Pretty Writing Quotes

Unfortunately, these days, 'literary' writing seems to have become synonymous with 'showy' writing, writing that is beautiful but doesn't tell a story. This is a misguided trend. If today's 'literary' writers would look back only one or two hundred years at real literary writers like Dostoyevsky, Poe, Conrad, Melville, they would find momentous stories
not just pretty writing
at the core of almost all of their great works. ~ Noah Lukeman

Why does reading freak people out so much? Sure, I could be pretty anti-social when we were on the road, but if I was playing a Gameboy hour after hour, no one would be on my case. In my social circle, blowing up space monsters is socially acceptable in a way that American Pastoral isn't. ~ Nick Hornby

I just listen to so much music that I like the role music can play in scoring something. I'm not doing song parodies or funny songs, I'm just adding some music to my words. So it's limited and specific, but as a performer I find it pretty enjoyable. ~ Demetri Martin

Why do you keep reading a book? Usually to find out what happens. Why do you give up and stop reading it? There may be lots of reasons. But often the answer is you don't care what happens. So what makes the difference between caring and not caring? The author's cruelty. And the reader's sympathy ... it takes a mean author to write a good story. ~ Gail Carson Levine

Writing is a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don't want to make eye contact while doing it. ~ John Green

That's the magic of revisions – every cut is necessary, and every cut hurts, but something new always grows. ~ Kelly Barnhill

Semicolons ... signal, rather than shout, a relationship ... A semicolon is a compliment from the writer to the reader. It says: "I don't have to draw you a picture; a hint will do." ~ George Will

All Satan's Apples Have Worms. I do not deny that the Devil has some pretty apples; I just say that all of them are fakes and that after you bite into them, you will find they have worms. All Satan's apples have worms. ~ John R. Rice

Whatever job I had, I was always writing like crazy. All I ever liked about offices was being able to type up stories on the computer when no one was looking. I was never paying much attention in meetings because I was usually scribbling bits of my latest stories in the margins of the pad or thinking up names for my characters. This is a problem when you're supposed to be taking minutes of the meeting. ~ J.K. Rowling

I'm a visual thinker, thrill seeker, and I'm easily distracted. I see everything I'm writing, and I think it naturally affects the pace of things. ~ Patrick Carman

In his writings, Patton was shameless about his ambition to woo Lena to be his bride. He detailed the gradual progress he made, playing music for her on his violin, writing her poems, beguiling her with stories, engaging her in conversation. It was clear that he obsessed over her. He knew what he wanted and never relented until she was his. ~ Brandon Mull

They're so boring. They're so pathetic, all those journalists. Most of them are. Most of those kind that write gossip stuff, and most of it's gossip. Things are just invented about your personal life and you just have to take that. It's bullshit. People believe it, though. They just believe everything they read. ~ Mick Jagger

Ah men, why do you want all this attention? I can write poems for myself, make love to a doorknob if absolutely necessary. What do you have to offer me I can't find otherwise except humiliation? Which I no longer need. ~ Margaret Atwood

It was a spell, thrown by Sebastian Born. Pretty fce, evil disposition. ~ Chloe Neill

History is about the untold story, and writing historical fiction is a wonderful way to present the past in a compelling and entertaining way. ~ Paul W. Feenstra

I feel pretty used by the music industry, in that my contracts are written in such a way that I don't get paid. And that makes me wanna quit working for whoever thinks it is that I work for them. But I've clearly got a job that I can't quit. ~ Jamey Johnson

By the time the human stuck his key in the lock of his third-floor apartment door and pushed it open, Dante was shoving him into the dark, tossing the guy across the spartan living room.
"Motherfu - " Sullivan came up out of his crash on one knee, then froze, his face caught in a wedge of light from the bare bulb glowing in the hall outside.
Something flashed in the human's eyes, something beneath his immediate fear. Recognition, Dante thought, figuring he probably remembered them from the club the other night. But there was anger there too. Pure male animosity. Dante could smell it seeping out of the human's pores.
He slowly got to his feet. "What the fuck's going on?"
"How about you tell us," Dante said, willing a lamp to come on as he strode farther into the place. Behind him, Chase closed and locked the door. "I'm pretty sure you can guess this isn't a social call."
"What do you want?"
"We'll start with information. It'll be up to you how we go about getting it."
"What kind of information?" His gaze swung anxiously between Dante and Chase. "I don't know who you guys are, and I don't have any idea what you're talking abou - "
"Now, see," Dante said, cutting him off with a chuckle, "that kind of bullshit answer puts us off to a real bad start." As the human's right hand slid into the deep pocket of his down-filled vest, Dante smirked. "You wanna convince me you're an idiot, go ahead and pull that gun out. Just so we're clear, I reall ~ Lara Adrian

Describing a Navy SEAL-
I have no idea what 'unconventional warfare' really means, but i'm pretty sure i was on my way to meet a man who could kill me in 7 different ways with a flip-flop. ~ Dave Gorman

The definition of gumbo is almost as slippery as that of Creole. Just as gumbo can contain pretty much any kind of meat or seafood, Creole is a vague and inclusive term for native New Orleanians, who may be black or white, depending on whom you're asking. ~ Jay McInerney

Being a vegan is pretty easy these days, as almost every town and city has health food stores and vegetarian-friendly restaurants. ~ Moby

What I am trying to achieve is a voice sitting by a fireplace telling you a story on a winter's evening. ~ Truman Capote

No need to queue up; step forward and count yourself in. ~ Gina Greenlee

Writing seems to be more difficult as you move through the years. ~ George Crumb

The more you write, the better you will write! So - keep at it! ~ Ruskin Bond

It is my personal belief that writing cannot be taught. ~ Parnell Hall

Truth, like beauty, varies its fashions, and is best recommended by different dresses to different minds; and he that recalls the attention of mankind to any part of learning which time has left behind it, may be truly said to advance the literatures of his own age. As the manners of nations vary, new topicks of persuasion become necessary, and new combinations of imagery are produced; and he that can accommodate himself to the reigning taste, may always have readers who perhaps would not have looked upon better performances. ~ Samuel Johnson

People have no idea what a hard job it is for two writers to be friends. Sooner or later you have to talk about each other's work. ~ Anatole Broyard

I don't think most people take honest well. They prefer the games. They want to believe the pretty lies. ~ Richelle Mead

If you're a writer you're bound to write something fine, at least now and then, off and on. ~ Jorge Luis Borges

I've got a deep dark suspicion that pretty soon we should start looking around for another planet for ourselves. ~ Wolfgang Borchert

When a city is unstimulating, you get pretty isolated. ~ Zach Condon