We all know December is traditionally hellish, what with the looming holiday madness, the ten thousand “festive event” obligations, and the ubiquitous viral plague that bitchslaps everyone into total uselessness. Here at The Deb Ball, we decided to take it easy on ourselves this week. So instead of writing real columns, we’re listing a handful of favorite quotes on writing. (Or that’s what I’m doing, anyway. For fun, I added intriguing analysis after each quote.)
- Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money. ~Ashish Chauhan
(Wait, there’s going to be money?)
- The first draft of anything is shit. ~Ernest Hemingway
(I used this quote in a prior post but that’s because it might be the single best sentence ever written. Note two things: the simple eloquence and the unassailable truth he speaks. Genius.)
- Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were printed in a book! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! ~Job 19: 22-23
(Preach it, Job.)
- If Moses were alive today he’d come down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments and spend the next five years trying to get them published. ~ Anonymous
(Yep. Truth.)
- Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. ~William Wordsworth
(This is beautiful. Although not physiologically correct, of course. Whoops, the doctor in me busted out for second. Sorry.)
And finally, one more, from the great Dave Barry:
- It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.
(If you think this last quote is not about writing, then you are not a writer. Obviously 😉
