Saturday, November 26, 2011

Favourite Quote for this week: E.B. White

I admire anybody who has the guts to write anything at all.
E. B. White


8 comments:

Rebecca Upjohn said...

And he wrote about so much! One of my favourite of his essays is called Death of a Pig and I always wondered if it was partly the inspiration for Charlotte's Web.

I'm not sure the guts required is in the writing but in letting others read what you have written.

Margaret said...

I think both, don't you? Writing "something" is one thing, but finishing it is quite another thing. Especially, if you know there's a good chance it may not be read by anyone (in published form). I think many hopeful writers lose heart and never finish. It takes guts and a kind of driven determination to keep going to the "The End".

I'm going to look up the essay you refer to! I haven't read it.

Rebecca Upjohn said...

Ah, yes, finishing. I find it easier to write if I don't intend to try to get it published. But finishing, yes, and putting in all my effort to make it the best I can takes stamina and courage. And yes, it's easier to give up before reaching "The End" and settle for I'll do it later or it's good enough.

His essays are beautifully written. I recommend the whole collection.

Deniz Bevan said...

That's a great quote. I saw a random one by EM Forster the other day, something like "Everything is like something. So what is this like?"

Margaret said...

I think he was talking about "imitation" - literary and artistic, but I could be wrong. But this is what happens when a book is written or a work of art displayed. Critics need to figure out what other work "this work" is like. Then they categorize it and stamp is as "like" something else. It's a way of organizing or selling something - but sadly, in many ways also "lessening" a work at the same time! That's how I see it anyway.....

Deniz Bevan said...

I think it makes sense in a review or a critique. But I've got a difficult time of it trying to come up with similar references in my query letter!

Margaret said...

I always feel that way!! Hey, this is actually a good sign - if you find it hard to reference your work to someone else's, it must be very original! I'd go with that. :-D I'm assuming this is a new work. I'm far from getting my new mss finished, it seems! I promised myself to finish it after Christmas. If you think about it - that give me another whole year. :)

Deniz Bevan said...

Thanks so much! I've got the finished novel I'm querying (just entering a few edits after beta reads) and the new one I'm drafting, both historical romances set in the 15th Century...