The last thing you want to do is scare anyone with sloppy copy, or misguided musings.
Don Bates, instructor in writing and clinical assistant professor at New York University, and founding director of the Master’s degree program in Strategic Public Relations at George Washington University, put together these quotes for writing pros to keep in mind as they sit down at their keyboards today.
- The road to hell is paved with adverbs. Stephen King
- He that uses many words for the explaining any subject doth, like the cuttlefish, hide himself for the most part in his own ink. John Ray.
- I do not like to write—I like to have written. Gloria Steinem.
- Having imagination, it takes you an hour to write a paragraph that, if you were unimaginative, would take you only a minute. Franklin P. Adams.
- Sit down, and put down everything that comes into your head and then you're a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff's worth, without pity, and destroy most of it. Colette.
- A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. Thomas Mann.
- As to the adjective, when in doubt, strike it out. Mark Twain.
- Writing comes more easily if you have something to say. Sholem Asch.
Bates will be delivering some quotes and tips of his own during the Becoming a Much Better PR Writer session at the upcoming PR News One-Day Boot Camp for Emerging PR Stars, on December 11, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.