The quote library
Frankisms
Short truths, collected over a lifetime of writing and teaching. Read a few, or lose an afternoon.
- Collected
- 669
“Finding a copy editor who knows one kind of sentence from the other these days is becoming nothing short of miraculous. — Elizabeth George”
writing
“Flaws make a person human because we all have flaws. — Cheryl St.John”
writing
“For an idea to stick, for it to be useful and lasting, it’s got to make the audience: (1) Pay attention, (2) Understand and remember it, (3) Agree/Believe, (4) Care, (5) Be able to act on it. — Chip Heath”
writing
“For our idea to endure, we must generate interest and curiosity. — Chip Heath”
writing
“For some writers merely overcoming their initial anxiety about sitting down to write provides a force powerful enough to unravel anything else in their way. — Jane Anne Staw”
writing
“For the reader, beginning a new novel is like being teleported into some alternate dimension. It's going to take some time to look around, get his bearings, and then discern the lay of the land. — Jeff Gerke”
writing
“Forget trying to imitate any writer you admire. — Joe Vitale”
writing
“Frequently a great difference exists between the words you need in order to understand yourself and the words you need to make the same thought clear to someone else. — Theodore A. Rees Cheney”
writing
“From the very first sentence, the reader must want to know what happens next. — Lisa Cron”
writing
“Gather knowledge about the craft of writing. Immerse yourself in the art of it. Then write. Write yourself silly. — Elizabeth George”
writing
“Generally speaking, it is best to start with action, cut backstory, avoid aftermath, limit description, and use foreshadowing rarely. — Donald Maass”
writing
“Genuinely believing we can do something takes us a long way toward achieving it. — Terry Burns”
writing
“Get it out and down on the page. If you don’t, you’ll keep tripping over it. — Natalie Goldberg”
writing
“Get out of your ego and into your reader’s ego. — Joe Vitale”
writing
“Get practical advice on writing and you’ll find that nothing has been recommended so often and so warmly as cutting. — Rudolph Flesch”
writing
“Getting published is a survival process, not a selection process. — Terry Burns”
writing
“Getting the setting right is about making it real, and if it is ever going to be real to your reader, it must be real to you first. — Cheryl St.John”
writing
“God has called me away from something good for sake of something great. — Mary DeMuth”
writing
“God hides in the details. — Natalie Goldberg”
writing
“Good writing is less important than platforms. — Jerry Jenkins”
writing
“Great twists are more than believable; they are, in retrospect, the only possible ending to that scene, act, or story. — Steven James”
writing
“Hearing stories acts as a kind of mental flight simulator, preparing us to respond more quickly and effectively. — Chip Heath”
writing
“Heightened conflict creates jeopardy. Jeopardy creates a need for Resolution. Getting to the Resolution establishes a Goal. The struggle to achieve the Goal, generates Dramatic Tension. — Dara Marks”
writing
“Heroes who are nothing but good, noble, unswerving, honest, courageous, and kind to their mothers will make your readers want to gag. — Donald Maass”
writing
“High stakes are essential for dramatic change to be effective. — Eric Edson”
writing
“How a character chooses in a true dilemma is a powerful expression of his humanity and of the world in which he lives. — Robert McKee”
writing
“How we face our experiences determines who we are. And there is simply no greater purpose for telling our stories. — Dara Marks”
writing
“I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world. — Mother Teresa”
writing
“I apologize for this long letter; I didn’t have enough time to shorten it. — Pliny the Younger”
writing
“I cannot live without books. — Thomas Jefferson (17431826), Letter to John Adams [June 10, 1815]”
writing
“I find that I too often underestimate the intelligence of an audience and tell them too much too fast. Let them figure it out for themselves. — Kim Messer”
writing
“I finished six or seven books before my first was accepted for publication. — T. Davis Bunn”
writing
“I have made this a rather long letter because I haven’t had the time to make it shorter. — Blaise Pascal”
writing
“I have never thought of myself as a good writer. Anyone who wants reassurance of that should read one of my first drafts. But I’m one of the world’s greatest rewriters. — James A. Michener”
writing
“I made my first presentation to a New York agent with the third novel. She thoroughly disliked everything about my work.... The most telling of her criticisms was, your characters are one-dimensional cardboard cut-outs and your dialogue is flat. The worst thing about her comments was, I knew she was right. — T. Davis Bunn”
writing
“I never let the truth get in the way of a good story, if I can help it. — Tobias Wolff”
writing
“I recommend getting a photo of your ideal reader and pasting it up on your computer monitor. — Jeff Gerke”
writing
“I rewrote the ending of A Farewell to Arms, the last page of it, thirty-nine times. — Ernest Hemingway”
writing
“I strongly encourage everyone to do short work and not just put all their efforts into getting a book out. — Terry Burns”
writing
“I teach small groups of young writers, and I think I learn as much from them as they do from me. — Mona Simpson”
writing