Julianna Baggott Quotes

The best advice on writing I've ever received was from William Zinsser: 'Be grateful for every word you can cut.'

The secret of play-writing can be given in two maxims: stick to the point, and, whenever you can, cut.

Directing my own writing, I see that I talk way too much, and everything can happen much sooner, with much less said about it.

The most important lesson in the writing trade is that any manuscript is improved if you cut away the fat.

I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.

I think in most cases, unless you're writing about a character who is garrulous, you say what you've got to say and then get out. Those little conjunctions, those little turnaround words help you do it. That's the way I like to write: I get rid of things rather than add them.

A good rule for writers: do not explain overmuch.

A good writer gets better only by learning to cut, to remove the ornamental, the descriptive, the narrative, and especially the deeply felt and meaningful. What remains? The story remains.

I think part of being a good screenwriter is being as concise as possible.

My favorite form is the short story. From an aesthetics stand point you really have to pare down to the bone. You can't write a throw-away scene.

If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out

My stories are very compact. I want them to say the most complex things in the simplest way.

Be prepared to fall out of love with your words. I'm still too verbose at times.

Too much detail can bog down any story. Enough with the history of gunpowder, the geology of Hawaii, the processes of whaling, and cactus and tumbleweed.

You know what writers say about their long books: If I had another year, the book would be half as long.

You know that I write slowly. This is chiefly because I am never satisfied until I have said as much as possible in a few words, and writing briefly takes far more time than writing at length.

If you consistently write 'The sun set' rather than 'The sun sank slowly in the bright western sky,' your story will move three times as fast. Of course, there are times you want the longer version for atmosphere - but not many. Wordiness not only kills pace; it bores readers.

In composing, as a general rule, run your pen through every other word you have written; you have no idea what vigor it will give your style.

One mistake with beginners in writing is, that they think it important to spin out something long. It is a great deal better not to write more than a page or two, unless you have something to say, and can write it correctly.

Wordiness is a sickness of American writing. Too many words dilute and blur ideas.

I kind of hate over-explanation in comics.

I actually think I learned to write concisely working for an encyclopedia company in Chicago.

Tweeting has taught me the discipline to say more with fewer words.

I am trying to say it all in one sentence, between one cap and one period.

Let us not write at a loose rambling rate, in hope the world will wink at all our faults.