sexuality Lists Homosexuality

Author:Stephen Fry

“Public art existed all along, but ecological art just naturally grew out of my thinking and writings in that area for years. I didn't get involved in it; I started what then became a movement.”

Thinking Writing Years Art Movement Grew Involved Areas Get Involved Ecological Public Art

Author:Agnes Denes

“Sometimes I write, but once it's done, I usually find my writing to be so bad that I hide it somewhere and never look at it again.”

Writing Looks Sometimes Done

Author:Gideon Glick

“One thing that's paramount in my life is that I am alone. I'm a loner. And yet I have many friends and I don't feel lonely. And I even like my own company. But when I'm alone, it's to read or write. I'm in my thoughts. Mostly I'm learning.”

Feels Writing Life Is My Own Company One Thing Lonely My Thoughts Loner Feeling Lonely Paramount Many Friends

Author:Agnes Denes

“Words are changing. I find that old expressions are outdated, so when I write something, I try to find a new expression that hasn't been born yet. It's difficult.”

Writing Trying Difficult Born Expression Outdated

Author:Agnes Denes

“Having been an actor and a writer for so long - 20 years or so - I felt that it would be daft to go to one's grave without having directed. It's a natural extension of writing and acting, and so I knew it would happen one day.”

Writing Years Long Happens Would Be Actors Felt Natural Acting One Day Graves Extensions Daft

Author:Stephen Fry

“I also write plays, so I understand the writers mind, and how obsessed you can get writing.”

Writing Mind Play Obsessed

Author:Jeff Daniels

“I have a thing - I call it magic - but I feel like I can write stuff down in the middle of the night and wake up and it happens. I write what I want in my journal.”

Want Feels Writing I Can Happens Night Stuff Magic Middle Wake Up Journal Middle Of The Night

Author:Ester Dean

“I feel guilty because I want to act more than I want to write songs. I'm a person who likes to transition; I like to grow.”

Want Feels Writing Persons Song Grows Likes Guilty Transition

Author:Ester Dean

“Sometimes people can write really great scenes and even a great episode, but they can't see the bigger picture.”

People Writing Sometimes Scene Bigger Episodes Really Great Bigger Picture

Author:M. Night Shyamalan

“You don't want to watch classics with me 'cause I'm constantly writing notes.”

Want Writing Causes Watches Notes Writing Notes

Author:M. Night Shyamalan

“I feel like writing songs is cheating on acting. It's weird.”

Feels Writing Song Acting Cheating Writing Songs

Author:Ester Dean

“Acting becomes my real job, writing becomes my second job, and then when I turn 50, I think I'm going to open up an interior decorating company.”

Thinking Writing Real Jobs Turns Acting Company Interiors Real Jobs Decorating Interior Decorating

Author:Ester Dean

“Artists aren't looking for you to write them something; they're looking for you to give them something new.”

Giving Writing Artist Something New

Author:Ester Dean

“I don't really start writing until later in the night. I'm a night owl.”

Writing Night Owl Night Owl

Author:Ester Dean

“The way things happen on social media is so abusive and everyone needs to take personal responsibility for what they write and not allowing this misinterpretation and shaming culture on social media to persist.”

Way Needs Writing Happens Culture Social Responsibility Media Social Media Things Happen Allowing Persist Personal Responsibility Abusive Misinterpretation

Author:Ashley Judd

“In the same way that Shakespeare was writing very much for his time, he was also unearthing observations that would last for generations beyond him.”

Way Writing Lasts Generations Observation

Author:Alexis Denisof

“If you sat down and you wrote a script, you may write something that's way beyond what you've ever seen me do, but if you thought of me to do it, I would be flattered to be asked to do something other than be wise.”

Ifs Way Writing May Would Be Wise Down And Scripts Sat Being Wise Flattered

Author:Morgan Freeman

“Created for MTV in 1990, the sharply observed, pop-conscious Ben Stiller Show - featuring its star's lacerating impersonations of Bono, Tom Cruise, and Eddie Munster, among others - subsequently moved to Fox TV and copped an Emmy for writing.”

Writing Shows Stars Tvs Conscious Moved Pops Toms Foxes Cruise Mtv Emmys

Author:Manohla Dargis

“It's what I wanted to do with my life. Not necessarily just direct Jim Carrey movies, but to direct and act and write and create and along the way discover what it is that I'm about.”

Way Writing Wanted Direct

Author:Ben Stiller

“I admire David Hare as much as I admire certainly any writer ever. What I like about his writing is it is very conscientiously, in one way, an attempt to reproduce the way people actually speak, but it's not just an attempt at naturalism. It's stylised and it's heightened, to great effect. It's elegant and it's funny and that's the way to my heart, frankly.”

People Way Writing Heart Speak Effects My Heart Admire One Way Elegant Naturalism Hares

Author:Bill Nighy

“Every time I try to write on vacation, I fail miserably.”

Writing Trying Failing Vacation

Author:Christopher Bollen

“One day I want to write a full-on horror book.”

Want Writing Book Horror One Day

Author:Christopher Bollen

“You find when you're writing a detective story that you're actually not trying to solve anything. You're trying to stop the reader from solving the puzzle.”

Writing Trying Stories Reader Solve Puzzles Detectives Detective Stories

Author:Christopher Bollen

“I smoke cigarettes when I write, which is disgusting, but it really helps me.”

Writing Helping Smoke Help Me Disgusting Cigarette

Author:Christopher Bollen

“I just think, as writers, especially with a book that takes years to write, you sort of wake up every morning hoping and praying that you can make it work for the day.”

Thinking Writing Years Book Morning Praying Wake Up Every Morning

Author:Christopher Bollen

“So many people think that social studies and weird lessons in social studies, teaching kids in America are bad, is it the result of Common Core? And it's not. It's not. Common Core does not deal with social studies. It's basically writing and math.”

People Thinking Writing Doe Kids America Social Results Deals Common Study Teaching Lessons Math Core Social Studies Teaching Kids Common Core

Author:Megyn Kelly

“I'm not Akira Kurosawa. He used to write...He used to write a completely new spec script over a couple of nights. I'm not like that. It takes me a long time to put a film together that I want to make.”

Want Writing Long Together Film Used Night Couple Long Time Scripts Take Me Specs Kurosawa

Author:Duncan Jones

“I just personally feel like the best writing for actors exists in cable television.”

Feels Writing Actors Television Cables

Author:Donal Logue

“Budget grows out of the story. If you're writing a story with people caught in an elevator for most of the film, you're pretty sure it won't be a $200 million movie.”

People Ifs Writing Stories Film Grows Millions Caught Budgets Elevators You Re Pretty

Author:J. Michael Straczynski

“I wouldn't describe myself as a do-gooder. That's really more my wife. I'm kind of just the obsessed guy who's been writing and making movies since I was a little kid, just in a room and make it.”

Writing Kind Littles Kids Guy Rooms Wife My Wife Obsessed Little Kid Describe Myself

Author:M. Night Shyamalan

“The brain writes the autobiography of our species at the conscious level.”

Writing Levels Brain Conscious Species Autobiography

Author:David Brooks

“I'm not the most emotionally attuned guy in the world. My wife says that me writing about emotion is like Gandhi writing about gluttony.”

World Writing Guy Emotion Wife My Wife Gluttony

Author:David Brooks

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