“Good description is a learned skill, one of the prime reasons why you cannot succeed unless you read a lot and write a lot. It’s not just a question of how-to, you see; it’s also a question of how much to. Reading will help you answer how much, and only reams of writing will help you with the how. You can learn only by doing.”
― On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
― On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
“If you expect to succeed as a writer, rudeness should be the second-to-least of your concerns. The least of all should be polite society and what it expects. If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered, anyway.”
― On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
― On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
“So okay― there you are in your room with the shade down and the door shut and the plug pulled out of the base of the telephone. You've blown up your TV and committed yourself to a thousand words a day, come hell or high water. Now comes the big question: What are you going to write about? And the equally big answer: Anything you damn well want.”
― On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
― On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
“A boy who once wiped his ass with poison ivy probably doesn't belong in a smart people's club.”
― On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
― On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
“Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.”
― On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
― On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Joyce’s 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at Joyce’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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