Home     Contents     Email course     Seminars     Books     Weekly columns     Contact
 

 

Home

 
 

Column of the Month


 


 
There's nothing like a good quote to add some zip to a point you're trying to emphasize. Here are some of my favorites. Naturally, they have to do with writing and reading. Hope you like them as much as I do.  

First published July 9, 2004

Quotable advice we can relate to

By Stephen Wilbers
 

 

I’m an inveterate collector of good quotes. I can’t help myself. When I hear a well-turned phrase or an insightful observation, I tuck it away and come back to it again and again.

Some of my favorite quotes are just plain funny, as when Ambrose Bierce declares, “The covers of this book are too far apart,” or Groucho Marx says in reference to S. J. Perelman’s first book, “From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down I was convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend reading it.”

Equally clever -– and equally unkind -– is Samuel Johnson’s judgment rendered to an aspiring writer: “Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good.”

Oscar Wilde demonstrates his ability to turn a phrase when he says, “The difference between journalism and literature is that journalism is unreadable and literature is not read.”

Other people in my collection offer insights into the craft of writing, as when F. Scott Fitzgerald advises, “Cut out all those exclamation marks. An exclamation mark is like laughing at your own joke.”

Mark Twain advises, “As to the adjective, when in doubt, strike it out,” and William Zinsser declares, “There’s not much to be said about the period, except that most writers don’t reach it soon enough.”

I also like Twain’s observation, “Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words,” and Zinsser’s no-nonsense “Clutter is the disease of American writing,” as well as his unforgettable “Bad writing makes bright people look dumb.” That’s what I call putting it on the line.

Lewis Carroll’s character the King makes a disarmingly simple recommendation to Alice: “Begin at the beginning . . . and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” What could be easier?

Matthew Arnold offers timeless advice: “Have something to say and say it as clearly as you can. That is the only secret of style.” And Stephen King offers his own formula: “2nd Draft = 1st Draft - 10%.”

King says worlds about the writing process when he advises, “Write with the door closed; rewrite with the door open.”

W. Somerset Maugham strings us along: “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, nobody knows what they are.”

E. L. Doctorow makes wonderful sense: “Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”

Then there’s Peter De Vries’ delightful quip: “I love being a writer. What I can’t stand is the paperwork.”

As someone who sometimes struggles with deadlines, I especially appreciate Douglas Adams’ comment: “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.”

My all-time favorite? Dorothy Parker: “I can’t write five words but that I change seven.”

I can relate.

Weekly columns
delivered by email

 

Top

 


Top