The faster I write the better my output. If I'm going slow, I'm in trouble. It means I'm pushing the words instead of being pulled by them.
Interpretation
Writing flow improves with speed; slowing down indicates trouble due to a lack of inspiration.
This quote by Raymond Chandler reflects the idea that a natural and free-flowing writing process leads to better results. When a writer is able to write quickly and effortlessly, it suggests that the ideas are flowing from their imagination rather than being forced, indicating a more authentic and creative output. Conversely, when a writer finds themselves writing slowly, it highlights a struggle to connect with their inner voice and creativity, often resulting in inferior work.
In practice
In a workshop on writing techniques, I might say, 'Remember, as Raymond Chandler said, 'The faster I write, the better my output' to encourage students to embrace their writing flow.
Undoubtedly the stories about them [hard-boiled detectives] had a fantastic element. Such things happened, but not so rapidly, nor to so close-knit a group of people, nor within so narrow a frame of logic. This was inevitable because the demand was for constant action; if you stopped to think you were lost. When in doubt, have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand.
There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.
Organized crime is the dirty side of the sharp dollar.
When in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand.
The flood of print has turned reading into a process of gulping rather than savoring.
If my books had been any worse, I should not have been invited to Hollywood, and if they had been any better, I should not have come.
I used to think that God's gifts were on shelves one above the other and that the taller we grew in Christian character, the more easily we should reach them. I find now that God's gifts are on shelves one beneath the other and that is not a question of growing taller, but of stooping lower and that we have to go down, always down to get His best ones.
Chance favours a prepared mind.
I suppose itβs comfort, perhaps a sense of self-control, doing worse things to yourself than the world will ever dare inflict.
I believe psychology has done very well in working out how to understand and treat disease. But I think that is literally half-baked. If all you do is work to fix problems, to alleviate suffering, then by definition you are working to get people to zero, to neutral.
In every case, the remedy is to take action. Get clear about exactly what it is that you need to learn and exactly what you need to do to learn it. BEING CLEAR KILLS FEAR. Make it thy business to know thyself, which is the most difficult lesson in the world.
Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha.
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