“You become a good writer just as you become a good joiner: by planing down your sentences.”

—  Anatole France

On devient bon écrivain comme on devient bon menuisier: en rabotant ses phrases.
As quoted in Anatole France en pantoufles by Jean-Jacques Brousson (1924); published in English as Anatole France Himself: A Boswellian Record by His Secretary, Jean-Jacques Brousson (1925), trans. John Pollock, p. 85
Variant translation: You become a good writer just as you become a good carpenter: by planing down your sentences.

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

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Anatole France122
French writer 1844–1924

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