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Sean Rose
@seanrose
Sean Rose
INTERVIEWER Is there any possible formula to follow in order to be a good novelist? FAULKNER Ninety-nine percent talent ... ninety-nine percent discipline ... ninety-nine percent work. He must never be satisfied with what he does. It never is as good as it can be done. Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don’t bother just to be
... See moreJean Stein • The Art of Fiction No. 12
Somebody once said that a good science-fiction story should be able to predict not the automobile but the traffic jam.
Zach Kram • ‘The Three-Body Problem’ Is Brilliant. ‘3 Body Problem’ Is Better.
björk said that trying to communicate through talking feels like trying to put the ocean through a straw
I believe that in nearly every instance where science fiction has successfully ‘predicted’ a turn of events, it’s more true to say that it has inspired that turn of events.
Cultivating Hyperstitions
“But every writer is also a reader—I end up reading the text several times while I’m rewriting it.” In a mechanical sense, yes, you’re reading the text. But you’re not reading it for the same reasons as your readers will: to learn and possibly be persuaded.
Always be asking yourself: what does my reader want? Because your reader is q... See more
Always be asking yourself: what does my reader want? Because your reader is q... See more
Who is typography for? | Butterick’s Practical Typography
"I think about decisions in three ways: hats, haircuts, and tattoos.
Most decisions are like hats. Try one and if you don’t like it, put it back and try another. The cost of a mistake is low, so move quickly and try a bunch of hats.
Some decisions are like haircuts. You can fix a bad one, but it won’t be quick and you might feel foolish for awhile.
... See moreINTERVIEWER Some people say they can’t understand your writing, even after they read it two or three times. What approach would you suggest for them? FAULKNER Read it four times.