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.
Some people seem to think that good dancers are born, but all the good dancers I have known are taught or trained.
I read a lot, I write a lot, and I have conversations with people I think are intelligent and wise.
It is through hearing stories about wicked stepmothers, lost children, good but misguided kings, wolves that suckle twin boys, youngest sons who receive no inheritance but must make their own way in the world, and eldest sons who waste their inheritance on riotous living and go into exile to live with the swine, that children learn or mislearn both what a child and what a parent is, what the cast of characters may be in the drama into which they have been born and what the ways of the world are.
Many who have had an opportunity of knowing any more about mathematics confuse it with arithmetic, and consider it an arid science. In reality, however, it is a science which requires a great amount of imagination.
Now...in an abundant society where people have laptops, cell phones, ipods and minds like empty rooms, I still plod along with books.
One problem with our current society is that we have an attitude towards education as if it is there to simply make you more clever, make you more ingenious... Even though our society does not emphasize this, the most important use of knowledge and education is to help us understand the importance of engaging in more wholesome actions and bringing about discipline within our minds. The proper utilization of our intelligence and knowledge is to effect changes from within to develop a good heart.
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