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I'm a compulsive collector of quotes about writing and writers. Some inspire me and others amuse. I also share them with other writers. So, in that spirit, here are a few favorites, beginning with acclaimed screenwriter, William Goldman on writing Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid:
"Eventually, I'd done all the research I could bear. I hoped I had a story that would prove coherent, so I sat down and wrote the first draft in 1966. It took four weeks. When someone asks how long it takes to write a screenplay, I'm never sure what to answer. Because I don't think it took four weeks to do Butch. For me, eight years is closer to the truth."
Not all quotes about writing come from writers. Here's a droll one from the master American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright: "I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let's start with typewriters."
Given Hollywood's for penchant for sequels as a way of averting risk, here's an illuminating thought from Huw Weldon, former BBC Managing Director for Television: "You've got to take the risk of making poor programs, you see, because the game is not avoiding failure at all costs-the game is giving triumph a chance, isn't it?"
I have no idea who A. J. Liebling was, but I sure like the quote and think it's so true: "I can write better than anybody who can write faster, and I can write faster than anybody who can write better."
Here's an inspirational one from William Zinnser, author of On Writing Well: "Ultimately the product that any writer has to sell is not his subject, but who he is..." It explains why there are a limited number of plots yet an unlimited number of possibilities.
Here's one that helps explain the creative process: "Much of creative thinking also involves connecting two previously unconnected ideas and turning them into something new. Gutenberg connected the idea of the coin punch and the wine press to create moveable type and the printing press. Gregor Mendel connected mathematics with biology to create the field of genetics. Fred Smith connected the airlines' ?hub and spoke' distribution idea with that of an overnight package delivery service to create Federal Express." It comes from Roger von Oech's book, A Whack on the Side of the Head.
And finally, one of my own. I used to give a lot of seminars and workshops on writing corporate video scripts. Almost invariably, someone would raise their hand and ask: "What do you do with a boring subject?" That's when I'd pop up on my soapbox and bellow: "There's no such thing as a boring subject, only boring writing." (See: "No Boring Subjects, Please"-March 7, 2003)
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