Recent content by Paul Whybrow

I must discipline myself. I must be imaginative and create plots, knit motives, probe dialogue - rather than merely trying to record descriptions and sensations. The latter is pointless, without purpose, unless it is later to be synthesized into a story. The latter is also a rather pronounced...

Life is too short to be scared and not take risks. I'd rather be the person that's like, 'I messed up,' than, 'I wish I did that.’ Justine Skye

People are like books: some deceive you with their cover, and others surprise you with their content. Oscar Wilde

Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. Theodore Roosevelt

If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur. Doug Larson

I don't feel guilt at being unsociable, though I may sometimes regret it because my loneliness is painful. But when I move into the world, it feels like a moral fall - like seeking love in a whorehouse. Susan Sontag

I am burdened with what the Buddhists call the monkey mind. The thoughts that swing from limb to limb, stopping only to scratch themselves, spit and howl. My mind swings wildly through time, touching on dozens of ideas a minute, unharnessed and undisciplined. You are, after all, what you think...

Know who you are and stay true to it. Have a point of view, keep your head down when noise tries to drown out your inner voice, and whatever you do, keep pushing. Christina Tosi

You can’t sit around and wait for somebody to say who you are. You need to write it and paint it and do it. Faith Ringgold

“Don't submit to defeatism, the problems you're dealing with are par for the course. Relax. And keep going.” Isabella Koldras

Asking myself, 'Is this any good?' is pointless. It just slows down my writing, and I can't tell anyway. It's always the paragraphs I loved most, the ones I tenderly polished and re-read with pride, that my editor will suggest cutting. Liane Moriarty

“Common sense is like deodorant. The people who need it most never use it.” Unknown

“I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.” Marissa Mayer

If you ever want your soul to dance in the clouds, you will at some point have to juggle lightning and taste the thunder. Christopher Poindexter

“Why this hunger to write — I always ask myself — if not the longing to discover what I believe? The pen divines my thoughts.” David Conover