So often is the virgin sheet of paper more real than what one has to say, and so often one regrets having marred it. ~Harold Acton, Memoirs of an Aesthete, 1948

The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is you really want to say. ~Mark Twain


Don't be too harsh to these poems until they're typed. I always think typescript lends some sort of certainty: at least, if the things are bad then, they appear to be bad with conviction. ~Dylan Thomas, letter to Vernon Watkins, March 1938

6 comments

  1. Mary Marvella // February 24, 2011 at 9:24 PM  

    Excellent quotes and so real for writers.

  2. Autumn Jordon // February 24, 2011 at 9:28 PM  

    I love Mark Twain's. It's so true.

  3. Scarlet Pumpernickel // February 24, 2011 at 11:24 PM  

    The Mark Twain comments makes me wonder if he were a time travler! He pegged it so correctly. I remember when writers first started to use word processors. It took a while for editors and judges to realize just because the pages were crisp and perfect, the words might not be. Alas, I missed that window of opportunity. Now they know it takes more than a flawlessly typed page to produce a good manuscript.

  4. Judith Keim // February 25, 2011 at 11:12 AM  

    Great to get these reminders. Love the humor in them too!

  5. Mary Ricksen // February 25, 2011 at 1:32 PM  

    I'll take the laptop! Ha!
    Though I do have this thing about paper and the smell and feel of it!

  6. Josie // February 27, 2011 at 9:10 AM  

    Linda,
    The Mark Twain quote made me smile. Sounds just like me!