This Commonplace Book

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Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist.

[wordsnquotes]

You must love her because many have tried and failed. And she wants to know that she is worthy to be loved, that she is worthy to be kept.

Junot Díaz, This is How You Lose Her (via wordsnquotes)

[thiscommonplacebook]

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You told me tales of love and glory Same old sad songs, same old story The sirens sing no lullaby And no-one knows but Lorelei By castles out of fairytales Timbers shivered where once there sailed The lovesick men who caught her eye And no-one knew but Lorelei River, river have mercy Take me down to the sea For if I perish on these rocks My love no more I'll see I've thought of you in far-off places I've puzzled over lipstick traces So help me God, I will not cry And then I think of Lorelei I travel far and wander wide No photograph of you beside me Ol' man River's not so shy And he remembers Lorelei River, river have mercy Take me down to the sea For if I perish on these rocks My love no more I'll see If I should float upon this stream And see you in my madman's dream I'd sink into your troubled eyes And none would know 'cept Lorelei River, river have mercy Take me down to the sea For if I perish on these rocks My love no more I'll see But if my ship, which sails tomorrow Should crash against these rocks, My sorrows I will drown before I die It's you I'll see, not Lorelei River, river have mercy Take me down to the sea For if I perish on these rocks My love no more I'll see "Lorelei" by The Pogues

[thiscommonplacebook]

All good books have one thing in common—they are truer than if they had really happened.

Ernest Hemingway

[thiscommonplacebook]

Stories may well be lies, but they are good lies that say true things, and which can sometimes pay the rent.

Neil Gaiman

[thiscommonplacebook]

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detect my sudden existence on your sonar  you feel the echo  electrify the resistance in your broken heart  and burn it up, oh  we’re gonna photosynthesize and drink up the sunrise  so do they ever shut up because you said so or  do you overthink ’em all  somebody ought to corrupt you on the dance floor  and take you home  show you all your daemons and desires and dark sides  all of your colonies and continental divides  let me uncover the silver in your dark hair  the weight of your bones  I want to witness the beauty of your repair  the shape you’ve grown  for you are made of nebulas and novas and night sky  you’re made of memories you bury or live by  so if you’re out there in the cold  I’ll cover you in moonlight  if you’re a stranger to your soul  I’ll bring you to your birthright  I want the storm inside you awoken now  I want your warm bright eyes  to never look away  don’t you ever look away  some nights we open up the flood  and some nights we are lost  and some nights we’re choking on the words  but some we light on fire  if you’re out there in the cold  I’ll cover you in moonlight  if you’re a stranger to your soul  I’ll bring you to your birthright I want the storm inside you awoken now  I want your warm bright eyes  to come back to me  and hold on to me  you know I won’t lie  I will never look away "Never Look Away" by Vienna Teng

[thiscommonplacebook]

Characters make their own plot. The dimensions of the characters determine the action of the novel.

Harper Lee

[thiscommonplacebook]

On the other hand, I still approach each book with the same basic plan in mind—to put some people under severe stress and see how they hold up.

Terry Brooks

[thiscommonplacebook]

For success, the author must make the reader care about the destiny of the principals, and sustain this anxiety, or suspense, for about 100,000 words.

Ken Follett

[thiscommonplacebook]

And what, you ask, does writing teach us? First and foremost, it reminds us that we are alive and that it is a gift and a privilege, not a right. We must earn life once it has been awarded us. Life asks for rewards back because it has favored us with animation. So while our art cannot, as we wish it could, save us from wars, privation, envy, greed, old age, or death, it can revitalize us amidst it all.

Ray Bradbury

[thiscommonplacebook]

Write like you write, like you can’t help but write, and your voice will become yours and yours alone. It’ll take time but it’ll happen as long as you let it. Own your voice, for your voice is your own. Once you know where your voice lives, you no longer have to worry so much about being derivative.

Chuck Wendig

[thiscommonplacebook]

Sneaking up on it sometimes helps: I’ve found I can be very productive for an hour before dinner, because there obviously isn’t enough time to really do anything, so I can tell myself I’m just screwing around.

Michael Crichton

[thiscommonplacebook]

If you wish to be a writer, write.

Epictetus

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— Roland Barthes

[thiscommonplacebook]

I think writer’s block is simply the dread that you are going to write something horrible. But as a writer, I believe that if you sit down at the keys long enough, sooner or later something will come out.

Roy Blount Jr.

[thiscommonplacebook]

I know you’ve heard it a thousand times before. But it’s true—hard work pays off. If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice. If you don’t love something, then don’t do it.

Ray Bradbury

[thiscommonplacebook]

I will probably write an hour a day and spend eight hours a day biting my knuckle and worrying about not writing.

David Foster Wallace