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
Fear of commitment lies behind the fear of writing.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Fear of commitment can hinder creative expression, particularly in writing.
This quote by Hilary Mantel suggests that the underlying fear of fully committing to a piece of writing can be a significant barrier for writers. Just as in relationships, where commitment is necessary for a deep connection, writing requires a commitment to ideas, themes, and the pursuit of one's voice, all of which can be daunting for those afraid of the potential consequences or vulnerabilities involved.
Themes
CommitmentFearWritingCreativityVulnerability
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, when discussing barriers to creativity.
More from Hilary Mantel
All quotes βHistory is always changing behind us, and the past changes a little every time we retell it.
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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.
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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.
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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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