Frankisms

“It is with words as with sunbeams. The more they are condensed, the deeper they burn. — Robert Southey, 1774–1843”

writing

“It takes honesty and courage—and an amazing level of maturity—to look at your own work with an objective eye and see how you can make it better. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“It takes planning and hard work to pull off a strong, emotionally charged book. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“It’s a damn good story. If you have any comments, write them on the back of the check. — Erle Stanley Gardner, note on submitted manuscript”

writing

“It’s almost impossible to differentiate between the gut feeling you get when you’re reading a fabulous book and the feeling you get when you’re reading a manuscript written by a close friend. — Lisa Cron”

writing

“It’s difficult if not impossible to motivate a character to grow and change if his or her system of survival has not yet broken down. — Dara Marks”

writing

“It’s essential that you truly respect your readers and assume they’re at least as smart as you are. — Steven James”

writing

“It’s not easy—nothing about writing is easy. There are no shortcuts to this sometimes tedious or frustrating process, but with determination and the right tools, we can create memorable characters and take pride in a job well done. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“It’s not enough to include a strong hook in your novel’s first sentence—or even the first sentence of each chapter. Also include a hook in the last line of each scene. — DiAnn Mills”

writing

“It’s not important what’s happening. What’s important is how your character is reacting to it. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you and who knows about you, even if they haven’t actually met you. — Bob Burg”

writing

“It’s part of the writing exercise to keep your head in the story even when you’re not at the computer. — Michael Connelly”

writing

“It’s pretty silly to see biblical scenes in which everyone sounds like they are speaking in the King James version of the Bible. — Kim Messer”

writing

“It’s the emotional impact that draws us in and keeps us coming back. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“It’s understood in the industry that 80 percent of advances do not earn out. — Donald Maass”

writing

“It's easy to write a pure black villain. But that makes it both a cliché and lazy writing. — Jeff Gerke”

writing

“Journalism is literature in a hurry. — Matthew Arnold”

writing

“Journalism largely consists in saying “Lord Jones is Dead” to people who never knew Lord Jones was alive. — G.K. Chesterton”

writing

“Just about every one of us can point to at least one particularly humiliating failure. — Jane Anne Staw”

writing

“Just as we can travel to the ocean or up into the mountains to clear our lungs of toxic, urban air, we can place ourselves in a state of relaxation before we begin to write. — Jane Anne Staw”

writing

“Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. — William Faulkner”

writing

“Keep in mind always that readers do not usually know what you planned to include. They’ll never miss a deleted minor point, or even a minor section. … It is only later, in the context of the final work, that even a professional can judge the significance of each component of that work. — Theodore A. Rees Cheney”

writing

“Keep readers hooked by not giving them an ending to something you know they want to see resolved. — Joe Vitale”

writing

“Keep saying no to your characters. Whatever it is they want, hold it back. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“Know your character before you put words on paper. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“Knowing why rules exist sets you free to follow or break them with wisdom and expertise. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“Language is often abstract, but life is not abstract. — Chip Heath”

writing

“Learn the rules well enough to forget about them, the way you learned to ride a bike. — Robert Pinkert”

writing

“Learning to make use of good critique is one of the most important skills a writer can develop. — Judith Barrington”

writing

“Let every phrase of dialogue or line of description either turn behavior and action or set up the conditions for change. — Robert McKee”

writing

“Let your characters have insecurities. Your main character should be someone the reader could imagine being or knowing. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“Life is a writer’s raw material. Successful writers immerse themselves in it. — Dwight V. Swain”

writing

“Long sentences, judiciously used, sweep readers along as if they were lazily floating down a quiet river on an inner tube. — Joyce Ellis”

writing

“Look at your character’s goals, and ask yourself, “What’s the worst thing that could happen?” Then take the worst thing a step further. — Cheryl St.John”

writing

“Loosen up. Practice. To talk well, talk a lot. To write well, write a lot and do it fast. — Robert Pinkert”

writing

“Make a habit of reading something inspiring and cheerful just before going to sleep. — H. Jackson Brown Jr”

writing

“Make a list of smells that start your thoughts going backward to moving or outstanding times in your life. — Paul Darcy Boles”

writing

“Make no mistake, great writing is secondary. Because if the reader doesn’t want to know what happens next, who cares how well it’s written? — Lisa Cron, long-time consultant and agent”

writing

“Make sure every character has “A Limp and an Eyepatch.” Every character has to have a unique way of speaking, but also something memorable that will stick him in the reader’s mind. — Blake Snyder”

writing

“Make sure readers have enough empathy to connect with the main character, feel enough emotion to stay intrigued by the story, and gain enough insight to see the world with new eyes when they’re done. — Steven James”

writing