6th July 2016 | for Creatives | nature, photography, language, writing, editing, Mark Twain |
"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning."
"The first comment I got from my editor was that it was the most linear plot she'd ever read, and she could predict exactly what was going to happen, and I needed to rip the whole thing apart and redo it. So that's where I got with outlining."
"I know when my brain cells are freshest. I protect that time. I know when I'm in a good mood, I'm more generative. When in a foul mood, I should be editing."
"Writing improves in direct ratio to the number of things we can keep out of it that shouldn't be there."
"Read the first five pages. Count clichés. If you find one, the buzzer goes off: it's not a serious novel. A serious novelist notices clichés and eliminates them. The serious novelist doesn't write 'quiet as a mouse' or paint the world in clichéd moral terms. You could almost just substitute the adjective 'cliché-free' for 'serious.'"
"Kenneth Koch talked about how language is so fast. You can say, 'Hannibal crossed the Alps,' and it's done. That's power."
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