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?
Lovely quotes! If your inner voice is confusing you to write ask it to shut up and continue to write from heart:)
ReplyDeleteIts a tough battle trying to shut my inner voice, but I try, as I know I must write from the heart.
DeleteI'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.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
DeleteYour writing scares you, especially the first drafts - funny!
ReplyDeleteMy 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.
Delete“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.
ReplyDeleteDestination Infinity
I agree about the Be Bold part. Am trying to be bold in my writing nowadays.
DeleteI'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!"
ReplyDeleteI too love the quote by Bradbury. We writers must just WRITE!
DeleteI 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).
ReplyDeleteLike you I too enjoy secondary characters with a lot of spunk and a nice story line and goals.
DeleteI like Neil Gaiman's quote....because that's how it is with me....one word after another...that easy and that hard!
ReplyDeleteI 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.
DeleteI 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?
ReplyDeleteI love writing quotes. I think the more we write, we can create a few of our own!
ReplyDeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteAlways I love writing quotes. Also I have collected some quotes from you. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI recently found many useful information in your website especially this blog page. Among the lots of comments on your articles. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletequotes