Roald Dahl (and Hemingway) on writing

stayforthecredits:

[Though this advice is aimed at writing a book, I found it translates well to writing for film. Besides, not many people know that Dahl was a screenwriter as well with writing credits on You Only Live Twice and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.]

“One of the vital things for a writer who’s writing a book, which is a lengthy project and is going to take about a year, is how to keep the momentum going. It is the same with a young person writing an essay. They have got to write four or five or six pages. But when you are writing for a year, you go away and have to come back. I never come back to a blank page; I always finish about halfway through. To be confronted with a blank page is not very nice.

“But Hemingway, a great American writer, taught me the finest trick when doing a long book, which is, he simply said in his own words, “When you are going good, stop writing.” And that means that if everything’s going well and you know exactly where the end of the chapter’s going to go and you know just what the people are going to do, you don’t go on writing and writing until you come to the end of it, because when you do, then you say, well, where am I going to go next? And you get up and you walk away and you don’t want to come back because you don’t know where you want to go.

“But if you stop when you’re going good, as Hemingway said…then you know what you are going to say next. You make yourself stop, put your pencil down and everything, and you walk away. And you can’t wait to get back because you know what you want to say next and that’s lovely and you have to try and do that. Every time, every day all the way through the year. If you stop when you are stuck, then you are in trouble!”

Cite Arrow reblogged from stayforthecredits
107 notes | | Jun 30, 2009
  1. apotfullofink reblogged this from tarts
  2. mariblahblah reblogged this from unicornology and added:
    This is helpful.
  3. tryphena reblogged this from leforettt
  4. bostonmargy reblogged this from iainbroome
  5. leforettt reblogged this from unicornology
  6. mamojo reblogged this from makingofmovies and added:
    “One of the vital things for a writer who’s writing a book, which is a lengthy project and is going to take about a...
  7. samcram reblogged this from rarelyaround
  8. rarelyaround reblogged this from unicornology and added:
    unicornology hwee:mutations:stayforthecredits:
  9. sosettling reblogged this from unicornology
  10. verderadiante reblogged this from unicornology
  11. blacktables reblogged this from unicornology
  12. myquiddity reblogged this from apresmidi
  13. animinimalism reblogged this from unicornology and added:
    (Though this advice is aimed at writing a book, I found it translates well to writing for film. Besides, not many people...
  14. singfoolsing reblogged this from meany
  15. lapetitemort reblogged this from unicornology
  16. lstrickland reblogged this from unicornology
  17. pinkeezy reblogged this from unicornology
  18. kayhumptay reblogged this from meany
  19. artsmonkey reblogged this from meany and added:
    Sound advice from makers of myths
  20. anjywanjy reblogged this from unicornology
  21. meany reblogged this from iainbroome
  22. apresmidi reblogged this from unicornology
  23. electronicalrattlebag reblogged this from iainbroome
  24. fisforfaye reblogged this from stayforthecredits
  25. iainbroome reblogged this from tarts
  26. tarts reblogged this from unicornology
  27. unicornology reblogged this from hwee and added:
    mutations:stayforthecredits:
  28. hwee reblogged this from mutations
  29. neavers reblogged this from mutations and added:
    stayforthecredits:
  30. theryeryebread reblogged this from mutations
  31. cacarecos reblogged this from makingofmovies
  32. eemiilythisremindsmeof reblogged this from mutations
  33. eemiilycoolness reblogged this from mutations
  34. love-squalor reblogged this from mutations
  35. aroundthecorner reblogged this from mutations
  36. nervousrex reblogged this from mutations
  37. mutations reblogged this from stayforthecredits
  38. joepetro reblogged this from stayforthecredits
  39. thisiswhereimat reblogged this from makingofmovies
  40. singulus reblogged this from makingofmovies and added:
    In The ‘Simply-Sound Advice’ Column [ Though this advice is aimed at writing a book, I found it translates well to...
  41. uncertaingrace reblogged this from makingofmovies
  42. philharmonic reblogged this from makingofmovies
  43. gaseousbrain reblogged this from makingofmovies
  44. theworldiswatching reblogged this from makingofmovies
  45. makingofmovies reblogged this from stayforthecredits
  46. stayforthecredits posted this