tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post4876355597112299157..comments2023-10-31T10:59:03.023-04:00Comments on INKSPOT Crime Fiction Blog | A Place for Mystery, Mayhem, Writing and Life: A Dozen Quotes for WritersLinda O. Johnstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01512430135042480450noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-32298737277347658342010-01-19T07:08:44.892-05:002010-01-19T07:08:44.892-05:00"There are three rules for writing fiction. U..."There are three rules for writing fiction. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are." <br /><br />William Somerset Maugham.Pablohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00838656592348981746noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-9492190115387523302010-01-18T19:52:14.320-05:002010-01-18T19:52:14.320-05:00Gin, I guess what Twain is saying is that all men ...Gin, I guess what Twain is saying is that all men are boys. Carolyn, good one. Cricket, as someone else once said, "Don't get it right; get it written." Mike, good Faustian message in that quote.Keith Raffelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02926077627965529183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-2990146508692887692010-01-18T18:28:43.756-05:002010-01-18T18:28:43.756-05:00"A writer never forgets the first time he acc..."A writer never forgets the first time he accepted a few coins or a word of praise in exchange for a story. He will never forget the sweet poison of vanity in his blood and the belief that, if he succeeds in not letting anyone discover his lack of talent, the dream of literature will provide him with a roof over his head, a hot meal at the end of the day, and what he covets the most: his name printed on a miserable piece of paper that surely will outlive him. A writer is condemned to remember that moment, because from then on he is doomed and his soul has a price."<br />--Carlos Ruiz ZafonMike Dennishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16851474841028579967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-31983144146311149822010-01-18T15:14:54.583-05:002010-01-18T15:14:54.583-05:00Ah, Cricket, I love that quote.Ah, Cricket, I love that quote.G.M. Malliethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13805971625496094303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-20760567810924406142010-01-18T15:10:33.896-05:002010-01-18T15:10:33.896-05:00I try to remember what Anne Lamott said when I'...I try to remember what Anne Lamott said when I'm working on a first draft: "Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life..."Cricket McRaehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786996969148417569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-29410436386509740492010-01-18T14:21:04.175-05:002010-01-18T14:21:04.175-05:00I loved the Buffalo Springfield one, I could hear ...I loved the Buffalo Springfield one, I could hear it being sung.<br /><br />I say this once on a bumper sticker and it stuck with me (no pun intended)<br />"Don't believe everything you think."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-3890672781970113772010-01-18T13:58:01.687-05:002010-01-18T13:58:01.687-05:00Another Mark Twain quote, about writing for boys. ...Another Mark Twain quote, about writing for boys. How right he was. (Louisa May Alcott's Little Women also resonates with girls AND women, and I think it always will.) <br /><br />Twain wrote, "I conceive that the right way to write a story for boys is to write so that it will not only interest boys but strongly interest any man who has ever been a boy. That immensely enlarges the audience.G.M. Malliethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13805971625496094303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-63203361627698103512010-01-18T12:35:27.321-05:002010-01-18T12:35:27.321-05:00Elizabeth, I'm reading over the Sam Clemens...Elizabeth, I'm reading over the Sam Clemens' quote. I'll get it eventually. Gin, we crime fiction writers need to write a little faster than Mr. Wilde. Sue Ann, I almost stole that one from you. Terry, what would Raymond say about all the MFAs? Dusty, to man of letters you'd better add pundit on your cards. Alan, do you remember Maynard G Krebs? "WORK? WORK?"Keith Raffelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02926077627965529183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-11240613386156922952010-01-18T11:34:40.267-05:002010-01-18T11:34:40.267-05:00Anyone who quotes Buffalo Springfield is okay by m...Anyone who quotes Buffalo Springfield is okay by me!<br /><br />Here's one I like, that doesn't pertain to only writing:<br /><br />The harder I work, the luckier I get.Alan Orloffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03695574442723430347noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-57199865923257655322010-01-18T11:04:05.295-05:002010-01-18T11:04:05.295-05:00I like the idea of being a 'man of letters.&qu...I like the idea of being a 'man of letters." Think I'll put it on my business cards.JD Rhoadeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07123361739160525998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-84540398458303009492010-01-18T09:12:14.091-05:002010-01-18T09:12:14.091-05:00These are great.Paperback Writer is a favorite son...These are great.Paperback Writer is a favorite song. Love the 45 RPM.<br /><br />Here's mine: "Everything a writer learns about the art or craft of fiction takes just a little away from his need or desire to write at all. In the end he knows all the tricks and has nothing to say." Raymond Chandler.Terry Stonecrophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03726985400500572770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-68828449840613876992010-01-18T08:53:24.508-05:002010-01-18T08:53:24.508-05:00You had several of my favs listed, but here's ...You had several of my favs listed, but here's one on how I feel about being a writer:<br /><br />"If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster." -- Isaac Asimov.Sue Ann Jaffarianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09984054116933714621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-79163770400154965602010-01-18T08:19:07.322-05:002010-01-18T08:19:07.322-05:00From Oscar Wilde - not exactly inspirational, but ...From Oscar Wilde - not exactly inspirational, but accurate: "I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again."G.M. Malliethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13805971625496094303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-20324240077470099472010-01-18T07:52:41.627-05:002010-01-18T07:52:41.627-05:00Good ones, Keith! I've got one by Twain, since...Good ones, Keith! I've got one by Twain, since Twain always cracks me up:<br />On Revising--<br />"You need not expect to get your book right the first time. Go to work and revamp or rewrite it. God only exhibits his thunder and lightning at intervals, and so they always command attention. These are God's adjectives. You thunder and lightning too much; the reader ceases to get under the bed, by and by." Mark Twain.<br /><br />Elizabeth<br /><a href="http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow"> Mystery Writing is Murder</a> <br /><a href="http://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com/" rel="nofollow"> Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen</a>Elizabeth Spann Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15625595247828274405noreply@blogger.com