Saturday, September 24, 2011

Weekend Wise Words

Be Smart! Be Brilliant!

“One of the amusements of idleness is reading without the fatigue of close attention; and the world therefore swarms with writers whose wish is not to be studied, but to be read.” Dr. Johnson

“I alone of English writers have consciously set myself to make music out of what I may call the sound of sense.” Robert Frost

“Writers write to influence their readers, their preachers, their auditors, but always, at bottom, to be more themselves.” Aldous Huxley

“Writers don't write, they read and transcribe.” William S. Burroughs


“Good writers are in the business of leaving signposts saying, Tour my world, see and feel it through my eyes; I am your guide.” Larry King


"Writer's block is a fancy term made up by whiners so they can have an excuse to drink alcohol. Sure, a writer can get stuck for a while, but when that happens to a real author -- say, a Socrates or a Rodman -- he goes out and gets an "as told to." The alternative is to hire yourself out as an "as heard from," thus taking all the credit. The other trick I use when I have a momentary stoppage is virtually foolproof, and I'm happy to pass it along. Go to an already published novel and find a sentence that you absolutely adore. Copy it down in your manuscript. Usually, that sentence will lead you to another sentence, and pretty soon your own ideas will start to flow. If they don't, copy down the next sentence in the novel. You can safely use up to three sentences of someone else's work -- unless you're friends, then two. The odds of being found out are very slim, and even if you are there's usually no jail time." Steve Martin

“Some people have a way with words....some people....not have way.” ― Steve Martin, Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life

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