215 Quotes Tagged: advice

To all the talented young men who wander about feeling that there is nothing in the world for them to do, I should say: 'Give up trying to write, and, instead, try not to write. Go out into the world; become a pirate, a king in Borneo, a labourer in Soviet Russia; give yourself an existence in which the satisfaction of elementary physical needs will occupy almost all your energies.' I do not recommend this course of action to everyone, but only to those who suffer from the disease which Mr Krutch diagnoses. I believe that, after some years of such an existence, the ex-intellectual will fin that in spite of is efforts he can no longer refrain from writing, and when this time comes his writing will not seem to him futile.

Give men your ear, but not your heart. Show respect for those in power, but don't follow them blindly. Judge with logic and reason, but comment not.

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.

Reprove your friend in secret and praise him in public.

Above all, do not attempt to be exhaustive.

Look for the clutter in your writing and prune it ruthlessly. Be grateful for everything you can throw away. Reexamine each sentence you put on paper. Is every word doing new work? Can any thought be expressed with more economy? Is anything pompous or pretentious or faddish? Are you hanging on to something useless just because you think it’s beautiful? Simplify, simplify.

People will come and go as they are scheduled to. Let them. Holding on does not affect them, only you.

Never ask an elf for help; they might decide your better off dead, eh?

It’s not about getting over things, it’s about making room for them. It’s about painting the picture with contrast.

She received a letter from her father written on small sheets of lined paper. (...) There are no real friends, he warned.

The best advice I've ever received is, 'No one else knows what they're doing either.

You are lucky to be one of those people who wishes to build sand castles with words, who is willing to create a place where your imagination can wander.

You must never run from anything immortal. It attracts their attention. [...] Never run. [...] Walk slowly, and pretend to be thinking of something else. Sing a song, say a poem, do your tricks, but walk slowly and she may not follow.

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

...we ought not meanwhile to make use of doubt in the conduct of life.