Chip on Your Shoulder

Craft Lessons from Writing Coach Chip Scanlan

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Writers Speak

Flannery O’Connor on forgetting oneself

Writers Speak

“I never completely forget myself except when I am writing and I am never more completely myself than when I am writing.”

-Flannery O’Connor

February 9, 2020January 27, 2020 chipswritinglessons_harnwk Leave a comment

Grace Paley on what we don’t know

Writers Speak

“We write about what we don’t know about what we know.”

–Grace Paley

February 2, 2020January 26, 2020 chipswritinglessons_harnwk Leave a comment

Barbara Tuchman on motion in prose

Writers Speak

“I try for motion in every paragraph. I hate sentences that begin “There was a storm.” Instead, write “A storm burst.”
– Barbara Tuchman

January 26, 2020January 26, 2020 chipswritinglessons_harnwk Leave a comment

Simone de Beauvoir on a day without writing

Writers Speak

“A day in which I don’t write leaves a taste of ashes.

–Simone de Beauvoir

January 19, 2020January 12, 2020 chipswritinglessons_harnwk Leave a comment

Nicholson Baker on writing every day

Writers Speak

“If you write every day, you’re going to write a lot of things that aren’t terribly good, but you’re going to have given things a chance to have their moments of sprouting.”

– Nicholson Baker

January 12, 2020January 1, 2020 chipswritinglessons_harnwk Leave a comment

Peter De Vries on bacon in a skillet

Writers Speak

“When I see a paragraph shrinking under my eyes like a strip of bacon in a skillet, I know I’m on the right track.”

PETER DE VRIES

January 5, 2020December 30, 2019 chipswritinglessons_harnwk Leave a comment

Lee Child on the loneliness of the writing life

Writers Speak

“Here is the fundamental reality about the writing business. It’s lonely. You spend all your time writing and then wondering whether what you wrote is any good.”

December 29, 2019December 21, 2019 chipswritinglessons_harnwk Leave a comment

E.L. Doctorow on writing with the headlights on night

Writers Speak

“Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go …It’s like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”

E.L. DOCTOROW

December 22, 2019December 22, 2019 chipswritinglessons_harnwk Leave a comment

Writer Speak: Meaning

Writers Speak

“Part of becoming a writer is the desire to have everything mean something.”

LOUISE ERDICH

December 15, 2019November 9, 2019 chipswritinglessons_harnwk 3 Comments

Jack Hart on the origins of good narrative

Writers Speak

“Good narrative comes from specific real-world decisions made by writers and editors who not only understand the abstract principles of story, but also know how to apply them in the real world.”

JACK HART

December 15, 2019November 12, 2019 chipswritinglessons_harnwk Leave a comment

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