<![CDATA[Musings On Writing]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9khP!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbebf898e-541c-40e9-a858-38e5100afea2_330x330.pngMusings On Writinghttps://davidkwessel.substack.comSubstackFri, 04 Sep 2026 05:54:25 GMT<![CDATA[September 3 - Malcolm Gladwell (1963)]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/september-3-malcolm-gladwell-1963https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/september-3-malcolm-gladwell-1963Thu, 03 Sep 2026 10:11:39 GMT“Good writing does not succeed or fail on the strength of its ability to persuade. It succeeds or fails on the strength of its ability to engage you, to make you think, to give you a glimpse into someone else’s head.”

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]]><![CDATA[September 2 - Eugene Field (1850)]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/september-2-eugene-field-1850https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/september-2-eugene-field-1850Wed, 02 Sep 2026 10:06:54 GMT“No book can be appreciated until it has been slept with and dreamed over.”

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]]><![CDATA[September 1 - Blaise Cendrars (1887)]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/september-1-blaise-cendrars-1887https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/september-1-blaise-cendrars-1887Tue, 01 Sep 2026 10:06:28 GMT“Writing is a noble privilege compared with the lot of most people, who live like parts of a machine, who live only to keep the gears of society pointlessly turning.”

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]]><![CDATA[August 31 - William Saroyan]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-31-william-saroyanhttps://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-31-william-saroyanMon, 31 Aug 2026 10:03:44 GMT“The purpose of writing is both to keep up with life and to run ahead of it.”

]]><![CDATA[August 30 - Mary Shelley]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-30-mary-shelleyhttps://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-30-mary-shelleySun, 30 Aug 2026 10:04:04 GMT“Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating our of void, but out of chaos. My dreams were at once more fantastic and agreeable than my writings.”

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]]><![CDATA[August 29 - Karen Hesse]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-29-karen-hessehttps://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-29-karen-hesseSat, 29 Aug 2026 04:37:27 GMT“Young readers are the most challenging, demanding, and rewarding of audiences. Adults often ask why I write for the younger set. My reply: ‘I can’t think of anyone I’d rather write for.”’

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]]><![CDATA[August 28 - Johann von Goethe]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-28-johann-von-goethehttps://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-28-johann-von-goetheFri, 28 Aug 2026 04:34:19 GMT“If any man with to write in a clear style, let him be first clear in his thoughts; and if any would write in a noble style, let him first possess a noble soul.”

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]]><![CDATA[August 27 - Theodore Dreiser]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-27-theodore-dreiserhttps://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-27-theodore-dreiserThu, 27 Aug 2026 04:32:29 GMT“Words are but the vague shadows of the volumes we mean. Little audible links, they are, chaining together great inaudible feelings and purpose.”

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]]><![CDATA[August 26 - Erle Derr Biggers]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-26-erle-derr-biggershttps://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-26-erle-derr-biggersWed, 26 Aug 2026 04:29:37 GMT“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.”

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]]><![CDATA[August 25 - Martin Amis]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-25-martin-amishttps://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-25-martin-amisTue, 25 Aug 2026 04:30:37 GMT“The process of writing a novel begins with a pang, a moment of recognition, and a situation, a character, or something you read in a paper, that seems to go off, like a solar flare inside your head.”

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]]><![CDATA[August 24 - Paulo Coelho]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-24-paulo-coelhohttps://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-24-paulo-coelhoMon, 24 Aug 2026 04:25:35 GMT“The book is a movie that takes place in the mind of the reader. That’s why we go to movies and say: ‘Oh, the book is better.’”

]]><![CDATA[August 23 - Curtis Sittenfeld]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-23-curtis-sittenfeldhttps://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-23-curtis-sittenfeldSun, 23 Aug 2026 04:23:35 GMT“I don’t think it’s shameful to admit that some days your time can be better spent reading than writing.”

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]]><![CDATA[August 22 - Ray Bradbury]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-22-ray-bradburyhttps://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-22-ray-bradburySat, 22 Aug 2026 04:21:34 GMT“Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that diet have very pleasant careers.”

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]]><![CDATA[August 21 - Sharon Draper]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-21-sharon-draperhttps://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-21-sharon-draperFri, 21 Aug 2026 04:19:39 GMT“Words have always swirled around me like snowflakes - each one delicate and different, each one melting untouched in my hands.”

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]]><![CDATA[August 20 - H.P. Lovecraft]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-20-hp-lovecrafthttps://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-20-hp-lovecraftThu, 20 Aug 2026 04:19:26 GMT“At night, when the objective world has slunk back into its cavern and left dreamers to their own, there come inspirations and capabilities impossible at any less magical and quiet hour.”

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]]><![CDATA[August 19 - Gene Roddenberry]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-19-gene-roddenberryhttps://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-19-gene-roddenberryWed, 19 Aug 2026 04:15:16 GMT“Science fiction is a way of thinking, a way of logic that bypasses a lot of nonsense. It allows people to look directly at important subjects.”

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]]><![CDATA[August 18 - Nicole Krauss]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-18-nicole-krausshttps://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-18-nicole-kraussTue, 18 Aug 2026 04:13:35 GMT“Why does one begin to write? … Because she wants to rephrase the world, to take it in and give it back differently, so that everything is used and nothing is lost.”

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]]><![CDATA[August 17 - Jonathan Franzen]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-17-jonathan-franzenhttps://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-17-jonathan-franzenMon, 17 Aug 2026 10:10:27 GMT“I used to think it was hard to write, and I still find the process more or less unpleasant…

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]]><![CDATA[August 16 - Charles Bukowski]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-16-charles-bukowskihttps://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-16-charles-bukowskiSun, 16 Aug 2026 10:08:38 GMT“A writer is not a writer because he has written some books. A writer is not a writer because he teaches literature. A writer is only a writer if he can write now, tonight, this minute.”

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]]><![CDATA[August 15 - Julia Child]]>https://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-15-julia-childhttps://davidkwessel.substack.com/p/august-15-julia-childSat, 15 Aug 2026 10:04:31 GMT“I’m afraid that surprise, shock, and regret is the fate of authors when they finally see themselves on the page.”

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