Home > Work > Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life After Which Everything Was Different
21 " By writing , people present their lives as fiction and tackle their issues as a craft exercise . By redeeming their protagonist , they find their own redemption . "
― Chuck Palahniuk , Consider This: Moments in My Writing Life After Which Everything Was Different
22 " Once someone who draws superheroes draws your picture , you never want to go back to reality . "
23 " If you’re dedicated to becoming an author, nothing I can say here will stop you. But if you’re not, nothing I can say will make you one. "
24 " And another thing,” he cautioned me, “don’t use a lot of commas. People hate sentences with lots of commas. Keep your sentences short. Readers like short sentences. "
25 " Think of a story as a stream of information. At best it’s an ever-changing series of rhythms. Now think of yourself, the writer, as a DJ mixing tracks. "
26 " Using all three forms of communication creates a natural, conversational style. Description combined with occasional instruction, and punctuated with sound effects or exclamations: It’s how people talk. "
27 " Everyone should use three types of communication. Three parts description. Two parts instruction. One part onomatopoeia. Mix to taste. "
28 " Establish your authority,” Tom Spanbauer used to tell us, “and you can do anything. "
29 " The problem with loving so many people is that you lose so many. "
30 " Your characters have arms and legs and faces. Use them. Use attribution. Control the delivery of dialogue. Support it with actions, or negate it with actions. "
31 " All through that lunch I feigned interest in her cats , yes , cats , while psychically begging her to love me and interview me . "
32 " It hides the seams in narrative the way a strip of molding hides the junction where walls and floor meet. And it allows a person to think beyond each new drama, thus moving the story forward and allowing unresolved issues to pile up and increase tension. "
33 " What if all our anger and fear is unwarranted? What if world events are unfolding in perfect order to deliver us to a distant joy we can't conceive of at this time? Please consider that the next ending will be the happy one. "
34 " For anything to endure it must be made of either granite or words. "
35 " I’ve known fantastic writers who never finished a project. And writers who launched incredible ideas, then never fully executed them. "
36 " Kid…” I’d say, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. "
37 " Don’t pretend for a moment that writing as a different person is evading reality. If anything it allows you a greater freedom to explore parts of yourself you wouldn’t dare consciously examine. "
38 " Never go longer than sixteen months without something new because after sixteen months people quit coming in that door and asking me if you have another book yet. "
39 " Think of a story as a stream of information. At best it’s an ever-changing series of rhythms. Now think of yourself, the writer, as a DJ mixing tracks. The more music you have to sample from—the more records you have to spin—the more likely you’ll keep your audience dancing. "
40 " Instead of writing about a character, write from within the character. "