Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
The easy part of being an artist is figuring out the message that everyone else is ready to hear. The hard part is waiting for the proper lull to make the announcement.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Being an artist involves both clarity of message and timing.
This quote by Mark Twain highlights the dual challenges faced by artists: the initial task of formulating a message that resonates with the audience and the far more daunting task of patiently waiting for the right moment to present that message. It underscores the importance of timing in communication and artistic expression, suggesting that even with a perfect message, it can fall flat if introduced at the wrong time.
Themes
ArtistMessageTimingExpressionCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about artistic challenges at a gallery opening.
More from Mark Twain
All quotes →You can't reason with your heart; it has its own laws, and thumps about things which the intellect scorns.
Mark TwainRead
To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.
Mark TwainRead
Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident.
Mark TwainRead
In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language.
Mark TwainRead
Some things you can't find out; but you will never know you can't by guessing and supposing: no, you have to be patient and go on experimenting until you find out that you can't find out.
Mark TwainRead
Similar quotes
It's dialogue that gives your cast their voices, and is crucial in defining their characters.
Stephen KingRead
Poetry is a fireplace in summer or a fan in winter.
Robert HassRead
It is the writer's privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart.
William FaulknerRead
Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.
Percy Bysshe ShelleyRead
A ballerina takes steps given to her and makes them her own. Each individual brings something different to the same role.
Maria TallchiefRead
I am very much interested in the so-called useless object. I mean, it takes perfect craftsmanship, beautiful material carefully measured and crafted, but at the same time it’s really useless.
Ai WeiweiRead