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
'Show up at the desk' is one of the first rules of writing, but for 'Wolf Hall' I was about 30 years late.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Consistency and dedication are crucial for success, even if it feels late.
This quote emphasizes the importance of showing up and actively engaging in one's work, particularly in the context of writing. Hilary Mantel humorously reflects on her own journey, implying that while it took her years to truly commit to her writing, the act of finally showing up is what led to her success with 'Wolf Hall'.
Themes
WritingDedicationCommitmentSuccessWolf Hall
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be shared in a writing workshop to encourage budding authors to start their projects.
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
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