“In the writing process, the more the story cooks, the better.”
Interview with Herbert Mitgang, "Mrs. Lessing Addresses Some of Life's Puzzles," The New York Times, (22 April 1984) http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/01/10/specials/lessing-puzzles.html
Context: In the writing process, the more the story cooks, the better. The brain works for you even when you are at rest. I find dreams particularly useful. I myself think a great deal before I go to sleep and the details sometimes unfold in the dream.
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Doris Lessing 94
British novelist, poet, playwright, librettist, biographer … 1919–2013Related quotes
“The story is always better than your ability to write it.”
“When I write it’s more a process of listening.”
The Paris Review interview (1982)
Context: When I write it’s more a process of listening. I don’t pretend that there is some spirit standing beside me that tells me things. More and more I’ve become convinced that the great treasure to possess is the unknown. I’m going to write, I hope, a lot about that. It’s with my unknowing that I come to the myths. If I came to them knowing, I would have nothing to learn. But I bring my unknowing, which is a tangible thing, a clear space, something that’s been made room for out of the muddle of ordinary psychic stuff, an empty space.
“When you write a short story … you had better know the ending first.”
The Casebook of the Black Widowers (1980), p. 177
General sources
Context: When you write a short story... you had better know the ending first. The end of a story is only the end to the reader. To the writer, it's the beginning. If you don't know exactly where you're going every minute you're writing, you'll never get there — or anywhere.
“It’s easier to write about Socrates than about a young woman or a cook.”
Letter to A.S. Suvorin (January 2, 1894)
Letters
Interview with DJ Paul – Stream DJ Paul Kom's 'Undergroud, Vol. 17 – For da Summa Album http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2017/09/dj-paul-underground-vol-17-for-da-summa-album/
“The more you read and write, the better you think and live.”
As quoted in "World Bank confirms NYU's Romer as next chief economist" https://www.reuters.com/article/us-worldbank-economist-idUSKCN0ZZ05A Reuters. July 18, 2016.
“Write a short story every week. It's not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row.”