REFLECTIONS ON WRITING

​​I have always been interested in what other writers have to say about their experience(s) when writing. 

What follows are quotes that really spoke to me.

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“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness.”

George Orwell

 

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

 Ernest Hemingway 

 

Then there was F. Scott Fitzgerald, who wrote his first novel, This Side of Paradise, in two months time! Scribner’s accepted the book immediately.  Fitzgerald became an overnight success.  And Zelda agreed to marry him.  It’s good to be a genius!

 

Speaking of other genius writers—and moving on to music—Paul McCartney said that the melody for Yesterday came to him in a flash. 

 

“I woke up with a lovely tune in my head. I thought, ‘That’s great — I wonder what that is?’ I went to the piano and worked it out, and it was just all there.”

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Must be nice.

 

Then there’s that ultimate survivor, Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, who wrote his autobiography, Life.

 

Keith said it took him 4-5 years to complete the book, and that was with the help of an established journalist. 

 

Here is a quote from Keith on his experience:

 

“It’s the most difficult thing I’ve ever done. I’d rather make 10 records.”  

 

That pretty much sums it up.  Keith found the process of writing his book far more grueling than writing music.

 

To wit: Keith states that Satisfaction came to him in a dream—fully formed in his head, along with the lyrics—which he recorded on a cassette player next to his bed!

 

Fiction and song writing are, of course, different endeavors, different mediums. And I’ve always been interested in both.

 

The average novel is 80,000 to 100,000 words—the average song 200 to 400 words.

 

Fiction stretches out over chapters, while songs can convey a story or emotion in minutes. Both, when done well, share the power to move us.