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 great rewriters.
James A. MichenerRead
I think the crucial thing in the writing career is to find what you want to do and how you fit in. What somebody else does is of no concern whatever except as an interesting variation.
Interpretation
Finding your unique voice and path in writing is essential, regardless of how others do it.
This quote emphasizes the importance of individualism in a writing career. It suggests that every writer should focus on discovering their own passion and style without being overly concerned about the methods or successes of others. Understanding where you fit in the writing landscape is crucial for personal growth and creativity.
In practice
In a writing workshop, to inspire fellow writers.
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 great rewriters.
Whenever I start a book, I swear it's going to be a short one. But then it's, 'Who was his grandfather? And how did he get there in the first place? And what kind of animals is he chasing?'
Rampaging horsemen can conquer; only the city can civilize.
If a man happens to find himself, he has a mansion which he can inhabit with dignity all the days of his life.
I was brought up in the great tradition of the late nineteenth century: that a writer never complains, never explains and never disdains.
The permanent temptation of life is to confuse dreams with reality. The permanent defeat of life comes when dreams are surrendered to reality.
Every fool believes what his teachers tell him, and calls his credulity science or morality as confidently as his father called it divine revelation.
I can find in my undergraduate classes, bright students who do not know that the stars rise and set at night, or even that the Sun is a star.
Not everyone has equal abilities, but everyone should have equal opportunity for education.
The schools would fail through their silence, the Church through its forgiveness, and the home through the denial and silence of the parents. The new generation has to hear what the older generation refuses to tell it.
Literacy is the most basic currency of the knowledge economy.
The countries who do the best in international comparisons, whether it's Finland or Japan, Denmark or Singapore, do well because they have professional teachers who are respected, and they also have family and community which support learning.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.