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The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.

Terry Pratchett

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Terry Pratchett
Age: 66 †
Born: 1948
Born: April 28
Died: 2015
Died: March 12
Author
Journalist
Novelist
Science Fiction Writer
Screenwriter
Writer
Beaconsfield
Buckinghamshire
Terence David John Terry Pratchett
Terence David John Pratchett
Sir Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John Pratchett
Writing
Draft
Telling
Story
Stories
Firsts
First

More quotes by Terry Pratchett

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People think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it's the other way around.
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The phrase may you live in interesting times is the lowest in a trilogy of Chinese curses that continue may you come to the attention of those in authority and finish with may the gods give you everything you ask for. I have no idea about its authenticity.
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One day a tortoise will learn how to fly.
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There is a soak-the-rich attitude in the air, a feeling that if you have a lot of money you must have got it by some ghastly means. I can quite happily say there was never any family money. All the money we got was mine, just from writing books.
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Some people think this is paranoia, but it isn't. Paranoids only think everyone is out to get them. Wizards know it.
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Genius is always allowed some leeway, once the hammer has been pried from its hands and the blood has been cleaned up.
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If you trust in yourself. . .and believe in your dreams. . .and follow your star. . . you'll still get beaten by people who spent their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy.
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All property is theft, except mine.
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His movements could be called cat-like, except that he did not stop to spray urine up against things.
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There will be justice, said Brutha. If there is no justice, there is nothing.
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Most people who have found that they are more intelligent than most around them, have yet to learn that one of the most intelligent things they can do is prevent said people ever finding this out.
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I would advise budding writers some other kind of job, unless they think they're very, very lucky.
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No one remembers the singer. The song remains.
Terry Pratchett
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Cats don't hunt seals. They would if they knew what they were and where to find them. But they don't, so that's all right.
Terry Pratchett
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In an instant he became aware that the tourist was about to try his own peculiar brand of linguistics, which meant that he would speak loudly and slowly in his own language.
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It was sad music. But it waved its sadness like a battle flag. It said the universe had done all it could, but you were still alive.
Terry Pratchett
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I read the 'Old Testament' all the way through when I was about 13 and was horrified. A few months afterwards I read 'The Origin Of Species', hallucinating very mildly because I was in bed with flu at the time. Despite that, or because of that, it all made perfect sense.
Terry Pratchett
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I don't regret it, you know. I would do it all again. Children are our hope for the future. THERE IS NO HOPE FOR THE FUTURE, said Death. What does it contain, then? ME.
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It's an old magical principle - it's even filtered down into RPG systems - that magic, while taking a lot of effort, can be 'stored' - in a staff, for example. No doubt a wizard spends a little time each day charging up his staff, although you go blind if you do it too much, of course.
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No matter what she did with her hair it took about three minutes for it to tangle itself up again, like a garden hosepipe in a shed [Which, no matter how carefully coiled, will always uncoil overnight and tie the lawnmower to the bicycles].
Terry Pratchett