Writers on Writing

Is cock ring one word or two?

I went to my RWA chapter meeting and picnic today and worked on my NaNoWriMo novel this afternoon.  I know that the NaNo daily word goal of 1,667 is not really a lot of words, but if you let your daily word count slip three days without writing, that's 5,000 words you need to write to catch up.  Then something supposedly fun becomes un-fun.  And you know what happens then.  

This novel is a lot tougher to write than my other two;  there's a mystery woven into it, as well as many references to things like, well, land use law.  I find myself fighting with the beast, trying to install its warm, wet emotional center while still including all those major plot points that keep the story brisk.

That said, I've been turning to this Writer's Digest collation of quotes to give myself the spur.

Ray Bradbury.  Image from wbur.org.

“Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that diet have very pleasant careers.”
—Ray Bradbury

“Let the world burn through you. Throw the prism light, white hot, on paper.”
—Ray Bradbury

Naughty Patrick Dennis.  Image from holdenandcompany.com.

"“I always start writing with a clean piece of paper and a dirty mind.”
—Patrick Dennis

George Orwell.  Image from writeincolor.com.

“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”
—George Orwell

Mark Twain.  Image from downthewriterspath.com.

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is … the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”
—Mark Twain

Annie Dillard.  Image from nytimes.com.

“Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now.”
—Annie Dillard