When childhood dies, its corpses are called adults and they enter society, one of the politer names of hell. That is why we dread children, even if we love them, they show us the state of our decay.
Brian AldissRead
It is comparatively easy to become a writer; staying a writer, resisting formulaic work, generating ones own creativity - thats a much tougher matter.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Being a writer is easy, but maintaining creativity and originality is challenging.
This quote emphasizes the difference between the initial act of becoming a writer and the ongoing struggle to produce original, creative work. It suggests that while many people can start writing, the true challenge lies in sustaining one's identity and unique voice in a world that often promotes formulaic approaches to storytelling.
Themes
WritingCreativityOriginalityArtChallenge
In practice
Example use cases
During a writing workshop, to inspire newcomers, I shared this quote about the real challenge of staying creative.
More from Brian Aldiss
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When I was a little boy, they called me a liar, but now that I am grown up, they call me a writer.
Isaac Bashevis SingerRead
I had a funny feeling as I saw the house disappear, as though I had written a poem and it was very good and I had lost it and would never remember it again.
Raymond ChandlerRead
One thing I did pick up from Cannonball Run was the use of bloopers and outtakes under the final credits, which I've done in all my movies since.
Jackie ChanRead
Writing ought either to be the manufacture of stories for which there is a market demand - a business as safe and commendable as making soap or breakfast foods - or it should be an art, which is always a search for something for which there is no market demand, something new and untried, where the values are intrinsic and have nothing to do with standardized values.
Willa CatherRead
I wanted to be in a punk band before I had even heard any punk music.
Kurt CobainRead
I know this is going to sound very self-serving, and I apologize for it, but if you can write comedy, you can pretty much write anything, because it's the hardest. It's the most technically demanding, the most precisely evaluated form of writing. People know if it works or not. There's a big button marked 'fail,' and that's when nobody laughs.
Steven MoffatRead