Quote

Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down. Rewrite in process is usually found to be an excuse for not going on.

John Steinbeck

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John Steinbeck
Age: 66 †
Born: 1902
Born: February 27
Died: 1968
Died: December 20
Author
Novelist
Screenwriter
War Correspondent
Writer
Salinas
California
John Ernst Steinbeck
Jr.
John Ernst Steinbeck
John Ernest Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck Jr
Steinbeck
Going
Usually
Never
Possible
Rewrite
Process
Rapidly
Write
Freely
Found
Correct
Whole
Throw
Writing
Excuse
Thing
Paper

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In utter loneliness a writer tries to explain the inexplicable.
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The bank - the monster has to have profits all the time. It can't wait. It'll die. No, taxes go on. When the monster stops growing, it dies. It can't stay one size.
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It is astounding to find that the belly of every black and evil thing is as white as snow. And it is saddening to discover how the concealed parts of angels are leporous.
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I have lost all sense of home, having moved about so much. It means to me now--only that place where the books are kept.
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You must not forget that a monster is only a variation, and that to a monster the norm is monstrous.
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People who are most afraid of their dreams convince themselves they don't dream at all.
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For it is my opinion that we enclose and celebrate the freaks of our nation and our civilization. Yellowstone National Park is no more representative of America than is Disneyland.
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But you must give him some sign, some sign that you love him... or he'll never be a man. All his life he'll feel guilty and alone unless you release him.
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“Do you take pride in your hurt?” Samuel asked. “Does it make you seem large and tragic?” “I don't know.” “Well, think about it. Maybe you're playing a part on a great stage with only yourself as audience.”
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I suffer as always from the fear of putting down the first line. It is amazing the terrors, the magics, the prayers, the straightening shyness that assails one.
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But whereas a puppy will cringe away or roll on its back, groveling, a little boy may cover his shyness with nonchalance, with bravado, or with secrecy. And once a boy has suffered rejection, he will find rejection even where it does not exist-or, worse, will draw it forth from people simply by expecting it.
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When we get these thruways across the whole country, as we will and must, it will be possible to drive from New York to California without seeing a single thing.
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A question is a trap and an answer is your foot in it.
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What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.
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One can find so many pains when the rain is falling.
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I remember my childhood names for grasses and secret flowers. I remember where a toad may live and what time the birds awaken in the summer -- and what trees and seasons smelled like -- how people looked and walked and smelled even. The memory of odors is very rich.
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Best thing is to get the words down every day. And it is time to start now.
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The last clear definite function of man — muscles aching to work, minds aching to create beyond the single need — this is man.
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The comfortable people in tight houses felt pity at first, and then distaste, and finally hatred for the migrant people.
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It requires self-esteem to receive-not self-love but just a pleasant acquaintance and liking for oneself.
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