The Marginalian
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Search results for “advice for writers”

Billy Collins’s Advice to Writers
Billy Collins’s Advice to Writers

“Spotlessness is the niece of inspiration.”

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How to Handle Criticism: Advice from Some of the Greatest Writers of the Past Century
How to Handle Criticism: Advice from Some of the Greatest Writers of the Past Century

Wisdom and wit from Kurt Vonnegut, Aldous Huxley, William Styron, Truman Capote, and other literary titans.

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Hemingway’s Advice on Writing, Ambition, the Art of Revision, and His Reading List of Essential Books for Aspiring Writers
Hemingway’s Advice on Writing, Ambition, the Art of Revision, and His Reading List of Essential Books for Aspiring Writers

“In any art you’re allowed to steal anything if you can make it better.”

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The Value of Not Understanding Everything: Grace Paley’s Advice to Aspiring Writers
The Value of Not Understanding Everything: Grace Paley’s Advice to Aspiring Writers

“Luckily for art, life is difficult, hard to understand, useless, and mysterious.”

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John Green’s Superb Advice to Aspiring Writers and Creators in the Digital Age
John Green’s Superb Advice to Aspiring Writers and Creators in the Digital Age

A vital reminder of the only good reason to put something into the world.

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Gwendolyn Brooks on Vulnerability as Strength and Her Advice to Writers
Gwendolyn Brooks on Vulnerability as Strength and Her Advice to Writers

“Wherever life can grow, it will. It will sprout out, and do the best it can.”

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Patti Smith, Umberto Eco, and Other Celebrated Contemporary Authors Offer Their Advice to Aspiring Writers
Patti Smith, Umberto Eco, and Other Celebrated Contemporary Authors Offer Their Advice to Aspiring Writers

“Build a good name. Keep your name clean. Don’t make compromises, don’t worry about making a bunch of money… If you build a good name, eventually, that name will be its own currency.”

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Umberto Eco’s Advice to Writers
Umberto Eco’s Advice to Writers

“If we think that our reader is an idiot, we should not use rhetorical figures, but if we use them and feel the need to explain them, we are essentially calling the reader an idiot. In turn, he will take revenge by calling the author an idiot.”

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Susan Sontag on Storytelling, What It Means to Be a Good Human Being, and Her Advice to Writers
Susan Sontag on Storytelling, What It Means to Be a Good Human Being, and Her Advice to Writers

“Love words, agonize over sentences. And pay attention to the world.”

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Neil Gaiman’s Advice to Aspiring Writers
Neil Gaiman’s Advice to Aspiring Writers

“You have to finish things — that’s what you learn from, you learn by finishing things.”

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