William Zinsser Quotes
One of underestimated tasks in nonfiction writing is to impose narrative shape on an unwieldy mass of material.
Quotes to Explore
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Writing an essay is like a school assignment: I have my topic, I organize my thoughts, and I write it. I have complete control over what I'm doing. Writing a novel is like setting out on a journey without knowing who or what I'll encounter, how long it's going to take, or where I'm going to end up.
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I wasn't one of those kids who grew up wanting to write or who read a particular book and thought: 'I want to do that!' I always told stories and wrote them down, but I never thought writing was a career path, even though, clearly, someone was writing the books and newspapers and magazines.
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It usually takes me 20 to 90 minutes to write a song because once I start, I don't stop. If I start writing a song, and you try to have a conversation with me, you're a bad person.
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All art is propaganda, and ever must be, despite the wailing of the purists. I stand in utter shamelessness and say that whatever art I have for writing has been used always for propaganda for gaining the right of black folk to love and enjoy. I do not care a damn for any art that is not used for propaganda.
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I didn't have that thing that Michael Bolton did; my star power - my charisma - was not a match to my writing ability.
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A lot of times when I'm writing lyrics, I just think about insecurities that I might have and turn them into a scene. Some things may be true, and some things may not.
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Writing anything, it sorta starts the way you'd build a castle at the beach. You're just taking your hands and you're mounting up sand.
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'(Songwriting) It's a gift. It all comes from somewhere. I started out really young, when I was four, five, six, writing poems, before I could play an instrument. I was writing about things when I was eight or 10 years old that I hadn't lived long enough to experience.'
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It sounds odd, but I was a singer and started writing songs, and I didn't have anything in mind. Maybe it crossed my mind that it would be cool to have a hit record and a career, but that was so out of reach that I don't think I thought about it that much.
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After struggling for so long in the industry and writing so many failed songs and hearing 'no' for so long - I'm so grateful every time I hear a song that I was a part of on the radio.
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I think I get certain pleasure from writing what I'm performing.
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Writing in a strict form can surprise you.
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The more you write, the more you're capable of writing.
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Have a working spouse, because you won't earn a living from writing - not at first, if ever. My wife worked for years to support us.
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Writing is a really good first step toward that goal of knowing yourself.
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I did try to write stories in college because I was interested in writing, and I was interested in the sound of language, but I was just no good at narrative and at fiction.
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When you start early, and you're writing for free, there's a lot of producers that will take advantage of you... It is seared in my brain forever.
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Writing a book of poetry is like dropping a rose petal down the Grand Canyon and waiting for the echo.
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It takes a lot of energy to teach.
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I didn't realize the ceiling that I had, and I don't think a lot of players understand what they're capable of. Some of them dream of what they're capable of, but you don't really understand until you get in the moment and you give it everything you got and see in the end where you can end up.
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That's the joy of getting to be an actor - getting to play all kinds of different roles and showing so many different sides of yourself.
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When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself, 'Oh yes - I already have everything that I really need.'
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One of the biggest ways we don't support ourselves is by not asking for support. Asking can take courage, but the reward is immense.
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One of underestimated tasks in nonfiction writing is to impose narrative shape on an unwieldy mass of material.
