There's life for you. Spend the best years of your life studying penmanship and rhetoric and syntax and Beowulf and George Eliot, and then somebody steals your pencil.
Dorothy ParkerRead
And there was that poor sucker Flaubert rolling around on his floor for three days looking for the right word.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Finding the perfect word can be a challenging and time-consuming process for writers.
This quote by Dorothy Parker highlights the struggles that writers often face in their quest for the perfect word to convey their thoughts and emotions. It suggests that the pursuit of precise language can be as laborious and frustrating as it is necessary, illustrating the deep commitment writers have to their craft.
Themes
WritingWordsCreativityExpressionLiterature
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, a participant might say, 'As Dorothy Parker noted, even Flaubert struggled with finding the right words.'
More from Dorothy Parker
All quotes →My land is bare of chattering folk; / the clouds are low along the ridges, / and sweet's the air with curly smoke / from all my burning bridges.
Dorothy ParkerRead
Prince or commoner, tenor or bass, Painter or plumber or never-do-well, Do me a favor and shut your face - Poets alone should kiss and tell.
Dorothy ParkerRead
They say of me, and so they should, It's doubtful if I come to good. I see acquaintances and friends Accumulating dividends And making enviable names In science, art and parlor games. But I, despite expert advice, Keep doing things I think are nice, And though to good I never come Inseparable my nose and thumb.
Dorothy ParkerRead
It is that word 'hunny,' my darlings, that marks the first place in The House at Pooh Corner at which Tonstant Weader fwowed up.
Dorothy ParkerRead
I can’t write five words but that I change seven.
Dorothy ParkerRead
Similar quotes
The most important thing in writing is to have written. I can always fix a bad page. I can't fix a blank one.
Nora RobertsRead
When you write, you lay out a line of words. _x000D_ Soon you find yourself deep in new territory.
Annie DillardRead
You most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary grammar book, and a grip on reality. This latter means: there's no free lunch. Writing is work. It's also gambling. You don't get a pension plan. Other people can help you a bit, but essentially you're on your own. Nobody is making you do this: you chose it, so don't whine.
Margaret AtwoodRead
I do not like to write - I like to have written.
Gloria SteinemRead
There are some people who have been reading me for years, and they keep saying kind things about the writing. That's what you're writing for, to get people to respond to it.
Elmore LeonardRead
Write every day, just to keep in the habit, and remember that whatever you have written is neither as good nor as bad as you think it is. Just keep going, and tell yourself that you will fix it later.
Jane SmileyRead