Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Dan's Top Ten Writing Quotes!



Mr. Craig has been busy, bloggers. He's spent a lot of time at the library lately. (Perhaps that's why I've felt an absence of inspiration during my revising sessions this week.) I'll have you know, our Daniel is a Renaissance man. He folds socks, tells a great joke, makes lovely scones with jam, does hand springs when bad guys knock him down, and is a crack shot. When he's not in His Majesty's Secret Service, my muse is a big reader. Dan's not only easy on the eyes but a deep thinker as well. Here's the proof below in his top ten favorite quotes on writing.

#10. "The two most engaging powers of an author are to make new things familiar and familiar things new." Samuel Johnson

#9. "The best style is the style you don't notice." Somerset Maugham

#8. "All my best thoughts were stolen by the ancients." Ralph Waldo Emerson

#7. "The only cure for writer's block is insomnia." Merit Antares

#6. "My language is the common prostitute that I turn into a virgin." Karl Kraus

#5. "You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what's burning inside you. And we edit to let the fire show through the smoke." Arthur Polotnik

#4. "Every writer I know has trouble writing." Joseph Heller

#3. "Easy reading is damn hard writing." Nathaniel Hawthorne

#2. "Writing is both mask and unveiling." E.B. White

First and last, Walter Smith said the number 1 quote on writing . . .

"There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein."

Thank you, muse. We're all a bit more inspired now, thanks to you. (See? This is why I chose Daniel Craig. Isn't he awesome?)

What do you think, blogging buddies? Do you have any beloved quotes you'd like to share?




















19 comments:

  1. i completely agree with the one about opening a vein. here's one of my fav's:

    "If I don't write to empty my mind, I go mad." ~ Lord Byron

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  2. I wanted to put that one in too, Michelle. You have to love that Lord Byron said it. The man who was "mad, bad, and dangerous to know..." Thanks. I'm popping over to your blog now!

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  3. I use quotes in most of my posts.

    And yeah, opening a vein.

    But, on to more important things...Danny folds socks?!!!

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  4. I've used some of those. I have the EBWhite one on my flair board on facebook.

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  5. "...opening a vein." Is that all it is? I'm glad that was finally clarified for me.

    I love your blog Roxy, but you have to stop posting pictures of Daniel...I keep getting distracted from your writing.

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  6. These are great, there's so much truth to them that really hits home. Love the eb white one in particular, it gets at the heart of the craft.

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  7. Ah. #'s 1 & 3, love them.

    "The road to Hell is paved with adverbs." Stephen King.

    I tell ya, your muse is not my 'norm' for typecasting, but he defies the odds. *sigh* Another odd-defying blondie: David Beckham.

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  8. Those pretty much cover it all. And woo-boy, is your muse ever pretty. :)

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  9. I love quotes!

    Another one of my faves is by Twain - something like... "I would have written a shorter letter, but I didn't have the time". :)

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  10. Loved these quotes! I really like #10, actually. That brings about a new perspective for me.

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  11. I laugh everytime I see one of your posts about Daniel Craig. I love it!!! haha

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  12. "Opening a vein" scares me! And I don't understand #6. But the rest of them I love!!!

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  13. This may not be inspirational, but it's funny:
    “No one ever committed suicide while reading a good book, but many have tried while trying to write one” -Robert Byrne

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  14. I always liked the Smith quote. It goes well with Gene Fowler's: “Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.”

    I also like E. L. Doctorow's “Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.”

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  15. Ha, Roxy you are so funny. :)

    If I had a muse like Daniel, I would probably write more.

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  16. I love all of these. Number five especially. And this is a quote I really like right now, a little more practical but it fits how I feel.
    "If the heart is in your first draft, so is the depth and direction necessary to form a book." Tom Bird
    Not an open vein or anything, but encouraging. :)

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  17. Thanks for adding your quotes, bloggers. I like feeling that kindred spirit thing. You guys are the best.

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  18. I like a lot of them, but find #4 particularly comforting today.

    Thanks to your muse for sharing them... :)

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  19. It's not specific to writing, but my favorite quote is "We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak" by Epictetus. In many ways ... I think it sums up a writer perfectly ... we are always listening and watching ... that's where so many ideas come from!

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