To be truthful, some writers stop you dead in your tracks by making you see your own work in the most unflattering light. Each of us will meet a different harbinger of personal failure, some innocent genius chosen by us for reasons having to do with what we see as our own inadequacies. The only remedy to this I have found is to read a writer whose work is entirely different from another, though not necessarily more like your own—a difference that will remind you of how many rooms there are in the house of art.
There are many occasions in literature in which telling is far more effective than showing. - Francine Prose
There are many occasions in literature in which telling is far more effective than showing.
- Francine Prose
You aim for what you want and if you don't get it, you don't get it, but if you don't aim, you don't get anything. - Francine Prose
You aim for what you want and if you don't get it, you don't get it, but if you don't aim, you don't get anything.
With so much reading ahead of you, the temptation might be to speed up. But in fact it’s essential to slow down and read every word. Because one impo… - Francine Prose
With so much reading ahead of you, the temptation might be to speed up. But in fact it’s essential to slow down and read every word. Because one impo…
If we want to write, it makes sense to read—and to read like a writer. If we wanted to grow roses, we would want to visit rose gardens and try to see… - Francine Prose
If we want to write, it makes sense to read—and to read like a writer. If we wanted to grow roses, we would want to visit rose gardens and try to see…
People see everything through the lens of their obsessions. - Francine Prose
People see everything through the lens of their obsessions.
We never believe we're beautiful, no matter how many times we hear it. We never believe it until someone says it in the right way. - Francine Prose
We never believe we're beautiful, no matter how many times we hear it. We never believe it until someone says it in the right way.
All the elements of good writing depend on the writer's skill in choosing one word instead of another. - Francine Prose
All the elements of good writing depend on the writer's skill in choosing one word instead of another.
I’ve always found that the better the book I’m reading, the smarter I feel, or, at least, the more able I am to imagine that I might, someday, become… - Francine Prose
I’ve always found that the better the book I’m reading, the smarter I feel, or, at least, the more able I am to imagine that I might, someday, become…
Too often students are being taught to read as if literature were some kind of ethics class or civics class—or worse, some kind of self-help manual. … - Francine Prose
Too often students are being taught to read as if literature were some kind of ethics class or civics class—or worse, some kind of self-help manual. …
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