writing
by Agalia Tan · updated 1d ago
writing
- “Writing is often the process by which you realize you do not understand what you are talking about.”
from Brain Food: Perfection is Impossible
Agalia Tan added 11d ago
- A good editor is someone who uses deliberate subtraction to actually add life to the ideas, setting, plot, and characters
from #084 ✰ are you an essentialist?
Agalia Tan added 1mo ago
- START, EVERY TIME, WITH THIS INVIOLABLE RULE: THE SCENE MUST BE DRAMATIC. it must start because the hero HAS A PROBLEM, AND IT MUST CULMINATE WITH THE HERO FINDING HIM OR HERSELF EITHER THWARTED OR EDUCATED THAT ANOTHER WAY EXISTS
from David Mamet Memo to "The Unit" Writing Staff by David Mamet
Agalia Tan added 1mo ago
You must never think at the typewriter — you must feel. Your intellect is always buried in that feeling anyway. (Ray Bradbury)
from What Is Creativity? Cultural Icons on What Ideation Is and How It Works by Maria Popova
Agalia Tan added 2mo ago
- The process of writing a manifesto, at its core, is the process of clarifying your desire . In a world that's constantly distracting us with digital noise and shiny objects, keeping us running on a mimetic treadmill of manufactured desires, getting clear about what you want, deep down, is a radical act. Exploring and articulating what matters most,... See more
from Manifestos Are Magic Spells by rob hardy
Agalia Tan added 16d ago
- Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
- Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
- Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
- Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action.
- Start as close to the end as possib
from Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Tenets of Storytelling by Maria Popova
Agalia Tan added 3mo ago
- The best advice is not to write what you know, it’s to write what you like. Write the kind of story you like best—write the story you want to read. The same principle applies to your life and your career: Whenever you’re at a loss for what move to make next, just ask yourself, “What would make a better story?”
from Steal Like An Artist - a book by Austin Kleon by Austin Kleon
Agalia Tan added 2mo ago
- You can't think well without writing well, and you can't write well without reading well.
from The Need to Read
Agalia Tan added 12d ago
- 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.
from The Underground Worlds of Haruki Murakami by Deborah Treisman
Agalia Tan added 1d ago