#writing quotes
Don’t say it was “delightful”; make us say “delightful” when we’ve read the description. –C.S. Lewis
I found this great piece of writing advice from C.S. Lewis on twitter today.(courtesy of @thatboycanteach)
I know the phrase “show don’t tell” confuses a lot of people who are new to critiquing/workshops, because all writing is telling… isn’t it?
But this is exactly what writers are talking about when they use that phrase.
This is also why, when critiquing your work, writers might tell you to remove adjectives and adverbs, or why you might hear that those two types of words are “bad writing.” It’s not that you’re neverallowed to use an adjective or an adverb, but that–like Lewis says–it’s much more preferable to beterrified, than to be told something is terrifying.
Whenever you tell your reader what the characters in a story are experiencing, instead of letting your reader have an experience alongside your characters, you miss an opportunity to invite your reader into the story. If you miss too many, eventually your reader will stop waiting for their invitation and simply leave.
Post link
“If you are going to be a writer there is nothing I can say to stop you; if you’re not going to be a writer nothing I can say will help you. What you really need at the beginning is somebody to let you know that the effort is real.” -James Baldwin
Might as well kick this blog off with a quote from my favorite author and my favorite book.
The Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick Ness
Post link
“Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it.” - Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
“Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them in order that the reader may see what they are made of.”— Kurt Vonnegut
“A book is simply the container of an idea—like a bottle; what is inside the book is what matters.”— Angela Carter
“Snakes drown here in the snow, little girl. Your friends won’t last to see first light.”
Writing Prompt #42
“A hero? Oh honey, I thought I had taught you better than that. There are no such thing as heroes, as there is no such thing as goodness. What seems heroic to you will always be villainous to someone else. Please remember that.”
“…fiction gives us empathy: it puts us inside the minds of other people, gives us the gift of seeing the world through their eyes. Fiction is a lie that tells us true things, over and over.”— Neil Gaiman
Kill Your Darlings (2013)
Writing inspiration ️
“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” -Louis L'Amour
Isn’t it crazy how the ones we trust to always protect us, end up hurting us more than anything else ever could?
S.A // You were supposed to be my safety.
The world would be so much better if we never stopped loving each other.
S.A // It feels empty without you
“Please call. Get drunk, get high, whatever it takes for you to reach for your phone and dial my number.”
- S.A // I’m desperate
I know I miss you because it happens in daylight. When I’m driving down a road with a view and the sun is hitting me, I think of how good you’d look beside me. And how great your laugh would sound, joining me when I’m out with friends. Or how much warmer the bed would be with you in it.
- S.A // I miss you even when I’m not lonely
