thoughts on writing
Without a first draft, there would be no novel, so this is without a doubt the most important accomplishment of the writer.
Walter Mosley • This Year You Write Your Novel
Good input=good output: to be a great writer, we must be great readers. I’ve found that the quality of the texts I read influences the quality of the writing I produce.
3 of Seneca's Metaphors for Taking Notes
“Writing is often the process by which you realize you do not understand what you are talking about.”
Attention Required! | Cloudflare
“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”
—Terry Pratchett
I don’t write to simply generate a 1,200 word output. I consider writing to be an extension of my curiosity, and the writing process itself is what turns a rough idea into a finished product. [...] Writing is a metamorphosis that turns vague abstractions into novel ideas, but you have to go through the writing process to connect the various points... See more
Thomas Klaffke • From Chasing Goals To Falling In Love With The Process
We are writers, and we never ask one another where we get our ideas; we know we don’t know.
Stephen King • On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft (A Memoir of the Craft (Reissue))
“You have to finish things — that’s what you learn from, you learn by finishing things.”
James Clear • 3-2-1: How to stick to a new habit, how to handle criticism, and 4 types of wealth
Prioritize the whole rather than the parts : when it comes to writing, often we want to share more than would benefit the piece. In my final edits, I often delete factoids and quotations that interest me but detract from my overall message. As I tell my students, good writing is good editing. Take out all the bits that don’t benefit the whole.
3 of Seneca's Metaphors for Taking Notes
Writing: Assuming you understand the core principles of writing and the basics of grammar, what determines your ability to write well more than anything else is writing a lot. Once you reach the threshold of writing a decent sentence, the thing that leads to success is writing more.