Isaac Asimov on Writing.
Thoughts from the maestro of science fiction
“There is a romantic notion that there is such a thing as inspiration – that a heavenly muse comes down and plunks her harp over your head, and presto, the job is done. Like all romantic notions, however, it is just a romantic notion.”
“If your grammar and spelling are rotten, you won’t be writing a great and gorgeous story. Someone who can’t use a saw and hammer doesn’t turn out stately furniture.”
“Writing is the most wonderful and satisfying task in the world, but it does have a few insignificant flaws. Among those flaws is the fact that a writer can almost never make a living at it.”
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World of the Written Word
Reflections by Joan Druett, award-winning maritime historian, speaker, reviewer, and author
What do I think?
I would certainly agree with Azimov’s statements that ‘Writing is the most wonderful and satisfying task in the world’ and that ‘a writer can almost never make a living at it.’
But I disagree when he says ‘there is no such thing as inspiration’. Inspiration sparks story ideas, and inspiration ignites the words on paper. I believe I ‘suffer’ from visitations by the 'heavenly muse'. I certainly know when the muse is taking a week off.
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