James Scott Bell > Quotes

“...God created the world in six days. On the seventh day, he rested. On the eighth day, he started getting complaints. And it hasn't stopped since.”
― James Scott Bell, Sins of the Fathers

“If you can write each day, do it, and meet a quota. Minimum 350 words a day. A baboon can do 350 words a day. Don’t be shown up by a baboon”
― James Scott Bell

“In fact, one could argue that the skill of the fiction writer boils down to the ability to exploit intensity.”
― James Scott Bell, Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot That Grips Readers from Start to Finish

“Write like you're in love. Edit like you're in charge.”
― James Scott Bell

“At this point in the story, the character looks at himself. He takes stock of where he is in the conflict and––depending on the type of story––has either of two basic thoughts. In a character-driven story, he looks at himself and wonders what kind of person he is. What is he becoming? If he continues the fight of Act II, how will he be different? What will he have to do to overcome his inner challenges? How will he have to change in order to battle successfully? The second type of look is more for plot-driven fiction. It's where the character looks at himself and considers the odds against him. At this point the forces seem so vast that there is virtually no way to go on and not face certain death. That death can be physical, professional, or psychological.”
― James Scott Bell, Write Your Novel From the Middle: A New Approach for Plotters, Pantsers and Everyone in Between

“A great novel is the record of how a character fights with death.”
― James Scott Bell, Write Your Novel From the Middle: A New Approach for Plotters, Pantsers and Everyone in Between

“The semi-colon is a burp, a hiccup. It's a drunk staggering out of the saloon at 2 a.m., grabbing your lapels on the way and asking you to listen to one more story.”
― James Scott Bell, How to Write Dazzling Dialogue: The Fastest Way to Improve Any Manuscript

“You keep writing because it's the only way to finish the book.”
― James Scott Bell, Revision & Self-Editing: Techniques for transforming your first draft into a finished novel

“Grief was not a stream. It was an ocean.”
― James Scott Bell, Deadlock

“The great spy novelist John Le Carré suggested this axiom: The cat sat on the mat is not the beginning of a story. The cat sat on the dog's mat, is.”
― James Scott Bell, Super Structure: The Key to Unleashing the Power of Story

“Theme. It’s something a lot of writers don’t like to think about. It brings up painful memories of high school English class (“Write a 1,000 word essay on the theme of The Great Gatsby, and be sure to relate the green light on Daisy’s dock with the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg. Due tomorrow.”)”
― James Scott Bell, 27 Fiction Writing Blunders - And How Not To Make Them!

“Dwight Swain, the great writing teacher, once said that the secret of excitement is to go deeper into your characters. Create more backstory, more secrets, more complexity, and you'll get excited again.”
― James Scott Bell, Write Your Novel From the Middle: A New Approach for Plotters, Pantsers and Everyone in Between

“Ernest Hemingway had a rather personal way to describe first drafts. To paraphrase, he said all of them are like, ahem, biological waste.”
― James Scott Bell, Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot That Grips Readers from Start to Finish

“Transformation is about change, and change needs to be proven. People can talk a good game. Someone can say he's sorry for stealing and wants to go straight. But until the thief returns the goods, we don't believe he's a changed person.  Change does involve an inner realization. But then, to prove itself, it must work outward in a visual form.”
― James Scott Bell, Write Your Novel From the Middle: A New Approach for Plotters, Pantsers and Everyone in Between

“Don't give up. I don't think any other advice works. Writing is one of those things where you just have to do it. There will be far more people to discourage you than to encourage you. The time never comes to you, the inspiration doesn't come to you. You just sit down and do it." – James Lee Burke”
― James Scott Bell, How to Make a Living As a Writer

“Structure is translation software for your imagination.”
― James Scott Bell, Write Your Novel From the Middle: A New Approach for Plotters, Pantsers and Everyone in Between

“If you're still stuck, re-watch Misery and imagine that your number one fan insists that you finish by the end of the month.”
― James Scott Bell, How to Make a Living As a Writer

“Give yourself permission to be bad. Write first, polish later.”
― James Scott Bell, Revision & Self-Editing: Techniques for transforming your first draft into a finished novel

“Keep writing. Get to the end. Don’t allow yourself to abandon the project. You must finish what you write. But what, you ask, if I have a chaotic mess at the end? Celebrate. This is the way it usually is, even for veteran novelists.”
― James Scott Bell, Plot & Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot That Grips Readers from Start to Finish

“When the last dime is gone, I'll sit on the curb with a pencil and a ten-cent notebook, and start the whole thing all over again." – Preston Sturges”
― James Scott Bell, How to Make a Living As a Writer

“Sometimes writing a novel feels about as rewarding as turning a spit in the fires of hell.”
― James Scott Bell, Revision & Self-Editing: Techniques for transforming your first draft into a finished novel

“Have you given us a character worth following?  - Have you created a disturbance in the opening pages? - Do you know the death stakes of the story? - Have you created a scene that will force the character into the confrontation of Act II? - Is it strong enough? Can the Lead character resist going into the battle?  - Does it occur before the 1/5 mark of your total page count?”
― James Scott Bell, Write Your Novel From the Middle: A New Approach for Plotters, Pantsers and Everyone in Between

“While there is some disagreement over the official length of a short story, a good rule of thumb is that it is between 1k and 7k words. Less than that and you get into the area of flash fiction. More than that and you move into the territory of the novelette (7k -20k) or the novella (20k-50k).”
― James Scott Bell, How to Write Short Stories And Use Them to Further Your Writing Career

“Psychological death is the key to all romances, isn't it? If the two lovers don't get together, they will each miss out on their "soul mate." Their lives will be incurably damaged. Since readers of traditional romances know they're going to end up together, it's all the more important to create this illusion of imminent psychological death.”
― James Scott Bell, Write Your Novel From the Middle: A New Approach for Plotters, Pantsers and Everyone in Between

“Epictetus (55 − 135 A.D.) said, "There is only one way to happiness and that is to stop worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.”
― James Scott Bell, How to Make a Living As a Writer

“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.”
― James Scott Bell, How to Make a Living As a Writer

“It’s quite interesting to note that Townes’s colleagues at Columbia were skeptical of his idea. Niels Bohr, one of the great quantum physicists, and Nobel laureate Isadore Rabi, head of the university's physics department, told Townes his maser idea would never work and urged him to abandon the project.”
― James Scott Bell, 27 Fiction Writing Blunders - And How Not To Make Them!

“Coffitivity.com.”
― James Scott Bell, How to Make a Living As a Writer

“Good writers are good readers.”
― James Scott Bell, How to Make a Living As a Writer

“The Care Package is a relationship the Lead has with someone else, in which he shows his concern, through word or deed, for that character's well being.”
― James Scott Bell, Super Structure: The Key to Unleashing the Power of Story