Commonplace-Book

I like my friend Jim Hynes’s Commonplace-Book so well that I decided I needed one of my own. Consider this a running journal of observations (the top entries are the most recently added) that catch my eye, buck me up, get me through the rough patches, and remind me what I love about the art and craft of writing. Enjoy.


The essence of the story is motion. --Shirley Jackson, "Notes for a Young Writer"

I paint what I see. --Gahan Wilson

Black tea and white noise. [What you need to get writing done.] --Louis Bayard

Reality fights against your dreams, it tries to deny creation and change. --Walter Mosley

I told you, you damned fools. --H.G. Wells, suggesting a motto for his headstone.

All the thoughts are in the typewriter. --William Maxwell (via this)

The way to write a book is to actually write a book. A pen is useful, typing is also good. Keep putting words on the page. --Anne Enright

Good ideas are often murdered by better ones. --Roddy Doyle

Strict chronology is the secret of good narrative. --Winston Churchill

I wasn't in the mood for exquisite observing. --New Yorker cartoon caption

If you want a golden rule that will fit everything, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. --William Morris