885 Quotes About Writing-advice

Writing a book is like telling a stranger your secrets.

Don't concentrate on becoming a better humor writer, just concentrate on being the best writer that you can become. If you're funny, the work will end up being funny. And if you're not funny, the work will still end up being good. Concentrate on being the most honest writer you can be, and let everything else follow--because it will.

Someone once said that if you steal from one writer, it’s called plagiarism, but if you steal from several, it’s called research. So steal from everybody, but steal only a sentence or a phrase at a time. If you use much more than that, you must get permission and then give credit.

Chiariamo subito un punto, d’accordo? Non esistono un Magazzino delle Idee, un Supermercato delle Storie o un’Isola dei Bestseller Sepolti. Le buone trovate nascono quasi letteralmente dal nulla, piovendovi in testa da un cielo all’apparenza limpido: due pensieri in precedenza disgiunti si uniscono, creando qualcosa di nuovo sotto il sole. Il vostro compito non è mettervi a caccia di certe illuminazioni, ma saperle riconoscere quando si presentano.

Be unpredictable, Be Real, Be Interesting. Tell a good story.

John Marshall on writing: The man who by seeking embellishment hazards confusion, is greatly mistaken in what constitutes good writing. The meaning ought never to be mistaken. Indeed, the reader should never be obliged to search for it.

When writing about trauma in a story or memoir, the author must write for the readership. The repetitive loops of conflict and drama can be handled either privately or in the office of a therapist: because the situation happened, or is the "truth" of the author, doesn't mean it has to always appear on the page.

Non tutti i racconti di Nuto si concludevano. Spesso rimanevano sospesi. Magari un giorno sarebbero continuati e prima o poi sarebbero finiti. I racconti sono fatti di storie. Le storie sono fatte di amori. [...] Con le storie si possono fare due cose, diceva: viverle o raccontarle, non è possibile che si vivano e si raccontino contemporaneamente, bisogna scegliere, se non sei tu a scegliere è la storia che sceglie per te.

Коли лірика подібна до любовної пригоди, то новела нагадує радше комерційний контракт, за яким автор зобов'язується розповісти щось цікаве, а читач погоджується цьому повірити й узяти все за реальність, принаймні на час читання. Отже, щоб скласти такий контракт, треба мати чим торгувати. Систематично розповідати самого себе, як то роблять ліричні поети, в прозі не можна, в прозі це можна зробити тільки один раз.