Share
×
Inspirational Quotes
Authors
Professions
Topics
Tags
Quote
I wanted to write a novel that would make others feel the history: the pain and fear that black people have had to live through in order to endure.
Octavia Butler
Share
Change background
T
T
T
Change font
Original
TAGS & TOPICS
Octavia Butler
People
Order
Endure
Wanted
Novel
Live
Pain
Feel
History
Feels
Fear
Writing
Black
Make
Write
Would
Others
More quotes by Octavia Butler
You are horror and beauty in rare combination.
Octavia Butler
The big talent is persistence.
Octavia Butler
There's no narcotic like exhaustion.
Octavia Butler
He was like me - a kindred spirit crazy enough to keep on trying.
Octavia Butler
Every story I create, creates me. I write to create myself.
Octavia Butler
To be led by a fool is to be led by the opportunists who control the fool.
Octavia Butler
And I have this little litany of things they can do. And the first one, of course, is to write - every day, no excuses. It's so easy to make excuses. Even professional writers have days when they'd rather clean the toilet than do the writing.
Octavia Butler
All religions are ultimately cargo cults. Adherents perform required rituals, follow specific rules, and expect to be supernaturally gifted with desired rewards long life, honor, wisdom, children, good health, wealth, victory over opponents, immortality after death, any desired rewards.
Octavia Butler
Be who you are and not who someone else thinks you ought to be.
Octavia Butler
Civilization is the way one's own people live. Savagery is the way foreigners live.
Octavia Butler
I was raised Baptist, and I like the fact that I got my conscience installed early.
Octavia Butler
A workshop is a way of renting an audience, and making sure you're communicating what you think you're communicating. It's so easy as a young writer to think you're been very clear when in fact you haven't.
Octavia Butler
Most of us don't have to worry about being shot of we poke our noses outside. So we are comfortable, but the people I'm writing about are definitely not comfortable, and being shot while they're still inside is a good possibility.
Octavia Butler
First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you're inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won't. Habit is persistence in practice.
Octavia Butler
All struggles are essentially power struggles. Who will rule? Who will lead? Who will define, refine, confine, design? Who will dominate? All struggles are essentially power struggles,and most are no more intellectual than two rams knocking their heads together.
Octavia Butler
On the other hand, I was very much interested in the way people behaved, the human dance, how they seemed to move around each other. I wanted to play around with that.
Octavia Butler
I'm trying to speak--to write-the truth. Im trying to be clear. I'm not interested in being fancy, or even original. Clarity and truth will be plenty, if I can only achieve them.
Octavia Butler
People who want to write either do it or they don't. At last I began to say that my most important talent - or habit - was persistence. Without it, I would have given up writing long before I finished my first novel. It's amazing what we can do if we simply refuse to give up.
Octavia Butler
Humans said one thing with their bodies and another with their mouths and everyone had to spend time and energy figuring out what they really meant. And once you did understand them, the Humans got angry and acted as though you had stolen thoughts from their minds.
Octavia Butler
I think climbing mountains or buildings or whatever has been a really good metaphor for finishing my work. Because no matter how tired you get, no matter how you feel like you can't possibly do this, somehow you do.
Octavia Butler