Friday, August 21, 2015

A few writing quotes and my take on them


Today, I will keep it short and simple. A few writing quotes and what I think about them.

Treat all your secondary characters like they think the book is about them. -Jocelyn Hughes

I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.- Flannery O’Connor

Be courageous and try to write in a way that scares you a little.- Holley Gerth

There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately no one knows what they are.- W Somerset Maugham

Don’t talk about it. WRITE. - Ray Bradbury

If I waited till I felt like writing I’d never write at all. - Anne Tyler

This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until its done. It’s that easy and that hard. - Neil Gaiman

My takes on these quotes.

If I were to treat my secondary characters like the book is about them, then my book would be around 1000 pages.

Sometimes I write the different scenes and then link them together, so you can say that only when I read, then I know what I have written.

My writing usually does scare me, especially my first drafts.

After writing for so long, I still don’t know the rules for writing.

Nowadays, I don’t talk, I just write. But talking is fun and much easier.

There are days when I don’t feel like writing, but I force myself to write. With or without the muse, the writing party goes on.

Writing is sometimes easy; the words flow in a torrential downpour, sometimes they trickle drop by drop. Either ways we just have to write.

Which is your favourite writing quote? And what’s your take on that?

19 comments:

  1. Lovely quotes! If your inner voice is confusing you to write ask it to shut up and continue to write from heart:)

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    1. Its a tough battle trying to shut my inner voice, but I try, as I know I must write from the heart.

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  2. I've always loved the idea of the antagonist - and I guess secondary characters, too - thinking the story is all about him/her. It really changes how I view the story, how I approach writing it, etc.

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    1. I want to write a book from the antagonist's point of view. But as I would never be able to do that, the second best thing would be to write a few chapters from his POV.

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  3. Your writing scares you, especially the first drafts - funny!

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    1. My first drafts are messy, more so earlier when I use to write them in longhand. Nowadays, as I just start typing, they have a semblance of an order and make a lot more sense.

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  4. “Readers want a writer who believes in himself and what he is saying. Don’t diminish that belief. Don’t be kind of bold. Be bold.” - William Zinnser.

    Destination Infinity

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    1. I agree about the Be Bold part. Am trying to be bold in my writing nowadays.

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  5. I've always like that Ray Bradbury quote -- it's the one that speaks directly to me and could also be rephrased (for me) as "Don't think about it. WRITE!"

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    1. I too love the quote by Bradbury. We writers must just WRITE!

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  6. I like secondary characters with a lot of spunk who take over scenes. They do have their own story line, although I wouldn't want to write a 1,000 page book (I did write a 900 page one in my teens, though).

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    1. Like you I too enjoy secondary characters with a lot of spunk and a nice story line and goals.

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  7. I like Neil Gaiman's quote....because that's how it is with me....one word after another...that easy and that hard!

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    1. I too reach the end of my story by writing one word (slowly) after another. Gaiman's quote sums it up so well, writing is both easy and hard.

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  8. I do like this one: "Treat all your secondary characters like they think the book is about them." I think perhaps it just means we should keep in mind that they are the stars of their own stories and we should make a point to fully flesh each of them out, even if only we know most of their backstories?

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  9. I love writing quotes. I think the more we write, we can create a few of our own!

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  10. I like the one about secondary characters, too. When I think about books I return to, usually they are filled with interesting characters, including the supporting cast, that seem to bring the whole fictitious world alive.

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  11. Always I love writing quotes. Also I have collected some quotes from you. Thanks for sharing.

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