Quotes of the Day

Love those tips! I tend to leave things out as I prefer to leave things to the imagination. I was just thinking about what I wrote last night and that I really needed to color in more detail. Tonight I'll add to that and fill in a lot of the background and setting. Usually I have a whole bio of my characters set aside, even things that will never be featured in the story. This is the time to just add all those things and really flesh out the characters instead of painting broad strokes.

I love the Lenord quote. He's one of my faves :)

I'm so happy to hear that you like the quotes! Mic, it's fantastic that you've gotten some ideas for what to write. Character bios can be helpful and the littlest things can make all the difference. Elise, I agree that it's a great quote, too; Leonard has some good advice, even if we spend a month ignoring it!

Here's today's Quote of the Day!

Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be “just as it should be.” – Mark Twain
TIP: Don’t forget that every word counts! You can always edit it out later, but for now, write! Just like a road trip, it’s much easier to toss something out down the road than it is to go back and put something in new.

one of my favorite writer's quotes

There's nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein. Walter Wellesly Reed.

How true it is. All our writing comes straight from the heart and it can be as brutal a task sometimes as opening a vein for it to fill the pages. In the end it's more than worth while :)

Since we haven't had quotes for a couple of days and I'm breathing a moment LOL here are a couple more faves. I have a small notebook that I write down quotes in. Some are funny, some are passionate, some are serious but I have all my favorite sayings in this one lil handy will travel book.

Quote 1

A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit. Richard Bach

Quote 2

Sucess is not final, failure is not fatal : it is the courage to continue that counts. Winston Churchill

Moral of the story :) Don't give up this is only week one we can continue the battle and win the war making it to the end. Happy Scribbles!

Here is a quote from Whinston Churchill on writing a book

Writing a book is a adventure. To begin with it is a toy and amusement. Then it becomes a mistress, then it becomes a master, then it becomes a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster and fling him out to the public.
Winston Churchill

Elise, thank you so much for sharing some quotes with us! I really appreciate it and you picked some nice ones. I'm afraid with the internet so rough, Susan wasn't able to send out quotes like we wanted, and I foolishly left my list at the office, so I'll be making a quick trek over there tomorrow morning if I can to get us back on track with all the missing quotes/tips. :)

For Nov. 4:
“I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.” – James Michener
TIP: When writing your first draft, don’t hold back. Your goal is to pound those words out and THEN tweak them to their final form. The best writing is almost always rewriting.
Here’s today’s Quote of the Day! Remember, we will also be collecting all the quotes in a thread in the Ocala Regional Lounge so you can watch it grow, and look back at some of your favorites throughout the month. :)

For Nov. 5:
“The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is you really want to say.” – Mark Twain
TIP: You’re in that important phase of writing when you put down everything you’re thinking. No fear! It’s said you are more likely to accomplish your goals when you write them down, and that is never more true than when writing a novel.

For Nov. 6:
“Easy reading is damn hard writing.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne
TIP: Remember that easy reading is also fantastically fun writing, too! Sometimes an idea that might be trickier will also be more enjoyable for you, and for your readers.

For Nov. 7:
“Metaphors have a way of holding the most truth in the least space.” – Orson Scott Card
TIP: Think of a metaphor for your main character that can explain the motivation behind his or her actions. See if looking at them with a new perspective helps you to discover new things about them and inspires you to write more.

For Nov. 8:
“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” - Mark Twain
TIP: Have one of your characters use an “almost right word” and see what kind of fun your verbal lightning bug can whip up!

For Nov. 9:
“If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn’t brood. I’d type a little faster.” – Isaac Asimov
TIP: Think what your favorite character would do if he or she thought there were only six minutes left to live. In Conan Doyle’s “A Scandal in Bohemia,” Holmes says that during a fire, a mother will go for her child and a single woman for her jewelry. What’s most important to your character?

For Nov. 10:
“I love being a writer. What I can’t stand is the paperwork.” – Peter De Vries
TIP: Think about your favorite character’s greatest passion. Now, what do they hate the most about it? Try to write about that. Nothing is perfect, after all.

For Nov. 11:
“Be obscure clearly.” – E.B. White
TIP: Think about an important trait of your hero that is clear to everyone else, but unknown to them. Why is this trait noticed/ignored by the different characters?

For Nov. 12:
“Everywhere I go, I’m asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don’t stifle enough of them. There’s many a bestseller that could have been prevented by a good teacher.” – Flannery O’Connor
TIP: Break a rule or two now and then; don’t let rules discourage you. Your voice could be just the change people are after.

For Nov. 13:
“Words – so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.” – Nathaniel Hawthorne
TIP: Think of a powerful word that could break your main character’s spirit. Now think of a powerful word that your character could say to change everything. What does this tell you about your character?

For Nov. 14:
“Being an author is like being in charge of your own personal insane asylum.” – Graycie Harmon
TIP: Have fun with your novel and the character’s in them. Don’t be afraid to let them act crazy and wild if that’s what the story calls for.

For Nov. 15:
“It seems to me that those songs that have been any good, I have nothing much to do with the writing of them. The words have just crawled down my sleeve and come out on the page.” – Joan Baez
TIP: Think about what type of music inspires your characters? What would they listen to in their car, what songs would catch their ear when out and about? Classic rock, pop, ska, country, hip hop—do they stick to one genre or sample it all? Musical tastes can reveal fun insights into your character and their favorites can inspire you to write for them.

For Nov. 16:
“Every writer I know has trouble writing.” – Joseph Heller
TIP: Don’t give up. Never, never give up. The middle weeks can be the hardest, but you can do it! Hang in there!

For Nov. 17:
“A synonym is a word you use when you can’t spell the other one.” – Baltasar Gracián
TIP: Don’t be afraid of your thesaurus. Do a search for common words like “blue” or “yelled.” See how changing up your verbiage impacts a sentence, paragraph, or entire scene.

For Nov. 18:
“I asked Ring Lardner the other day how he writes his short stories, and he said he wrote a few widely seperat4ed words or phrases on a piece of paper and then went back and filled in the spaces.” – Harold Ross
TIP: If you get stuck when writing, don’t panic! Just skip ahead and jump around. You can come back to your problem spots later, so don’t let a tough scene throw off your writing groove.

For Nov. 19:
“Writing comes more easily if you have something to say.” – Sholem Asch
TIP: Just for fun, pretend your scenes are being broken up like a DVD selection menu and need an explanation in the insert guide. Figure out what the point of each scene is; what is the focus?

Here are ALL our poor, backlogged quotes and tips. Many apologies for the delay in getting them out to you all!

For Nov. 20:
“The only cure for writer’s block is insomnia.” – Merit Antares
TIP: The other only cure is getting enough sleep. If you need to rest, go ahead and rest. Your mind will be clearer when not focused on just keeping your head off the desk.

For Nov. 21:
“The ablest writer is only a gardener first, and then a cook: his tasks are to carefully select and cultivate his strongest and most nutritive thoughts, and when they are ripe, to dress them wholesomely, and yet so they may have a relish.” – Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth by Two Brothers, 1827
TIP: Third week into NaNo, are your characters getting hungry? Try to include details about what your characters and drink to add some literal flavour to your writing.

For Nov. 22:
“The coroner will find ink in my veins and blood on my typewriter keys.” – C. Astrid Weber
TIP: Take a moment to think about what’s in the veins of your main character; what’s their life blood and passion? Write about it.

For Nov. 23:
“Many books require no thought from those who read them and for a very simple reason. They made no such demand upon those who wrote them.” – Charles Caleb Colton
TIP: What’s the point of your novel? If you don’t have one, be so entertaining that nobody cares.

Here’s today’s Quote of the Day! Remember, we will also be collecting all the quotes in a thread in the Ocala Regional Lounge so you can watch it grow, and look back at some of your favorites throughout the month. :)