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
I can’t write five words but that I change seven.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writing is a process of constant revision and refinement.
Dorothy Parker's quote highlights the meticulous nature of writing, emphasizing that even a few words require careful thought and revision. It suggests that good writing is not just about putting words on paper, but about continually refining and improving one's expression to achieve clarity and impact.
Themes
WritingRevisionCreativityArtExpression
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop to illustrate the importance of revision.
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
For this my mother wrapped me warm,_x000D_ _x000D_ And called me home against the storm,_x000D_ _x000D_ And coaxed my infant nights to quiet,_x000D_ _x000D_ And gave me roughage in my diet,_x000D_ _x000D_ And tucked me in my bed at eight,_x000D_ _x000D_ And clipped my hair, and marked my weight,_x000D_ _x000D_ And watched me as I sat and stood:_x000D_ _x000D_ That I might grow to womanhood_x000D_ _x000D_ To hear a whistle and drop my wits_x000D_ _x000D_ And break my heart to clattering bits.
Dorothy ParkerRead
Similar quotes
A sight to dream of, not to tell!
Samuel Taylor ColeridgeRead
In fact, most artists want to make things a bit more difficult for themselves as they go along, to challenge themselves.
David HockneyRead
There is an urgent need for Americans to look deeply into themselves and their actions, and musical poetry is perhaps the most effective mirror available. Every newspaper headline is a potential song.
Phil OchsRead
Harry Potter has kindly joined us for my rebirthing party. One might go so far as to call him my guest of honor.
J. K. RowlingRead
Most of my songs have names of people I've met or are dear to me. There are people who have privacy issues and about people knowing about their private life. But for me, I like to include few special names and few details about them to make the song very special to me.
Taylor SwiftRead
The world is a king, and like a king, desires flattery in return for favor; but true art is selfish and perverse — it will not submit to the mold of flattery.
Ludwig Van BeethovenRead