Welcome to Writer’s Quote Daily (WQD)
by admin on 22/08/10 at 9:21 am
Thanks for stopping by. This site provides daily quotes about writing, the creative process, authors and the publishing industry that inspire, motivate and sometimes even amuse. To read more, check the About page.
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Eisler on a “typical” writing day
I find there’s a ration between thinking and writing, and when I’m just getting started on a book, the raio is skewed heavily toward thinking, but as the story progresses and I figure things out, I can write more and need to think less. By the time I’ve reached the last 10 percent of the book, I’ve discovered the whole story out and it’s pure writing–an electrifying feeling, like I’ve grabbed the back of a comet and am struggling just to hang on. So at the start of things, I spend a lot of time walking and thinking, and a 500-word-day feels great. In the middle, I feel comfortable with 1,000 or so, and I’m spending more time in front of the computer. Two thousand always feels good. By the last third of the book, my average gets closer to 3,000 and I’m spending close to eight hours a day writing, with sanity breaks mixed in here and there. The most I’ve written in a day (twenty-two straight hours), with my fingers a blur and hair on fire, was 8,200–the last two of which, no coincidentally, were “The End.”–Barry Eisler
Palumbo on writing
Every hour you spend writing is an hour not spent fretting about your writing.–Dennis Palumbo
Bell on discipline
You are responsible for your own self-discipline. No one can find the time for you, or write the words for you.–James Scott Bell, The Art of War for Writers
Bell on the craft of writing
Respect the craft of writing. Be in awe when you sit down at the keyboard or with a pen. Write hard, write with passion, because that is what you do. Don’t waste any time dissing other writers or whining about how tough things are.–James Scott Bell, The Art of War for Writers
Kava on a “typical” writing day
There is no typical. In Florida, I write on the deck or in my office or by the kitchen counter. In Omaha it’s on the screened-in porch orin the writing shed or late at night sitting up in bed. Sometimes I use a stand-up desk because I tend to pace. I write bits and pieces of chapters and dialogue in a notebook. Another notebook has all my research notes. These days, I force myself to use a laptop as much as possible because it’s quicker, though I swear I think better in longhand. I still do what I like to call my writing marathons. I try to clear my schedule of appointments, distractions, engagements for a least a week at a time, and I write form morning until evening. I’m not a coffee drinker, but I’ve been known to guzzle pots of the stuff during my marathons. That’s about as typical as I get.–Alex Kava
Straub on a “typical” writing day
These days, I am no longer capable of the ten-hour stretches I used to put in, day after day, night after night. My workday begins around 11 in the morning, and there is a break for lunch around 1:30 or 1:45. At 2:00, while eating lunch, I wander through Llanview, Pennsylvania, an amazing little city where anything can happen: amnesia, resurrections, doppleganager, serial killers, arson, rapes, visitations from the heavenly realm…I’m telling you, Llanview they live life with a capital L. At 3:30 or thereabouts, I return to my desk and work till about 7:00. If I get in five hours of work, it’s a good day, and I know I’ve had it until the next time.–Peter Straub
Rose on a “typical” writing day
I write five or six days a week. I make a huge effort to not work all seven days–which is all too easy for me to do. I spend one hour thinking about the book in the morning–walking or swimming–planning what I am going to write that day, where the book is going. Then I write from four to five hours writing during the first-draft process. From 12. P.M. to 2 P.M. and then 3 P.M. to 6 P.M. Give or take. In between, I take a walk, go get coffee, or talk on the phone. After the first draft (and I usually have three to four drafts), I usually work more than that–from six to nine hours.–M.J.Rose
Jackson on a “typical” writing day
When I’m under deadline it’s nearly 24/7–well, maybe 18/7, and when I’m not, I actually go to the dentist, doctor, have the car washed, and go bowling. I always try to get in a little exercise and fun things with friends, but not when a deadline looms. If there’s anything that’s constant, it’s that I’m a morning person and write in the mornings.–Lisa Jackson
Lustbader on a “typical” writing day
The word “typical” is not in my vocabulary. Right from the get go, I was taught to think independently, to think outside the box, and, most importantly, to see the big picture. As I’ve already said, I’m thinking about a project 24/7. That means, for instance, I always have a pad and pen beside my bed. Invariably, in the midst of a novel, I’ll have a fistful of thoughts the moment after I turn out the lights at night. I used to write only in the morning, but over the years, that’s changed. Now I often don’t get started writing until three or four in the afternoon. Why that is, I can’t say; writing is a basically irrational experience. And it’s hard work, but try telling that to anyone who doesn’t write.–Eric Van Lustbader
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