Don't ever write just for a trend or fad, because it's a moving target, and by the time you get your work out there, the trend or fad is gone. Dig deep; don't be afraid to write fiercely. Expose your heart.
Jane YolenRead
Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Consistent writing practice is essential for maintaining creative skills.
This quote emphasizes the importance of daily writing practice, comparing it to the physical training necessary for athletes and dancers. Just as these performers must exercise their bodies to maintain strength and flexibility, writers must regularly engage in writing to keep their creative skills sharp and active, preventing stagnation in their abilities.
Themes
WritingPracticeCreativitySkillsExercise
In practice
Example use cases
A writing workshop leader encourages participants to write daily to improve their craft.
More from Jane Yolen
All quotes →I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told.
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What makes a good book? Scholars and critics have been debating that question for decades. I like books that touch my head and my heart at the same time.
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Just write. If you have to make a choice, if you say, 'Oh well, I'm going to put the writing away until my children are grown,' then you don't really want to be a writer. If you want to be a writer, you do your writing... If you don't do it, you probably don't want to be a writer, you just want to have written and be famous—which is very different.
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I believe that culture begins in the cradle . . .To do without tales and stories and books is to lose humanity's past, is to have no star map for our future.
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Childrens books change lives. Stories pour into the hearts of children and help make them what they become.
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