A few words from Vonnegut

(I would say he said it in a different time . . . but it was 2005.)

“Here is a lesson in creative writing.

First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you’ve been to college.

And I realize some of you may be having trouble deciding whether I am kidding or not. So from now on I will tell you when I’m kidding.

For instance, join the National Guard or the Marines and teach democracy. I’m kidding.

We are about to be attacked by Al Qaeda. Wave flags if you have them. That always seems to scare them away. I’m kidding.

If you want to really hurt your parents, and you don’t have the nerve to be gay, the least you can do is go into the arts. I’m not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”

– Kurt Vonnegut

Stephen King, On Writing

“Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.”

“If you don’t take money, they can’t tell you what to do.”

-Bill Cunningham

Good Ideas

Always Thinking About Creating

My lines are still pointy and angular, and the monsters still look monstrous, because I know most kids can handle creepy stuff, and do seem to enjoy it. I don’t try to frighten anyone with my work – on the contrary. I like to show a lighter side to a dark subject, but I grew up on monster movies and books like “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” (which had some wonderfully horrifying illustrations by the inimitable Stephen Gammell) so I know that while my work certainly isn’t right for everyone, it might be just right for those who look at the world a little differently, and, like me, root for the monsters

– Abigail Larson on illustrating for adults versus children

“If I waited for perfection I would never write a word.”

~ Margaret Atwood

My first piece of advice is to write (that’s usually the first advice I give to any writing-related question)[…] Second (or honestly, while you’re doing the first), research your tail off. Even if you’re writing fantasy, it helps to have a basis.

– Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, on world building

“Creativity is a drug I cannot live without.”

~ Cecil B. DeMille