The experienced writer says to the anguished novice: 'Just do it; get something, anything, on to the screen or page, just establish a flow of words, and criticise them later.' You give this advice but can't always take it.
Hilary MantelRead
Fear of commitment lies behind the fear of writing.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Fear of commitment can hinder creative expression, particularly in writing.
This quote by Hilary Mantel suggests that the underlying fear of fully committing to a piece of writing can be a significant barrier for writers. Just as in relationships, where commitment is necessary for a deep connection, writing requires a commitment to ideas, themes, and the pursuit of one's voice, all of which can be daunting for those afraid of the potential consequences or vulnerabilities involved.
Themes
CommitmentFearWritingCreativityVulnerability
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, when discussing barriers to creativity.
More from Hilary Mantel
All quotes βHistory is always changing behind us, and the past changes a little every time we retell it.
Hilary MantelRead
Why are we so attached to the severities of the past? Why are we so proud of having endured our fathers and our mothers, the fireless days and the meatless days, the cold winters and the sharp tongues? It's not as if we had a choice.
Hilary MantelRead
He is careful to deny responsibility for September, but he does not, you notice, condemn the killings. He also refrains from killing words, sparing Roland and Buzot, as if they were beneath his notice. August 10 was illegal, he says; so too was the taking of the Bastille. What account can we take of that, in revolution? It is the nature of revolutions to break laws. We are not justices of the peace; we are legislators to a new world.
Hilary MantelRead
It is the absence of facts that frightens people: the gap you open, into which they pour their fears, fantasies, desires.
Hilary MantelRead
History offers us vicarious experience. It allows the youngest student to possess the ground equally with his elders; without a knowledge of history to give him a context for present events, he is at the mercy of every social misdiagnosis handed to him.
Hilary MantelRead
Similar quotes
Sufering is only intolerable when nobody cares. One continually sees that faith in God and his care is made infinitely easier by faith in someone who has shown kindness and sympathy.
Cicely SaundersRead
It's good to learn from your mistakes. It's better to learn from other people's mistakes.
Warren BuffettRead
This is the wisdom: If we bless our bodies, they will bless us.
Gloria SteinemRead
When you decide to follow a certain path, you should follow it to the end and not be diverted from it for personal reasons.
Aung San Suu KyiRead
Sometimes you had to take a look at yourself and then look away.
Terry PratchettRead
Truth derives its strength not so much from itself as from the brilliant contrast it makes with what is only apparently true. This applies especially to Chess, where it is often found that the profoundest moves do not much startle the imagination.
Emanuel LaskerRead