Writers on writing

“Writers are a little below clowns and a little above trained seals.” — John Steinbeck.

Ouch. But maybe a humility check is just what this writer needs as another year of words begin? I’m not discounting that good writing matters. However, with nearly 200 million people blogging alone, the world does seem saturated with words. Enter Twitter the editor. What fun — and what a challenge — to write something meaningful in 140 characters or less. Here are some other Twitter-sized thoughts on writers and writing I found funny and inspiring:

• “I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again.” Oscar Wilde
• “I never knew what was meant by choice of words. It was one word or none.” Robert Frost
• “You must write every single day of your life…” Ray Bradbury
• “The idea is to get the pencil moving quickly.” Bernard Malamud
• “Use the right word and not its second cousin.” Mark Twain
• “Stick to the point.” W. Somerset Maugham

‘Nuf said. Happy writing and reading in the new year.