"Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader—not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon." E.L. Doctorow
“For your born writer, nothing is so healing as the realization that he has come upon the right word.” Catherine Drinker Bowen
"There's a word for a writer who never gives up... published." Joe Konrath
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." Mark Twain
"Becoming the reader is the essence of becoming a writer." John O'Hara
"The task of a writer consists of being able to make something out of an idea." Thomas Mann
"If a book is not alive in the writer's mind, it is as dead as year-old horse-sh!t." Stephen King
"Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer." Barbara Kingsolver"Write like you mean it." me
***
Got 1000 words out Monday and 1600 yesterday! Hoping to keep at it today, though some necessary errands may put a dip in my numbers. But it's okay - any numbers are good, right?
I've added a word counter widget to my side bar, so you guys can help hold me accountable. If you don't see it climbin', knock some sense into me! Deal?
How's your project coming?
And which quote from above did you like best?
"There's a word for a writer who never gives up... published." Joe Konrath <--ok, so I love this one! And it's so true. I feel that way in any aspect of life and in anything you do, never give up. Congrats on your word count! That's awesome! With company, mine has managed to go nowhere--LOL! Jenni
ReplyDeleteMine is going slow, but it's edits. Yay on the word count. Keep them coming! :-)
ReplyDeleteI love those quotes, particularly the one about a writer who never gives up is...published. LOL
Thanks for the encouragement. The Betas are coming in and I'm bracing for yet another round of edits. I'm even considering going the snowflake route and really edit the heck out of my work. Good luck to us all!
ReplyDeleteThat's a deal, Janna! This are some very inspirational posts and i enjoyed them Worth printing and hanging in your work station.
ReplyDeleteActually if I had to pick one, I'd pick yours. Writing like you mean it, to me, means putting your heart in the words. When that happens, it's usually effective. I've got a few coals in the fire right now, I'm querying a few agents, and putting the finishing touches on another book idea. Happy writing, Janna!
ReplyDeleteI like all the quotes but my favorite would have to be "write like you mean it". Powerful words. I plan to watch your word counter and will definitely give you a nudge if I don't see it going up...keep going Janna!
ReplyDeleteMy projects? Still working on some editing and waiting on Lesson 8 critique.
Gotta go with the Twain.
ReplyDeleteI understand that we all need metrics - some number to measure our success by - but I am surprised to see that the metric for a writer is word count. I was guessing it would be a date system - x number of chapters by y date, and so on to the ultimate completion date. Who knew?
Ooh, I like this:
ReplyDelete"Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader—not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon." E.L. Doctorow
Keep up the good work on your WIP!!
Jenni - I can see how you might be distracted! ;)
ReplyDeleteJessica - Good luck with your edits!
Rafael - Snowflake route? I have an idea, but you're going to have to tell me what that is. :)
Kimmi - Thank you, thank you! Indeed, there are some powerful words among those quotes.
Joanne - Good luck with everything, especially the querying! Keep us posted.
Ang - I'm holding you to it! :)
ReplyDeleteHat Chick - Certainly writers can give themselves goals like that, with certain chapters at certain deadlines. But since chapters can be any length, and publishers focus on the total word count of a manuscript (it gives them the most accurate idea of the book's physical size), writers adopt that form of calculation. It's overwhelming sometimes...
Jewel - It's one of my favorites! And thanks. :)
Janna, you're in the writing zone, where everything else fades away as you write. Keep going! I'll kick your bahonkus if I see the word meter stop. :)
ReplyDeleteLove the quotes and especially yours.
Here are two of my favs:
Hem's "Write one true sentence..." and "A poem/piece of prose shouldn't tell you not to play with matches; it should burn your fingers." (anonymous) :)
Writing is in slow motion right now. Too many distractions! But hopefully I can get back on track soon!
ReplyDeleteYay! for writing so much! Nice work!
Fav. Quote - "Write like you mean it" :)
The Bowen quote was my favorite. I'm big on choosing particular words. I think about every word as I type it. I try to write as I speak but more vividly.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a "project" right now-- I don't really consider myself a "writer," just a journalist of my life. Maybe I'll organize them all into short stories one day, who knows? I don't think I have the attention span for a novel though.
Right now I'd have to go with: "There's a word for a writer who never gives up... published." Joe Konrath
ReplyDeleteSome days its hard to believe I'll ever get a book published. But maybe if I never give up, it'll finally happen.
I've given myself a word count goal of 500 a day for weekdays, and 1000 for weekends. If I make more than that, then I feel like I've really accomplished something!
Thanks for words of writing encouragement! Oh how I need to hear them every day!
ReplyDeleteMy writing projects are going slower than I want due to company visits, travel and illness. Hoping to add a new word counter to my blog and be held accountable. Send in the cheerleaders!!!!
Love that King quote. You're on a roll, perfect, yay! Me? Well, not too shabby. It's coming.
ReplyDeleteI love the King quote, but probably because that's my sarcastic warped view of things. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI was envious when Kimmi talked about a "workstation". I want a workstation! I have whereever I can grab a spot with my laptop until it runs out of battery, then I sit on my bed.
I also liked Pink Ink's and Gumbo's quotes, they are similar in concept.
My progress is slow, haven't been able to write every day because of work and craziness after work, but I've been leaving notes in my little recorder and thinking about it alot.
I like the Kingsolver quote the best. :-)
ReplyDeleteAwesome job on the word count! Keep goin'!
Didn't get any editing done on the novel last night, but hopefully I can get to it today.
You certainly are inspiring me to get my line counts up!!! Way to go!
ReplyDeleteDon't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say.
ReplyDeleteThis is my favorite as I am guilty--so guilty about doing that rather than just writing!!
This spoke to me the most - it's the most basic way of differentiating between show and tell, something I need the most reminding of:
ReplyDelete"Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader—not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon." E.L. Doctorow
But I also really like this one:
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." Mark Twain
Great work with the word count and go you with the widget. I often use a system on my calendar that holds me personally accountable, but I don't think I'm at a place with my wip where it would help me.
I'll stay on you. ;)
Angie - My bahonkus is skeered!
ReplyDeleteTurkey - I know all too well about those distractions. :) They're worth it, for sure, but I hope you find some writing time soon!
Scarlethue - Bowen's is my favorite from the listed ones; it hits me for the same reasons it hits you. :) And I think a compilation is an excellent idea!
Hi, Jody! Thanks for stopping by. :) I think your goal system is fantastic. Keep at it, and you'll get you a book done and pubbed!
Donna - We must encourage one another!
Rebecca - That's great! It's better to come along even a little bit than not at all. (A lesson I'm finally learning.)
ReplyDeleteSharla - I've always craved a work space of my own, and now that I have one, I love it! But something that's helped me the last few days of output has been to switch up my location. It's refreshed my mind to pick up and move somewhere different. Maybe the opposite would work for you, if you could set up even temporary shop somewhere at home?
Melissa - Just go easy on yourself, and know it'll be there when you're ready.
Michaéle - I hope the word counter helps, since it'll be staring me in the face everyday! Good luck with your newfound itch, too. :)
Terri - I can be, too. I'm trying to work out of that, and find the honesty in my writing.
Melanie - So true! And yep, I'll likely need a swift kick in the pants once in awhile. :)
I meant the snowflake method (http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php). As for the quote, I would go with the one from E.L. Doctorow. It gets down to the brass tacks of writing.
ReplyDeleteRafael - Ah, see? I hadn't ever heard of the snowflake method before. But thanks! I'm bookmarked the site. :) And I agree about the quote. Very basic, very good.
ReplyDeleteMost of those quotes spoke to me but this one made me laugh, "There's a word for a writer who never gives up... published." Joe Konrath
ReplyDeleteYay for all your writing! To write and to feel and then have others feel, ah, there is the payoff.
Woman, thank you! Payoff, indeed. :)
ReplyDeleteWrite like you mean it :)
ReplyDeleteI liked the first quote best. Keep pumping out those words!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat work.
-FringeGirl
I love these! "Write like you mean it." Love that, too! Thanks for the collection, Janna. And that first one is brilliant.
ReplyDeleteThanks for putting together this collection of inspiring quotes.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is the one which talks about the sensation of being rained upon. It's brilliant. I've never heard of the author, though. Now I'm going to google him (or her).
Hi. I liked Joe Konrath's quote the best, but they were all great. Thanks for sharing 'em.
ReplyDeleteLynnette Labelle
http://lynnettelabelle.blogspot.com
Josh - And I mean YOU. ;)
ReplyDeleteFringeGirl - Thanks! I'm in a nice groove!
Spy - There are such great quotes to draw from out there.
Lori - I've never read anything of his, to be honest. If you do, let me know what you think!
Lynette - Welcome! :)
Luv the widget-- how'd you do that?
ReplyDeleteKelly - If you click on it, it will take you to an html code you can copy (and tweak with your data) and paste into a Blogger box. I'm going to add another now. :)
ReplyDeleteHmmm. I liked all of them, really, because they each spoke to a valuable part of the whole "thing".
ReplyDelete*warms up kicking leg and keeps an eye on the word count meters*
LOL