First Draft Quotes

91 quotes by 83 authors

Writing the last page of the first draft is the most enjoyable moment in writing. It's one of the most enjoyable moments in life, period. — Nicholas Sparks
To have someone like Clint Eastwood come along and shoot your first draft as written is just any screenwriter's dream. And Clint is very straightforward.… — J. Michael Straczynski
When I'm my own editor, there's very little difference between the first draft and the final. I write what feels right to begin with. I… — Len Wein
I have to write a first draft with a fountain pen before I type it up as a second. — Colm Toibin
The problem is once you've written the opening paragraph and worked out how the rest of the story will go in your head, there's nothing… — Colm Toibin
Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is… — Anne Lamott
For writing a first draft requires from the writer a peculiar internal state which ordinary life does not induce. ... how to set yourself spinning? — Annie Dillard
Ideas come at any moment -- except when you demand them. Most ideas come while I'm physically active, at the gym, with friends, gardening, so… — Chuck Palahniuk
January 8 has been a lucky day for me. I have started all my books on that day, and all of them have been well… — Isabel Allende
I do a first draft as passionately and as quickly as I can. I believe a story is valid only when it's immediate and passionate,… — Ray Bradbury
Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting somethingâ€”anythingâ€”down on paper. What Iâ€™ve learned to do… — Anne Lamott
Writing a first draft and reminding myself that I'm simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles. — Shannon Hale
They're constants, aren't they?" ... "Books are. That's why we like them so much. They seem immutable. They're not, of course. Not from the author's… — C.E. Murphy
I believe the first draft of a book â€” even a long one â€” should take no more than three monthsâ€¦Any longer and â€” for… — Stephen King
The first draft is just you telling yourself the story. — Terry Pratchett
Every first draft is perfect, because all a first draft has to do is exist. — Jane Smiley
Journalism is merely history's first draft. — Geoffrey Ward
If journalism is the first draft of history, then talk radio provides an early glimpse into how the meaning of political events will be spun… — Jackson Katz
I write very quickly; I rewrite very slowly. It takes me nearly as long to rewrite a book as it does to get the first… — John Irving
While the web is very much the first draft of history, a rough-cut, it still has to be good journalism, well-sourced, reliable. Clearly, the printed… — Lionel Barber

Who Wrote These First Draft Quotes

83 authors contributed a total of 91 First Draft Quotes, led by these top contributors: