April PANorama – The Things Authors Say

Dear Readers,

It’s the last Sunday of the month, which means that it’s time for one of our chapter PAN members (PAN stands for Published Authors Network, a professional designation within RWA open to members who reach a certain level of sales) to visit the blog to share some of their wisdom and expertise.

This month, Nancy Fraser is here to inspire us with some quotes on writing.

Take it away, Nancy!

The Things Authors Say

~ By Nancy Fraser 

As authors, we often look to other writers for inspiration. I thought I’d share some of my favorite writing-related quotes.

Which ones speak to you? Do you have any favorite quotes?

Leave a comment and share!

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Writers on Writing:

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. – Douglas Adams

I love being a writer. What I can’t stand is the paperwork. – Peter de Vries

If you start with a bang, you won’t end with a whimper. – T.S. Eliot

There are three rules for writing. Unfortunately, no one can agree what they are. – Somerset Maugham

The first chapter sells the book; the last chapter sells the next book. – Mickey Spillane

If the sex scene doesn’t make you want to do it – whatever it is they’re doing – it hasn’t been written right. – Sloan Wilson

Writers on Editing:

Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good. – William Faulkner

It is perfectly okay to write garbage–as long as you edit brilliantly. – C. J. Cherryh

Never throw up on an editor. – Ellen Datlow

Writers on Critics/Reviews:

Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamppost how it feels about dogs. – Christopher Hampton

It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way. – Ernest Hemingway

It is advantageous to an author that his book should be attacked as well as praised. Fame is a shuttlecock. If it be struck at one end of the room, it will soon fall to the ground. To keep it up, it must be struck at both ends. – Samuel Johnson

Writing Self-Deprecation:

It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous. – Robert Benchle

I am irritated by my own writing. I am like a violinist whose ear is true, but whose fingers refuse to reproduce precisely the sound he hears within. – Gustave Flaubert

Having been unpopular in high school is not just cause for book publication. – Fran Lebowitz

A Writer’s Obsession:

We do not write because we want to; we write because we have to. – Somerset Maugham

When writing a novel, that’s pretty much entirely what life turns into: ‘House burned down. Car stolen. Cat exploded. Did 1500 easy words, so all in all it was a pretty good day.’ – Neil Gaiman

A writer never has a vacation. For a writer life consists of either writing or thinking about writing. – Eugene Ionesco

Just for Fun:

He was such a bad writer, they revoked his poetic license. – Milton Berle

Like most authors, Nancy Fraser began writing at an early age, usually on the walls and with crayons or, heaven forbid, permanent markers. Her love of writing often made her the English teacher’s pet, which, of course, resulted in a whole lot of teasing. Still, it was worth it.

When not writing (which is almost never), Nancy dotes on her five beautiful grandchildren and looks forward to traveling and reading when time permits. Nancy lives in Atlantic Canada where she enjoys the relaxed pace and colorful people.