Quote

James Blish told me I had the worst case of said bookism (that is, using every word except said to indicate dialogue). He told me to limit the verbs to said, replied, asked, and answered and only when absolutely necessary.

Anne McCaffrey

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Anne McCaffrey
Age: 85 †
Born: 1926
Born: April 1
Died: 2011
Died: November 21
Novelist
Science Fiction Writer
Writer
Cambridge
Massachusetts
Anne Inez McCaffrey
Cases
Dialogue
Told
Using
Worst
Absolutely
Indicate
Word
Case
Verbs
Writing
Limits
Replied
Every
Except
Answered
Necessary
James
Asked
Limit

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I have always used emotion as a writing tool. That goes back to me being on the stage
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I think the Internet, particularly the availability of information, is great. I do a lot of correspondence on-line and have a chat line to talk to my fans as well
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My eyes are green, my hair is silver and I freckly the rest is subject to change without notice.
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Fight only in direst need Not for lust or petty greed Honor those that do give birth Respect them well for their full worth
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People have freaked out when I tell them that my dragons are scientifically based... what else can you call a genetically engineered life form?
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I wouldn't encourage new writers to start off publishing through electronic media... it still isn't wide enough for the readership they would need to get a good start
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I have my good days and my bad days, but I don't have as much energy as I used to back when I was young and foolish and didn't count the cost - and it takes a lot - to write
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A real scientist solves problems, not wails that they are unsolvable.
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But Ship Who Sang remains my favorite story. I really rocked folks with that and still cannot read it aloud myself without weeping at the end
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I would recommend the short story form, which is a lot harder to write since you have to be so careful with words, until there is plenty of time to doodle through a novel
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What I used to do between writing fits was feed my kids, ride my horse and go shopping for cat and dog food.
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That's what writing is all about, after all, making others see what you have put down on the page and believing that it does, or could, exist and you want to go there.
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I didn't mean to stay up all night to finish Windhaven, but I had to!
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Tell the readers a story! Because without a story, you are merely using words to prove you can string them together in logical sentences.
Anne McCaffrey
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Step by step Moment by moment We live through Another day
Anne McCaffrey
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Drummer, beat, and piper, blowHarper, strike, and soldier, goFree the flame and sear the grassesTil the dawning Red Star passes
Anne McCaffrey
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I do outlines when I'm writing with someone, but they also need to have a certain amount of freedom
Anne McCaffrey
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The blackest night must end in dawn, the light dispel the dreamer's fear.
Anne McCaffrey
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I didn't raise Todd to be a writer, but he happened to be one anyway
Anne McCaffrey
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I'm 78, I'm on my pension in Ireland, and all that good stuff
Anne McCaffrey