Baldwin on writing

[skip.knox]

"You can never go wrong listening to this guy" says the lead, and they're right.
“Write a Sentence as Clean as a Bone” and Other Advice From James Baldwin
Some of the bits that resonate for me:
You never get the book you wanted, you settle for the book you get.
Every form is difficult, no one is easier than another. They all kick your ass. None of it comes easy.
If you are going to be a writer there is nothing I can say to stop you; if you’re not going to be a writer nothing I can say will help you.
(which is pretty close to what Hemingway says in his acerbic Monologue to the Maestro)

 

[Ned Marcus]

You never get the book you wanted, you settle for the book you get.

So true.

 

[Prince of Spires]

For me the big one is:
"Talent is less important than diligence.
Talent is insignificant. I know a lot of talented ruins. Beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love, luck, but, most of all, endurance."