Books Quote by Alice Mattison

I write to find out what the story means to me, that is what I try to do especially with the first draft.

— Wally Lamb

Really, what you should tell a novelist is, 'Keep going until you finish the draft. Don't show it to anyone.'

— Andrew Sean Greer

Every first draft sucks, so when you have your favorite novel, and you're like, 'Wow, this is a masterpiece,' and then you write your…

— Tomi Adeyemi

“First draft: let it run. Turn all the knobs up to 11. Second draft: hell. Cut it down and cut it into shape. Third…

— Terry Pratchett

“The other six or seven drafts are going to be pure torture. So why not enjoy the first draft, in the hope that your…

— Ray Bradbury

The novel is never really in the first draft. The novel really happens in the revisions.

— Tama Janowitz

“The purpose of the first draft is not to get it right, but to get it written.”

— John Dufresne

I think people feel for a long time that they ought to know how to write a novel in two drafts.

— Alice Mattison

I don't think I want to write a third book. But the more people talk to me about it, the more I think maybe…

— Frederick Busch

“The first draft is your “vomit onto the keyboard” draft, wherein your task is to simply keep moving and outrun your doubts.”

— Sean Platt

Maybe other writers have perfect first drafts, but I am not one of them. I always try to get the book as tight as…

— Sarah Dessen

I've realized that with each novel I seem to set out a kind of puzzle for myself. And I am never sure in the…

— Laurie Foos