thoughts on writing
“You have to finish things — that’s what you learn from, you learn by finishing things.”
James Clear • 3-2-1: How to stick to a new habit, how to handle criticism, and 4 types of wealth
We are writers, and we never ask one another where we get our ideas; we know we don’t know.
Stephen King • On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft (A Memoir of the Craft (Reissue))
Without a first draft, there would be no novel, so this is without a doubt the most important accomplishment of the writer.
Walter Mosley • This Year You Write Your Novel
One-thousand or two-thousand words every day for the next twenty years. At the start, you might shoot for one short story a week, fifty-two stories a year, for five years. You will have to write and put away or burn a lot of material before you are comfortable in this medium. You might as well start now and get the necessary work done.
Ray Bradbury • Zen in the Art of Writing
I have learned so many things from music about writing. I think there are three important elements: rhythm, harmony, and free improvisation. I learned these things from music, not from literature. And when I started to write, I tried to write as though I were playing music.
Deborah Treisman • The Underground Worlds of Haruki Murakami
Neil Gaiman has two rules when he sits down to write:1. He doesn't have to write anything if he doesn't feel like it.2. He can't leave or do anything else until the writing time he set aside is over.(This comes from his appearance on the Tim Ferriss podcast - it's worth a listen.)
Josh Spector on LinkedIn: Neil Gaiman has two rules when he sits down to write: 1. He doesn't have… | 12 comments
Writing: Assuming you understand the core principles of writing and the basics of grammar, what determines your ability to write well more than anything else is writing a lot. Once you reach the threshold of writing a decent sentence, the thing that leads to success is writing more.