Archive | Famous birthday quotes RSS feed for this section

Michael Korda (b. October 8): “Finish your first draft and then we’ll talk.”

8 Oct
Korda

pinterest.com/pin/39406565464932078/

Michael Korda, born 8 October 1933, is an English-born writer and novelist who was editor-in-chief of Simon & Schuster in New York City.

Quotes about writing:

  1. Finish your first draft and then we’ll talk.
  2. Ask a book publisher how many copies a book has sold, and he or she, presuming you’re not the author, will probably try to remember the size of the first printing, then double it. If you’re the author, the publisher will try to remember the number of copies that were shipped and cut that in half in order to avoid encouraging you to expect a big royalty check.
  3. Escapism sold books, to be sure, but not nearly as many as were sold by exposing America’s flaws and making the average American reader (and book club member) look closely at his or her most cherished social assumptions. Americans might not be eager to accept integration, feminism, homosexuality, juvenile delinquency, and the drug culture – or to shoulder the blame for the existence of these problems – but they were certainly willing to read about them.

William Zinsser (b. October 7): “Writing is a craft not an art” & other quotes on writing

7 Oct
Zinsser1_CROP

pinterest.com/pin/39406565464926822/

William Zinsser, born 7 October 1922, is an American writer, editor, literary critic, and teacher. He is best known for the book, On Writing Well.

10 quotes on writing:

  1. Writing is a craft not an art.
  2. You learn to write by writing.
  3. Clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can’t exist without the other.
  4. Rewriting is the essence of writing well: it’s where the game is won or lost.
  5. Writers must constantly ask: what am I trying to say? Surprisingly often, they don’t know.
  6. Examine every word you put on paper. You’ll find a surprising number that don’t serve any purpose.
  7. Nothing has replaced the writer. He or she is still stuck with the same old job of saying something that other people will want to read.
  8. The reader will notice if you are putting on airs. Readers want the person who is talking to them to sound genuine. Therefore a fundamental rule is: be yourself.
  9. Clutter is the disease of American writing. We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills and meaningless jargon.
  10. Many people assume that professional writers don’t need to rewrite; the words just fall in place. On the contrary, careful writers can’t stop fiddling.

Simon Cowell (b. October 7): “Ending the animal trade would leave more time to trap popstar wannabes.”

7 Oct

simon_cowell_american_idol_3233

“The end of the animal trade would leave more time to trap or beat to death pop star wannabes.”

~ Simon Cowell, b. 7 October 1959

pinterest.com/pin/39406565462933738/

 

Clive Barker (b. October 5th): “Horror is the wild-dog genre” & other quotes on writing

5 Oct

barker

Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English author, film director, video game designer and visual artist known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction. He is best-known for his short stories which were adapted for film as the Hellraiser and Candyman series. He has also written 18 novels.

Eight quotes about writing:

  1. I firmly believe that a story is only as good as the villain.
  2. Books should make somebody look at how they feel, be honest with themselves.
  3. Nothing ever begins. There is no first moment; no single word or place from which this or any other story springs.
  4. Gather experience… Look at what you should not look at. A feeling of anxiety is the sure and certain evidence that you should do this.
  5. Horror fiction shows us that the control we believe we have is purely illusory, and that every moment we teeter on chaos and oblivion.
  6. By and large, horror fiction is the most difficult to domesticate because part of the point is that it’s one step ahead – or behind – everybody else’s taste. And I’m not really convinced I’d like it to change. There’s something very healthy about horror fiction being always a little bit on the outside. It’s the wild-dog genre.
  7.  One of the things I’m trying to do over and over again in my books is create new mythologies, create new ways to understand the complexity of the world. I think what mythology does is impress upon chaotic experience the patterns, hierarchies and shapes which allow us to interpret the chaos and make fresh sense of it.
  8. Movies are much more fascist than books. They tell you what to feel, when to feel it. Popular movies manipulate you. Music tells you when it’s a sad part and when it’s a happy part. You’re obliged to watch them at the speed the filmmaker has created for you. That, I think, is one of the reasons why they’re so popular – because you don’t have to think very hard. The filmmaker has done all the thinking for you.

 

Tommy Lee Jones (b. September 15): “Characters with no integrity are interesting…”

15 Sep

jones

“Characters with no integrity are just as interesting as characters with lots of integrity.”

~ Tommy Lee Jones, b. 15 September 1946

pinterest.com/pin/39406565462812836/

 

Roald Dahl (b. September 13): “The life of a writer is absolute hell.”

13 Sep

dahl1

“The life of a writer is absolute hell. If he is a writer of fiction he lives in a world of fear. Each new day demands new ideas and he can never be sure whether he is going to come up with them or not.”

~ Roald Dahl, b. 13 September 1916

pinterest.com/pin/39406565462803873/

Jennifer Hudson (b. September 12): “Don’t block your blessings.”

12 Sep

Hudson

“Don’t block your blessings. Don’t let doubt stop you from getting where you want to be.”  

~ Jennifer Hudson, b. 12 September 1981

pinterest.com/pin/39406565462796253/

 

D.H. Lawrence (b. September 11): “Tragedy is like strong acid…”

11 Sep

lawrence

“Tragedy is like strong acid – it dissolves away all but the very gold of truth.”

~ D.H. Lawrence. b. 11 September 1885

pinterest.com/pin/39406565462792624/

 

Colin Firth (b. September 10): “I have a kind of physical neutrality…”

10 Sep

firth

“I have a kind of neutrality, physically, which has helped me. I have a face that can be made to look a lot better – or a lot worse.”

~ Colin Firth, b. 10 September 1960

pinterest.com/pin/39406565462791167/

Joe Perry (b. September 10): “I want to be the flame the tribe dances around.”

10 Sep

perry

“When I plug in my guitar and play it really loud, loud enough to deafen most people, that’s my shot of adrenaline, and there’s nothing like it. That’s what it’s always been for me – to be the flame the tribe dances around.”

~ Joe Perry, b. 10 September 1950

pinterest.com/pin/39406565464778602/