“If they give you ruled paper, write the other way.”

—  Juan Ramón Jimenéz

As quoted in the epigraph in Fahrenheit 451 (1953) by Ray Bradbury; Susie Salmon also uses this quote in The Lovely Bones, and Daniel Quinn published a book in 2007 with the title If They Give You Lined Paper, Write Sideways (2007)
Spanish: "Si os dan papel pautado, escribid por el otro lado" (If they give you lined paper, write on the other side)
"If they give you ruled paper, write the other way" is often attributed to William Carlos Williams who was contemporary with JRJ.
Misattributed

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "If they give you ruled paper, write the other way." by Juan Ramón Jimenéz?
Juan Ramón Jimenéz photo
Juan Ramón Jimenéz 18
Spanish poet 1881–1958

Related quotes

William Carlos Williams photo

“If they give you lined paper, write the other way.”

William Carlos Williams (1883–1963) American poet
Ray Bradbury photo

“When they give you lined paper, write the other way.”

Ray Bradbury book Fahrenheit 451

Misattributed
Variant: If they give you ruled paper, write the other way.
Source: Epigraph, in Fahrenheit 451 a translation of a statement by Juan Ramón Jiménez

O. Henry photo

“I'll give you the whole secret to short story writing. Here it is. Rule 1: Write stories that please yourself. There is no Rule 2.”

O. Henry (1862–1910) American short story writer
O. Henry photo

“Write what you like; there is no other rule.”

O. Henry (1862–1910) American short story writer
Catherine the Great photo

“You philosophers are lucky men. You write on paper and paper is patient. Unfortunate Empress that I am, I write on the susceptible skins of living beings.”

Catherine the Great (1729–1796) Empress of Russia

Letter to Denis Diderot, as quoted in The Affairs of Women : A Modern Miscellany (2006) by Colin Bingham

Don DeLillo photo

“He wanted paper and something to write with, some way to sustain a thought, to place it in the world.”

Don DeLillo (1936) American novelist, playwright and essayist

“Writing is thinking on paper, or talking to someone on paper. If you can think clearly, or if you can talk to someone about the things you know and care about, you can write - with confidence and enjoyment.”

William Zinsser (1922–2015) writer, editor, journalist, literary critic, professor

Introduction, p. vii.
On Writing Well (Fifth Edition, orig. pub. 1976)

Jerry Spinelli photo

“The golden rule of writing is to write what you care about. If you care about your topic, you'll do your best writing, and then you stand the best chance of really touching a reader in some way.”

Jerry Spinelli (1941) American children's writer

As quoted in Instructor, Vol. 103 (1992), p. 201

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien photo

“I always in writing start with a name. Give me a name and it produces a story, not the other way about normally.”

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892–1973) British philologist and author, creator of classic fantasy works

Interview http://www.lordotrings.com/interview.asp with Dennis Gerrolt, first broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 programme "Now Read On" (January 1971)
Context: It gives me great pleasure, a good name. I always in writing start with a name. Give me a name and it produces a story, not the other way about normally.

Mario Vargas Llosa photo

“You can't make facts fit the rules, it is the other way round. The rules have to be adopted to fit the facts.”

Mario Vargas Llosa book The Time of the Hero

The Time of the Hero (1963)

Related topics