By all means continue destroying my possessions. I daresay I have too many.
J. K. RowlingRead
You have to resign yourself to the fact that you waste a lot of trees before you write anything you really like, and that's just the way it is. It's like learning an instrument, you've got to be prepared for hitting wrong notes occasionally, or quite a lot, cause I wrote an awful lot before I wrote anything I was really happy with. And read a lot. Reading really helps. Read anything you can get your hands on.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Creating something worthwhile often involves trial and error, and preparation is key to improvement.
This quote by J. K. Rowling emphasizes the importance of perseverance and learning through failure in the creative process. It suggests that one must accept the inevitability of mistakes and subpar work in order to eventually produce something of value. Moreover, it highlights the significance of extensive reading as a foundation for developing one's writing skills.
Themes
CreativityWritingFailureLearningReading
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, to encourage fellow writers to embrace their rough drafts, one might quote this to illustrate the importance of persistence.
More from J. K. Rowling
All quotes →Where are you heading, if you’ve got the choice?” James lifted an invisible sword. “‘Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!’ Like my dad.” Snape made a small, disparaging noise. James turned on him. “Got a problem with that?” “No,” said Snape, though his slight sneer said otherwise. “If you’d rather be brawny than brainy —” “Where’re you hoping to go, seeing as you’re neither?” interjected Sirius.
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Depression isn't just being a bit sad. It's feeling nothing. It's not wanting to be alive anymore.
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I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit.
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Imagine losing fingernails, Harry! That really puts our sufferings into perspective, doesn't it?
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The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed.
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