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Writing Quotes

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Writing Quotes

“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

“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

“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

“[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

“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.”