Wednesday Wisdom for Writers and Those Who Love Them

"I try to leave out the parts that people skip." —Elmore Leonard


I recently read a book that has received a lot of attention. While I love words and enjoy squeezing every one of them for full impact, I found myself skimming paragraphs. Finally, a little more than half-way through, I skipped to the end.

Have you ever done that?



It's all better with friends.

Writerly Wisdom

Do you have a favorite writing quote?

I've got gobs, but here are a few of my favorites:

"A writer must have all the confidence in the world when writing the first draft and none whatsoever when editing subsequent drafts." T. Davis Bunn

"Writing is easy. You just stare at the paper until blood drips from your forehead." Gene Fowler

"The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt." Sylvia Plath (This one is currently stuck in the frame that holds my 2010 goals.)

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." Jack London

"I write when I'm inspired, and I see to it that I'm inspired at nine o'clock every morning." Peter De Vries

"When you write, try to leave out all the parts readers skip." Elmore Leonard

Oh! One more . . .

"Success is going from one failure to the next without losing enthusiasm." Winston Churchill



CR: Blood Game by Iris Johansen.

It's all better with friends.