Hello again!

There is no friend as loyal as a book - Ernest Hemingway

What makes a quotation 'quotable?'

You can find all sorts of quotations about all sorts of things all over the internet. Usually, they're punchy, quirky ways of expressing some sort of truth. They have a satisfying rhythm. They're efficient. Often, they just sound ... right. At the same time, whatever makes them really work is a mystery, and so I've been thinking a lot about what makes something 'quotable.'

We wouldn't pass them around if they were bulky, wordy passages. Who would remember them? They've got to be short, just two or three sentences at most. They also need to have good rhythm, often using repetition or parallel phrasing.

Things like 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.' See, you flip the order of the same words around, and you get a catchy little morsel of meaning. Easy to remember, and easy to pass around. Quotations like that can become popular. But you can't just flip around the wording at random.

The early bird gets the worm, but the early worm gets the bird. See? Doesn't really make sense. (Unless it's some kind of genetically enhanced worm the size of a python, with rows of razor sharp teeth ...) Regardless, it's not all about a catchy rhythm.

So, it's gotta be true, and it's gotta be catchy.

I think from the point of view of a writer, it's not a good idea to try to be 'quotable.' However, at the same time, there's a lot of overlap in what makes a good quotation and what makes good writing.

With both, you've gotta write the truth, and you've gotta write it efficiently and with rhythm.

A great writer -- someone like that Hemingway bloke above -- will tend to come up with a lot of catchy little quotations that people like to share. With great experience in writing and insight into human nature, it's likely that a lot of good, quotable morsels will crop up over the course of a writing career. But I think very few of the writers you can see on 'Famous Quotations' lists were trying to get on those lists.

I think they were just trying to write something true.

It might be a silly little ambition, but I hope that if I hone my craft and try to write as truly as possible, one day I might write something worthy of being quoted. Until then -- paradoxically -- I have to make an effort not to try writing quotable quotes.

Writing updates

I've hit the 25% mark on Elixir of Power 2!

I'm progressing at a decent pace, but not exactly flying along at blinding speeds. I have nothing else to report for the moment, so I'll just keep my head down and keep typing away!

Below you will find a whole crop of books from authors like me. Perhaps among them you'll find something quotable, worthy of printing on a bookmark or bumper sticker!

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Book Recommendations

Thanks for reading!

Until next time!