Jaime Callahan

"Basically my thoughts on narrators: Every narrator comes with their own challenge inbuilt (nobody is who they think they are, and how do you show the readers the truth?) and that’s always fun."

Sarah Rees Brennan, on her tumblr

"Writing a first draft is very much like watching a Polaroid develop. You can’t - and, in fact, you’re not supposed to - know exactly what the picture is going to look like until it has finished developing."

Anne Lamott, Bird By Bird, 39. (via danscribing)

(via hundredsofcharacters)

"When your story is ready for rewrite, cut it to the bone. Get rid of every ounce of excess fat. This is going to hurt; revising a story down to the bare essentials is always a little like murdering children, but it must be done."

Stephen King (via transientpublishing)

(via hundredsofcharacters)

"Go and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here. Make. Good. Art."

Neil Gaiman’s advice to young people embarking upon a career in the arts. (via explore-blog)

(Source: , via annalisegreen)

"Now when people tell me they’re desperate to write a book, I tell them about Edgar’s sign-in sheet. I tell them to give this great dream that is burning them down like a house on fire one lousy hour a day for one measly month, and when they’ve done that—one month, every single day—to call me back and we’ll talk. They almost never call back. Do you want to do this thing? Sit down and do it. Are you not writing? Keep sitting there. Does it not feel right? Keep sitting there. Think of yourself as a monk walking the path to enlightenment. Think of yourself as a high school senior wanting to be a neurosurgeon. Is it possible? Yes. Is there some shortcut? Not one I’ve found. Writing is a miserable, awful business. Stay with it. It is better than anything in the world."

Ann Patchett, THE GETAWAY CAR: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life

"…maybe everyone does have a novel in them, perhaps even a great one. I don’t believe it, but for the purposes of this argument, let’s say it’s so. Only a few of us are going to be willing to break our own hearts by trading in the living beauty of imagination for the stark disappointment of words. This is why we type a line or two and then hit the delete button or crumple up the page. Certainly that was not what I meant to say! That does not represent what I see. Maybe I should try again another time. Maybe the muse has stepped out back for a smoke. Maybe I have writer’s block. Maybe I’m an idiot and was never meant to write at all."

Ann Patchett, THE GETAWAY CAR: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life

"We have dreams for lots of reasons, but we don’t have every dream for every reason. Once you narrow it down to one that fulfills everything you want, your real dream should be obvious. And then you just have to make it happen."

Maggie Stiefvater, on her blog