Josh Radnor Quotes

I never dream in French, but certain French words seem better or more fun than English words - like 'pois chiches' for chick peas!

The words 'maybe' and 'perhaps' are literally the same - the flavor is the same, the educational level is the same. But you just know when to use maybe and when to use perhaps. I think it's because of this: You get to know the tastes or musical tastes of words themselves, and this informs your choice, whether you use them or not.

The adjective hasn't been built that can pull a weak or inaccurate noun out of a tight place.

Writing poetry makes you intensely conscious of how words sound, both aloud and inside the head of the reader. You learn the weight of words and how they sound to the ear.

I like playing around with the words; I love it when I feel like I've picked the exact right word to describe whatever it is I'm trying to describe.

I'm a 'frotteur,' someone who likes to rub words in his hand, to turn them around and feel them, to wonder if that really is the best word possible. Does that word in this sentence have any electric potential? Does it do anything? Too much electricity will make your reader's hair frizzy. There's a question of pacing.

It shows the truth - that the real meaning of a word is only as powerful or harmless as the emotion behind it.

Every sentence stands on its own. Whether that's fair or not, that's kind of the way it is.

Writing is not like acting, where you can pull these little stunts that create a particular effect. Words are all it is about, and the way you use words has to be individual and particular to you.

I think the word 'blog' is an ugly word. I just don't know why people can't use the word 'journal.'

Choose each word as a precision tool. Consider how it sounds, not how it reads.

I think my writing changed when I put 'the' in front of my titles. It had more command.

I find a lot of swearing in films. And I guess that shows my age. But I also feel that where they say those words, they could just as easily have written other words.

I've always loved the use of the word 'thick' when it comes to heavy because it's always a positive thing.

I enjoy finding the right word and giving each its full measure, its full space in a sentence.

Literally' - I'm not having it; people can't go around saying 'literally.' Otherwise, what's literal? There's not another word for literally: if it isn't figurative or metaphorical, what is it? It's literal: there's no substitute.

I can't decide which way I talk. I really, honestly can't.

When I use the word 'buzz' in successive sentences, it's clearly time for me to stop writing.

I've always felt like I could express myself better in English just because the way the grammar works.

I'm well-read as far as literary fiction, but I wanted to make better decisions about my writing, to use words or phrases more confidently by learning how your words can be interpreted, the shades of meaning, the different connotations.

When people talk, it matters how they place words next to each other.

When the public doesn't understand me, it's a battle. So when I choose words, I choose them for their musicality, rhythm, and sense, and I choose the right dialect to express that.

I do believe that a poet would possess a stronger intuitive sense of phrasing with a rock song. There is a way to tap into the emotions of an audience simply by the cross of a certain phrase, even a single word, against a certain chord.

Why use a modifier to set straight a not-quite-right noun when the right noun is available?

One cannot be too careful with words, they change their minds just as people do.