Tag: quotable
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Learn From the Pros – Read Like a Writer (Not A Reader)
When I teach literature I always tell them, these would-be writers (we don’t do workshops, we just read great books), I say, “When you read Pride and Prejudice, don’t if you’re a girl identify with Elizabeth Bennet, if you’re a boy with Darcy. Identify with the author, not with the characters.” All good readers do that…
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“You Too?” What Friendship Is, and Why It’s So Hard to Find
“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.’ ” – C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves I’ve always found friendship a tricky thing – I’ve watched other people quickly and easily slide into friendship in a matter of days, and wondered…
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The Book Doesn’t Exist? Then Write It
About time for another Quotable, don’t you think? “If there’s a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” – Toni Morrison I once read a book, hated how it ended, and started writing my own sequel. Now, this was when I was in elementary school,…
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Are Writers Original? A Quote
The original writer is not one who imitates nobody, but one whom nobody can imitate. – François-René de Chateaubriand, Le génie du Christianisme (1802) People like to rag on Shakespeare for re-using the plots of other people for almost every play he wrote. They also like to claim J.K. Rowling stole all her good ideas from Tolkien (I…
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Read The Iliad!
“Sing to me, Muse, of the wrath of Achilles…” – Homer, The Iliad I was blown away by how good The Iliad is. I’ve read classics before and wondered why they were considered classics, but I have no doubt as to why The Iliad managed to survive for thousands of years. And I’ve never been…
Hmm... 