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
I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged...I had poems which were re-written so many times I suspect it was just a way of avoiding sending them out.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Fear of judgment can hinder creativity and prevent completion of work.
This quote by Erica Jong reflects on the struggle many creatives face with completing their projects due to the fear of judgment. It highlights the tendency to overwork and revise one's creations as a means of procrastination, illustrating how this cycle can ultimately hinder one from sharing their work with the world.
Themes
FearCreativityJudgmentProcrastinationWriting
In practice
Example use cases
During a creative writing workshop to encourage participants to share their stories.
More from Erica Jong
All quotes βI 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
Similar quotes
Nobody is going to pour truth into your brain. It's something you have to find out for yourself.
Noam ChomskyRead
Act without doing; work without effort. Think of the small as large and the few as many. Confront the difficult while it is still easy; accomplish the great task by a series of small acts. The Master never reaches for the great; thus she achieves greatness. When she runs into a difficulty, she stops and gives herself to it. She doesn't cling to her own comfort; thus problems are no problem for her.
LaoziRead
If you wish for light, Be ready to receive light.
RumiRead
Don't think that because you have to go down in the wash-tub that you are any less a lady!
Madam C. J. WalkerRead
He who thinks and thinks for himself, will always have a claim to thanks; it is no matter whether it be right or wrong, so as it be explicit. If it is right, it will serve as a guide to direct; if wrong, as a beacon to warn.
Jeremy BenthamRead
Lucidity of speech is unquestionably one of the surest tests of mental precision...In my experience a confused talker is never a clear thinker.
David Lloyd GeorgeRead