First Drafts Quotes

21 quotes by 18 authors

I hate first drafts, and it never gets easier. People always wonder what kind of superhero power they'd like to have. I wanted the ability… — Judy Blume
I have never thought of myself as a good writer. Anyone who wants reassurance of that should read one of my first drafts. But I'm… — James A. Michener
I write very raw, ugly, illiterate first drafts very quickly (novels are always in first draft in under a year) and then I spend years… — Porochista Khakpour
If you imagine the world listening, you'll never write a line. That's why privacy is so important. You should write first drafts as if they… — Erica Jong
Somewhere I put it this way: first drafts are for learning what oneâ€™s fiction wants him to say. Revision works with that knowledge to enlarge… — Bernard Malamud
Secure writers don't sell first drafts. They patiently rewrite until the script is as director-ready, as actor-ready as possible. Unfinished work invites tampering, while polished,… — Robert McKee
We are all continually embarking on first drafts, in every aspect of our lives. — Jules Feiffer
First drafts are for learning what your story is about. — Bernard Malamud
You should write first drafts as if they will never be shown to anyone. — Erica Jong
I tend to write first drafts that are incredibly cognitive, very rational, very boring. They come off as justification. Like, 'This is my idea and… — Donald Miller
The bottom line is that I like my first drafts to be blind, unconscious, messy efforts; that's what gets me the best material. — Jennifer Egan
You have to get something down, and then find ways of working in complexity and different layers of meaning... My first drafts are usually the… — Peter Wolf
I've always preferred writing in longhand. I've always written first drafts in longhand. — John Irving
I prefer to write first drafts as soon as possible after waking, so that the oneiric inscape is still present to me. — Will Self
I would advise any beginning writer to write the first drafts as if no one else will ever read them - without a thought about… — Anne Tyler
I am violently untidy. My desk is overcrowded. I write my first drafts in longhand in a long notebook using a plastic throwaway fountain pen.… — Colm Toibin
I know some very great writers, writers you love who write beautifully and have made a great deal of money, and not one of them… — Anne Lamott
I havenâ€™t had trouble with writerâ€™s block. I think itâ€™s because my process involves writing very badly. My first drafts are filled with lurching, clichÃ©d… — Jennifer Egan
Good first drafts and speedy responses to consumer dialog will always trump lawyered corporate speak. — John Battelle
Maybe other writers have perfect first drafts, but I am not one of them. I always try to get the book as tight as I… — Sarah Dessen

Who Wrote These First Drafts Quotes

18 authors contributed a total of 21 First Drafts Quotes as follows: