The Marginalian
The Marginalian

Reads tagged with “writing”

David Foster Wallace on Why You Should Use a Dictionary, How to Write a Great Opener, and the Measure of Good Writing
David Foster Wallace on Why You Should Use a Dictionary, How to Write a Great Opener, and the Measure of Good Writing

“Really good writing [is] able to get across massive amounts of information and various favorable impressions of the communicator with minimal effort on the part of the reader.”

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William Faulkner on Creativity and the Power of Beginner’s Mind
William Faulkner on Creativity and the Power of Beginner’s Mind

“Now I realize for the first time what an amazing gift I had: uneducated in every formal sense, without even very literate, let alone literary, companions…”

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A State of Wonder: Margaret Atwood on How Technology Shapes Storytelling While Obeying Its Eternal Constants
A State of Wonder: Margaret Atwood on How Technology Shapes Storytelling While Obeying Its Eternal Constants

“Everybody is telling a ‘Story of My Life’ to themselves all the time.”

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Virginia Woolf on Creativity
Virginia Woolf on Creativity

“Behind the cotton wool is hidden a pattern… the whole world is a work of art… there is no Shakespeare… no Beethoven… no God; we are the words; we are the music; we are the thing itself.”

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The Inner Light of Creativity: Vivian Gornick on How You Blossom into Being an Artist
The Inner Light of Creativity: Vivian Gornick on How You Blossom into Being an Artist

“I experienced a joy then I knew nothing else would ever equal. Not an ‘I love you’ in the world could touch it.”

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John Steinbeck’s Prophetic Dream About How the Commercial Media Machine Is Killing Creative Culture
John Steinbeck’s Prophetic Dream About How the Commercial Media Machine Is Killing Creative Culture

Half a century before Buzzfeed, a nocturnal epiphany about the greatest threat to art.

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Big Magic: Elizabeth Gilbert on Creative Courage and the Art of Living in a State of Uninterrupted Marvel
Big Magic: Elizabeth Gilbert on Creative Courage and the Art of Living in a State of Uninterrupted Marvel

“Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you?”

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Poet Jane Kenyon’s Advice on Writing: Some of the Wisest Words to Create and Live By
Poet Jane Kenyon’s Advice on Writing: Some of the Wisest Words to Create and Live By

“Be a good steward of your gifts.”

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Borges on Public Opinion, Literature vs. the Other Arts, and the True Measure of Success
Borges on Public Opinion, Literature vs. the Other Arts, and the True Measure of Success

“When you come right down to it, opinions are the most superficial things about anyone.”

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Art as a Form of Active Prayer and What Writers Really Labor For
Art as a Form of Active Prayer and What Writers Really Labor For

“Immerse yourself in the common ground of the universe so that your true voice — not the egoistic voice that clamors vainly for power (for it will ruin you if you listen to it) — your authentic voice … may be heard.”

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