Quotes
"Without books the development of civilization would have been impossible. They are the engines of change, windows on the world, "Lighthouses" as the poet said "erected in the sea of time." They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind. Books are humanity in print. " Arthur Schopenhauer
On the irony of quotes...
"I might repeat to myself slowly and soothingly, a list of quotations beautiful from minds profound - if I can remember any of the damn things. " Dorothy Parker
"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know. " Ralph Waldo Emerson
LF - Hello sports fans! I was in a non-blogging mood this week, so I decided to just pull together some of my favorite quotes. Many of these inspiring comments are taken from my mega stash of past articles and interviews with other authors. Some are from the web. Some are from conversations I’ve had in emails or IM.
“Some say write what you know. That’s good. Also, write what you want to know. Write what you’re passionate about regardless of market.”Bob Mayer
LF - These delicious quotes are on the oh-so-important author voice. If we’re not individual, if we don’t tell it the way we need to tell it, if we don’t put our own unique spin on it, then we’ll never stand out of the crowd.
I've heard the problems with over-editing explained many times. But never has it sounded so clear as this next quote, but none-other than a Quill.
“What very few editors understand is that the virtues of any author are very tightly connected to her vices. Remove/remodel the vices and the same thing happens to the virtues.” Elizabeth Lowell
LF - When you're trying to figure out your voice, and you're not sure about things, just remember this great quote!
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Voice is not an elusive thing any more, but something very exciting." Karen Harbaugh
“I have a sense of humor that people often don’t expect. It’s dark humor, but effective. I call those books my black-hearted romps (as opposed to other people’s light-hearted romps).” Anne Stuart
“If we’re truly involved with the art and the craft of writing, and our unique connection to every element of a story, even if there are days when we can’t remember why we thought this piece was a good idea, we learn to be patient
“As a writer, I sit all day, working at a word processor, reading books on auto theft, or doing telephone research.”Sue Grafton
“I don’t want to write formula. I don’t want to crank these books out like sausages. Every book is different, which takes a hell of a lot of ingenuity on my part.”
“Critics don’t buy records. They get ‘em free.”Nat King Cole
LF -
Just like many reviewers. (But not all reviewers - we do have some excellent ones in the biz!) And when someone says (as someone always does) "I have an idea for a book," then the perfect reply is:
LF - Hey, let’s face it, love is the backbone of romance! And in our genre (like in these quotes) love is expressed in many, many ways. There's drama, and humor, and suspense...
"Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired. " Robert Frost
“Before I met my husband, I’d never fallen in love, though I’d stepped in it a few times.” Rita Rudner
“The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.” Tom Clancy
And so, dear readers, this blog is...
In Salute to Great Quotes
From Authors, or About Books!
In Salute to Great Quotes
From Authors, or About Books!
On the irony of quotes...
"I might repeat to myself slowly and soothingly, a list of quotations beautiful from minds profound - if I can remember any of the damn things. " Dorothy Parker
"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know. " Ralph Waldo Emerson
LF - Hello sports fans! I was in a non-blogging mood this week, so I decided to just pull together some of my favorite quotes. Many of these inspiring comments are taken from my mega stash of past articles and interviews with other authors. Some are from the web. Some are from conversations I’ve had in emails or IM.
Some of them I think are mega profound, and some just really tickle me.
Not all of them are by authors, or about books, but I swear they all apply just the same - in one way or another.
I hope you enjoy!
“Some say write what you know. That’s good. Also, write what you want to know. Write what you’re passionate about regardless of market.”
I've heard the problems with over-editing explained many times. But never has it sounded so clear as this next quote, but none-other than a Quill.
“What very few editors understand is that the virtues of any author are very tightly connected to her vices. Remove/remodel the vices and the same thing happens to the virtues.” Elizabeth Lowell
LF - When you're trying to figure out your voice, and you're not sure about things, just remember this great quote!
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” "Voice is not an elusive thing any more, but something very exciting." Karen Harbaugh
“I never thought, ‘Gee, there aren’t too many people doing romantic comedy so I’ll write romantic comedy.” In the beginning, I didn’t even know I was writing romantic comedy.” Jennifer Crusie
“I have a sense of humor that people often don’t expect. It’s dark humor, but effective. I call those books my black-hearted romps (as opposed to other people’s light-hearted romps).” Anne Stuart
LF - I believe most authors strive to leave a trail. I know I do. And when a reader writes to me, saying that I've touched her in some way, the sun is shining bright. It's a wonderful, wonderful feeling.
Writing requires a lot of discipline. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There are no lazybones in writing. No idiots, either. You have to be dedicated, motivated, and smart. Here are some fabulous quotes reflecting the discipline necessary to make it in this business.
Writing requires a lot of discipline. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There are no lazybones in writing. No idiots, either. You have to be dedicated, motivated, and smart. Here are some fabulous quotes reflecting the discipline necessary to make it in this business.
“If we’re truly involved with the art and the craft of writing, and our unique connection to every element of a story, even if there are days when we can’t remember why we thought this piece was a good idea, we learn to be patient
until the rush of enthusiasm returns.” Stella Cameron
“I never could have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time.”
Charles DickensLF - Every writer works on her craft - with each new plot she conceives, the way she types it out, the twists and turns, the choice of a word... I love this next quote because it epitomizes what great writers strive to do.
“As a writer, I sit all day, working at a word processor, reading books on auto theft, or doing telephone research.”
“You’ve got to find some way of saying it without saying it.” Duke Ellington
LF - And this one - I sooo agree! I don't wanna do that either.
“I don’t want to write formula. I don’t want to crank these books out like sausages. Every book is different, which takes a hell of a lot of ingenuity on my part.”
Sue Grafton
“Whenever somebody comes up with a good idea, there’s somebody else who has never had a good idea in his life who stands up and says, Oh, you can’t do that.”
Tom Clancy
“Critics don’t buy records. They get ‘em free.”
LF -
Just like many reviewers. (But not all reviewers - we do have some excellent ones in the biz!) And when someone says (as someone always does) "I have an idea for a book," then the perfect reply is:“Ideas are easy. It’s the execution of ideas that really separates the sheep from the goats.” Sue Grafton
LF - Because, you know...
“No matter what you or anyone else does, there will be someone who says that there’s something bad about it.”
Tom Clancy “Critics have their purposes, and they’re supposed to do what they do, but sometimes they get a little carried away with what they think someone should have done, rather than concerning themselves with what they did.”
Duke Ellington
LF - And anyway...
“If you’re holding out for universal popularity, I’m afraid you will be in this cabin for a very long time.” J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
LF - Hey, let’s face it, love is the backbone of romance! And in our genre (like in these quotes) love is expressed in many, many ways. There's drama, and humor, and suspense..."Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired. " Robert Frost
“Before I met my husband, I’d never fallen in love, though I’d stepped in it a few times.” Rita Rudner
“I pay very little regard...to what any young person says on the subject of marriage. If they profess a disinclination for it, I only set it down that they have not yet seen the right person.” Jane Austen, Mansfield Park
LF - Hey, we’ve seen that sentiment many, many times in a romance novel! And what about those other traits we've seen in romance characters?
“There are some men who enter a woman's life and screw it up forever.” Janet Evanovich
“When I meet a man I ask myself, “Is this the man I want my children to spend their weekends with?”
Rita Rudner LF - This is a quote given in an interview 20+ years ago – and it’s my favorite for this section!
"I believe the next generation of best-selling women authors will come out of the romance genre."
Suzanne Simmons LF - There are many reasons why writer's write - and many quotes about it!
“To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it’s about, but the inner music that words make.” Truman Capote
“The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbours, kindle it at home, communicate it to others, and it
becomes the property of all.” Voltaire
“I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled [poets] to write their poetry,
but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean.” Socrtes, In "Apology," sct. 21, by Plato.
“Don’t part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.” Mark Twain
“Literature is my Utopia. Here I am not disenfranchised. No barrier
of the senses shuts me out from the sweet, gracious discourses of my
book friends. They talk to me without embarrassment or awkwardness.” Helen Keller
LF - It's not always easy to be happy in a very difficult profession that leaves you exposed and puts you in the position of open-game to every reader, reviewer, and critic. But we try...
“Worry is the interest paid on trouble you haven’t had yet.”
Stella Cameron – citing a fave quote that works well for times of impending doom as the deadline approaches and you don’t approach the deadline.
Stella Cameron – citing a fave quote that works well for times of impending doom as the deadline approaches and you don’t approach the deadline.
“I focus on the writing and let the rest of the process take care of itself. I’ve learned to trust my own instincts and I’ve also learned to take risks.” Sue Grafton
LF - On creativity...
(This first one may or may not be an exact quote, so I’m not putting it in quotations. It was repeated to me by someone else, with Nora Roberts as the originator.
I can fix anything but an empty page.
(This first one may or may not be an exact quote, so I’m not putting it in quotations. It was repeated to me by someone else, with Nora Roberts as the originator.
I can fix anything but an empty page.
“Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren’t very new at all.” Abraham Lincoln
“Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.” Mark Twain
"I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened." Mark Twain
LF - Twain cracks me up. But I'll admit that I cry sometimes when writing my books, just as I laugh and snicker and occasionally give myself a pat on the back. For the space of time that it takes me to write a book, my characters are real to me. So when they deal with the pitfalls of life, so do I.
“Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced.” Leo Tolstoy
“Some characters are invented out of whole cloth. Some are borrowed from life with a few modifications thrown in.” Sue Grafton
LF - from the above quote: yes, I borrow from life. All the time. It's cathartic!
From the below quote: I bet nearly every writer out there has said, at one point or another while watching a movie where the inexplicable happens, "They'd never let me do that in a book!"
“The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.” Tom Clancy
LF - On education, creative writing classes, and those ghastly critique groups!
MY ADVICE – don’t get involved with critique groups. They slow the process, weaken the voice, and let’s face it, your critique partner can’t buy your book, only an editor can. It’s best to get suggestions and feedback from editors.
MY ADVICE – don’t get involved with critique groups. They slow the process, weaken the voice, and let’s face it, your critique partner can’t buy your book, only an editor can. It’s best to get suggestions and feedback from editors.
“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” Mark Twain
“Imagination is more important than knowledge...” Albert Einstein
“Collaboration on a book is the ultimate unnatural act.” Tom Clancy
“My primary lesson, however, was that I’m a solo writer, happiest when I’m making all the executive decisions. I’ve always been willing to rise or fall on my own merits.” Sue Grafton
“Life is my college. May I graduate well, and earn some honors!” Louisa May Alcott
“I don’t discuss future works or works in progress.” Tom Clancy
LF - Go Tom! Talking about your work only dilutes the drive to write it. Whenever I have a newer author ask me what tips I can share to help her write her manuscript all the way to the end, I tell her to stop talking about it.
“It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.” Albert Einstein
"Life is about learning; when you stop learning, you die. " Tom Clancy
LF - If you're a writer, then you've learned that you have to keep a sense of humor in order to balance it all.
I don’t care what is written about me
so long as it isn’t true.”
Dorothy ParkerLF - As a writer involved with the internet, I've seen rumors spread faster than a flash fire. Doesn't matter if it's true or not, any gritty gossip on an author is prime pickings. It saddens me that people will jump on an untruth with glee, but when pointed out the truth of the matter, the topic dies a quick death.
“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” Albert Einstein
“All literature is gossip.” Truman Capote
LF - I'm sure I'm not the only author who's been questioned on her love scenes. No one asks me if I've murdered anyone, but they all want to know if the "juicy stuff" is based on experience. They need to make note of Capote's above quote!
“I’ve made up stuff that’s turned out to be real, that’s the spooky part.” Tom Clancy
LF - And in closing...
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read." Groucho Marx 
posted at 7:01 AM
