Brooks, Thomas -- Heaven on Earth (1654)
Books may preach when the author cannot, when the author may not, when the author dares not, yes, and which is more, when the author is not. Thomas Brooks (1608-1680) English Puritan divine,...
View ArticleRoosevelt, Eleanor -- (Attributed)
The reason that fiction is more interesting than any other form of literature, to those who really like to study people, is that in fiction the author can really tell the truth without humiliating...
View ArticleWelles, Orson -- Comment to Henry Jaglom
The enemy of art is the absence of limitations. Orson Welles (1915-1985) American writer, director, actorComment to Henry Jaglom Quoted by Jaglom in his essay "The Independent Filmmaker" in Jason E....
View ArticleChesterfield (Lord) -- Letter to his son (1739)
Next to doing things that deserve to be written, there is nothing that gets a man more credit, or gives him more pleasure, than to write things that deserve to be read. Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773)...
View ArticleWhedon, Joss -- Equality Now Tribute Address (15 May 2006)
So, why do you write these strong female characters? Because you’re still asking me that question. Joss Whedon (b. 1964) American screenwriter, author, producer [Joseph Hill Whedon]Equality Now Tribute...
View ArticleGaiman, Neil -- Neil Gaiman’s Journal, “Why defend freedom of icky speech?”...
I loved coming to the US in 1992, mostly because I loved the idea that freedom of speech was paramount. I still do. With all its faults, the US has Freedom of Speech. The First Amendment states that...
View ArticleUpdike, John -- Picked-Up Pieces, Foreward (1966)
Creativity is merely a plus name for regular activity; the ditchdigger, dentist, and artist go about their tasks in much the same way, and any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing...
View ArticleLennon, John -- Interview, Playboy (Sep 1980)
Songwriting is about getting the demon out of me. It’s like being possessed. You try to go to sleep, but the song won’t let you. So you have to get up and make it into something, and then you’re...
View ArticleWain, John -- Radio broadcast, BBC, London (13 Jan 1976)
Poetry is to prose as dancing is to walking. John Wain (1925-1994) English poet, novelist, critic Radio broadcast, BBC, London (13 Jan 1976)
View ArticleTuchman, Barbara -- “The Book,” Lecture, Library of Congress (17 Oct 1979)
Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature, dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. Without books, the development of civilization...
View ArticleMizner, Wilson -- In Alva Johnson, The Legendary Mizners, ch. 4 (1953)
If you steal from one author, it’s plagiarism; if you steal from many, it’s research. Wilson Mizner (1876-1933) American screenwriter and witIn Alva Johnson, The Legendary Mizners, ch. 4 (1953)
View ArticleThoreau, Henry David -- Journal (10 Feb 1852)
Write while the heat is in you. When the farmer burns a hole in his yoke, he carries the hot iron quickly from the fire to the wood, for every moment is less effectual to penetrate (pierce) it. It must...
View ArticleKeller, Helen -- (Attributed)
It is certain that I cannot always distinguish my own thoughts from those I read, because what I read becomes the very substance and text of my mind. Helen Keller (1880-1968) American author and...
View ArticleEliot, T. S. -- “Philip Massinger,” The Sacred Wood (1920)
Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal. T. S. Eliot (1888-1965) American-British poet, critic, playwright [Thomas Stearns Eliot]“Philip Massinger,” The Sacred Wood (1920)
View ArticleCrichton, Michael -- (Attributed)
The hardest part is starting to write. Michael Crichton (1942-2008) American author, producer, director, and screenwriter(Attributed)
View ArticleMaugham, W. Somerset -- (Attributed)
There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) English novelist and playwright [William Somerset Maugham](Attributed) The earliest...
View ArticleChristie, Agatha -- (Attributed)
Another fine quotation from WIST - Wish I'd Said That! . The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes.
View ArticleGaiman, Neil -- “Pens, Rules, Finishing Things, and Why Stephin Merritt is...
How do you finish them? You finish them. There’s no magic answer, I’m afraid. This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until it’s done. It’s that easy, and...
View ArticleTwain, Mark -- Following the Equator, ch. 15, epigraph, “Pudd’nhead Wilson’s...
Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t. Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]Following the Equator, ch....
View ArticlePalahniuk, Chuck -- Diary [Grace] (2003)
Another fine quotation from WIST - Wish I'd Said That! . We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.
View Article
