The Things They Tell You...
Some quotes on writing… [See key at the end for the guilty party]No one ever makes it alone. MGThe best books emerge from the strongest convictions. DBGood story ideas seem to come quite literally out of nowhere, sailing right at you out of the empty sky. SKSpiritual journeys are a basic requirement of good story telling. EMAnything with happiness in the title and a set of rules to follow stands a good chance of vaulting into the bestseller lists. EMAs a writer you have to find ways to reflect the world you live in. DCBIf stone cold sober people can fuck like they’re out of their minds…can actually be out of their minds while caught in the throe…why shouldn’t writers be able to go bonkers and still stay sane? SKWhen a reader hears strong echoes of her own life and beliefs, she is more apt to become invested in the story. SKMaybe I can generalise more. A novel is a way of telling the true about reality. ATRead 5 hours a day, write 2000 words. SKWriting is not life but I think it is a way back to life. SKThe root problems of the writer are personality problems. Problems of confidence, self -respect and freedom. JGSeek out friends who leave you full of energy, feed you with ideas, have the effect of filling you with self confidence and eagerness to write. DBEnvy, depression, resentment will poison the very springs from which your work flows DBLearn to hold your mind as still as your body. DBReaders are interested in characters who want something, want it badly and want it now. SSEccentricity is at the heart of strong characterisation. SSWe all have a voice so we can all write, it’s as easy as that. AWThere is nothing worse than being boring. AWPerfect people are boring. Perfect people are obnoxious because they’re better than us. Perfect people are, above all, too good to be true. SD, HMDorothy Wordsworth was a blogger. SMWalking is very important to me as a writer, I can’t have creative thoughts when I’m sitting down. MBTake your heart and put it on a plate. KKBook buyers are herd animals. IVPeople will do anything for a badge IVI massively regret not learning shorthand. LHNo man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money. SJI write a little every day, without hope and without despair. IDKey:MG Malcolm Gladwell, OutliersDB Dorothea Brande, Becoming a WriterSK Stephen King, On WritingEM Emma Brockes in the Guardian on Eat, Love, PrayDCP D.C.Pierre interview Observer New ReviewAT Adam Thirlwell, Esquire Oct 2010JG John Gardiner in foreword to DB Becoming a WriterSS Sol Stein, Solutions for WritersAW Andrew Wille, lecturer University College Falmouth, MA Professional Writing http://www.wille.org/aw/Home.htmlSN,HM Sandra Newman & Howard Mittelmark, How Not to Write a NovelSM Susannah Marriot, lecturer University College Falmouth, MA Professional WritingMB Michael Bird lecture on Bryan WynterCK Kris Kenway, lecturer University College Falmouth MA Professional WritingIV Ian Vince, http://ianvince.co.uk/LH Leo Hickman lecture on being a Super Stringer for the GuardianSJ Samuel JohnsonID Isak Dinesen, quoted by Raymond Carver