Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents.
Ludwig Van BeethovenRead
I carry my thoughts about me for a long time, often a very long time, before I write them down; meanwhile my memory is so faithful that I am sure never to forget, not even in years, a theme that has once occurred to me.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of reflection and memory in the creative process.
Ludwig van Beethoven highlights the significance of contemplation and the power of memory in the artistry of writing. He suggests that he holds onto thoughts for extended periods, allowing them to mature before committing them to paper, underscoring the thoughtful nature of true creativity and the trust he places in his enduring memory.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a creative writing workshop to encourage participants to embrace the time it takes to refine their thoughts.
Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents.
I alter some things, eliminate and try again until I am satisfied. Then begins the mental working out of this material in its breadth, its narrowness, its height and depth.
Often, I can scarcely hear any one speaking to me; the tones yes, but not the actual words; yet as soon as any one shouts, it is unbearable. What will come of all this, heaven only knows!
Music is the wine which inspires one to new generative processes, and I am Bacchus who presses out this glorious wine for mankind and makes them spiritually drunken.
Recommend virtue to your children; it alone, not money, can make them happy. I speak from experience.
I have never thought of writing for reputation and honor. What I have in my heart must come out; that is the reason why I compose.
I will turn human anatomy into roses and stars and sea. I will dissect the beloveds body in metaphor.
I'm more comfortable writing traditional protagonists. But 'Steve Jobs' and 'The Social Network' have antiheroes. I like to write antiheroes as if they're making their case to God about why they should be allowed into heaven. I have to find something in that character that is like me and write to that.
The call for diversity is about recognizing that in order to be in the conversation come awards season, it goes back to the content that is being produced.
Often I listen to songs on repeat for days and days at a time. There's something hypnotic or meditative, and it mirrors the way that I am putting the sentence together, going back over the same phrases again and again.
My theory on genre is that while there are people out there who believe that genre tells people what to read, actually I believe that genre exists as a marketing tool to tell you what to avoid.
The sketch hunter moves through life as he finds it, not passing negligently the things he loves, but stopping to know them, and to note them down in the shorthand of his sketchbook.
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