Cynthia Kuhn

In Good Company Again

The sequel to In Good Company, a previous compilation of quotes, follows…many of these offer advice that could apply to more than writing!

There is no perfect time to write.  There’s only now. ~ Barbara Kingsolver

You fail only if you stop writing. ~ Ray Bradbury

Actually, every time we begin, we wonder how we did it before. Each time is a new journey with no maps. ~ Natalie Goldberg

If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word. ~ Margaret Atwood

You can’t save up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. ~ Maya Angelou

Mostly when I think of pacing, I go back to Elmore Leonard, who explained it so perfectly by saying he just left out the boring parts. ~ Stephen King

Interviewer: How much rewriting do you do?
Hemingway: It depends. I rewrote the ending of Farewell to Arms, the last page of it, 39 times before I was satisfied.
Interviewer: Was there some technical problem there? What was it that had stumped you?
Hemingway: Getting the words right.

Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art. ~ Andy Warhol

Which one stands out to you today? OR what are some other quotes that are working for you right now?

35 thoughts on “In Good Company Again”

  2. I like this one, too! “It’s such a confidence trick, writing a novel. The main person you have to trick into confidence is yourself. This is hard to do alone.” —Zadie Smith

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  7. Okay, I have to ditto Wendall above. I really needed this today also. A lot of these were brand new to me, so extra inspiring! Thank you, Cynthia!

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  10. As I’m currently blithering my way through the middle of my WIP, this couldn’t have come at a better time, Cyn! My favorite is “every time we begin, we wonder how we did it before.” So so true.

    Thank you, my dear!

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  13. A fave of mine on finding your true calling. “Your vocation is where your great joy and the world’s deep need meet.” — Frederick Buechner

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    2. How interesting! Thank you for sharing!

      I don’t know why the comments are so messed up–almost unusable. We have asked for help multiple times but they say there is no problem (????).

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  14. It’s not where you start but where you end. This is a paraphrase of Valerie Irick Rainford–a novelist. My favorite is not a writing one but a book one by Groucho Marx. ”Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it is too dark to read.” I love Hemingway. His house in Key West is fabulous and his sister boat for the Pilar is at the Wide World of Sportsmen in Islamorada. Go visit and read The Old Man and the Sea and A Farewell to Arms. They are the best.

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      1. You are welcome. Plus, the Polydactyl cats. And the quote unbeknownst to my husband is a real quote because this is something he has always said.

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  15. I like Maya Angelou’s insight: “You can’t save up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” I’ve been feeling kind of bankrupt for quite a while, and your post has encouraged me to make some deposits. Thanks!

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    1. Hi Pam: So happy that there is some energy in the post for you. I think we all go through those lulls sometimes. Someone once described it as filling the creative tank in between journeys or something and that made sense to me! 🙂

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