- Writers are very quotable people. They seem to have the right word for any occasion. Right now, I’m struggling with a deadline because of the turmoils in my non-writing life. But the author of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy made me feel better about things:
“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” - Douglas Adams
A lot of great writers seem never to take anything seriously - even themselves. When asked how he came to be a writer, Ferenc Molnar responded:
“In the same way that a woman becomes a prostitute. First I did it to please myself, then I did it to please my friends, and finally I did it for money.”
But doing it for money’s not always that easy. Even if you’re John Steinbeck:
Of course writing doesn’t have to be so hard. It’s quite easy really … or it is, if you happened to be W. Somerset Maugham:
“All the words I use in my stories can be found in the dictionary — it’s just a matter of arranging them into the right sentences.”
He was only kidding, of course. The highest paid author of the 1930’s wasn’t that ingenuous:
If you can tell stories, create characters, devise incidents, and have sincerity and passion, it doesn’t matter a damn how you write.
Hemingway felt there was one other essential ingredient:
“The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shock-proof shit detector.”
Ultimately though, we have to let our baby out into the cold, hard world. We can try and put it off but sooner or later we have to let them go. Even Oscar Wilde had problems with that:
“I have been correcting the proofs of my poems. In the morning, after hard work, I took a comma out of one sentence…. In the afternoon I put it back again.”
Sometimes we have to trust our gut instinct when something is ready. Being in writer’s groups can be supportive and sometimes instructive, but HG Wells had a word of caution:
“No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else’s draft.”
But the quote I like the most is from Daniel J. Boorstin, the American historian, professor, attorney, and writer. He was twelfth Librarian of the United States Congress from 1975 until 1987. He was asked why he always wrote at home from 6.30 to 8.30 in the morning.
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I have to admit, I’m with Douglas Adams on this one. Fun post, Colin; keep ‘em coming.
Whoosh! There’s go another one!
Yes, Douglas Adams definitely had it right. Of course the built-in sh*t detector is a great skill to have, too.
And Hemingway certainly honed is, didn’t he?
So that’s what that whooshing sound is that I hear all the time…………lol
I love these! I think someone once said, “I write so I have an outlet for all the voices in my head.” Or maybe I made that up. Could have been one of the voices………..
Those voices, Susie! I know what you mean!
I used to write stories in my head all the time. It never occurred to me to become a writer until recently! Now those voices become flash fiction or characters in my book…They were getting so loud! Hahaha!
“Because the bars aren’t open that early.”
So, SO true! Who’s ready for a drink?
Great blog Colin. Always love them!
Thanks Ginger - for a sober looking professor of history and a Librarian of Congress, I thought that was a brilliant comeback!
Great post. The H.G. Wells is one of my favorites, as is the Hemingway quote.
Hemingway was good with sound bytes. He was a publicist’s dream.
Great collection, Colin. Douglas Adams had so many great quotes. He wove one liners into his books in such a way that the didn’t feel false or that the whole scene was distorted just so he could say something funny. Molnar is pretty classic, too!
Cheers
Douglas Adams is still sadly missed. Died way too young.
Brilliant quotes. I’ve heard the whooshing sound a few times myself. And the voices…
You’re so right, Reetta. I don’t mind the whooshing sounds so much but those voices are a real worry!