My reaction to porno films is as follows: After the first ten minutes, I want to go home and screw. After the first twenty minutes, I never want to screw again as long as I live.
Erica JongRead
If you imagine the world listening, you'll never write a line. That's why privacy is so important. You should write first drafts as if they will never be shown to anyone.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the importance of writing freely without fear of judgment from others.
Erica Jong's quote highlights the significance of privacy in the creative process, suggesting that when writers feel the pressure of an audience, it can stifle their creativity. By advocating for the creation of drafts with the mindset that they may never be seen, Jong encourages a raw and honest expression of thoughts, ultimately leading to more genuine and impactful writing.
Themes
WritingPrivacyCreativityExpressionFirst Drafts
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop to encourage participants to be open with their drafts.
More from Erica Jong
All quotes →I have accepted fear as a part of life - specifically the fear of change... I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back.
Erica JongRead
No one ever found wisdom without also being a fool. Writers, alas, have to be fools in public, while the rest of the human race can cover its tracks.
Erica JongRead
My generation was not only maligned in book reviews and attacked in graduate school but we lived to see our adored and adorable daughters wonder why feminism had become a dirty word.
Erica JongRead
Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more.
Erica JongRead
I believe that women should live for love, for motherhood and for intellect, and I believe we shouldn't have to choose. And I believe that's always been difficult for women, to express themselves intellectually, maternally, and passionately.
Erica JongRead
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