Other People's Words
The Use of Quotations for Writers
by Karen L. Oberst

  Why would someone write an article about quotations in a journal devoted to practical advice for writers? Because quotes can do a lot for your writing, and for you as a writer and a person. Quotes are like poetry: concentrated words that sing. They can help focus your mind and sharpen your thinking. Quotations may express universal truths--or not. But they make you think. And quotes can give you a new perspective, or clarify a truth you had not yet put into words. "Quotes are like poetry: concentrated words that sing."

  "Dorothy Sayers said it best..." Like all authors, I love words. Dorothy Sayers said it best in Gaudy Night. The speakers are Harriet Vane and Lord Peter Whimsey. "Do you find it easy to get drunk on words?" "So easily that, to tell the truth, I am seldom perfectly sober."

Seldom perfectly sober. What a glorious phrase, and so expressive of writing at its best.

  Some other words that sing: "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield." ("Ulysses", by Tennyson). "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew." (Lincoln's address to Congress, 1862). "I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart." (Anne Frank) Doesn't that give you the shivers coming from her? And this one by Helen Keller: "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." If someone blind, deaf, and dumb could say that, what excuse to the rest of us have? "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31, KJV) Whether or not you agree with this, just enjoy the words. Notice the unexpected order: flying, running, walking--just the opposite of logic. And yet the words make perfect sense, for what is the hardest thing to do? To just keep plodding along without giving up. "Other words that sing."

  "Universal truths are often expressed in short pithy quotes." Quotes can help focus your mind. In a not-yet published novel, I put two quotations at the head of each chapter. I chose to do this originally, because I love quotes, but I realized it was also helping to clarify for me what the main points of the chapters were. Try it. Whether you leave the quotes there or not, you will find they have sharpened your thinking. And as an added bonus, you will have found a lot of great sayings as you searched for the one you wanted.

Universal truths are often expressed in short pithy quotes. "Look before you leap." "He who hesitates is lost." "If you keep on doing what you've always done, you'll keep on getting what you've always got." (W.L. Bateman) "To learn something new, take the path that you took yesterday." (John Burroughs) "Thinking is easy, acting is difficult, and to put one's thoughts into action is the most difficult thing in the world." (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe) "Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason so few engage in it." (Henry Ford) Yes, these quote pairs contradict each other. That's one of the beauties of quotations, they express both sides of truth, and can speak to whichever side you find yourself on at the moment. Or they can bring you up short. A good exercise is to try to merge the sets of two, to decide how both can be true at once, because both are, depending on the situation and your viewpoint.

  Quotes can give you a new perspective on things. A topic I have been working with recently is failure. We all know failure is bad, right? Not necessarily. Sir James Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan said, "We are all failures--at least the best of us are." Or how about this by William Faulkner: "All of us failed to match our dreams of perfection. So I rate us on the basis of our splendid failure to do the impossible." Splendid failure to do the impossible: more words that sing. Perhaps failure is not so bad after all. Perhaps it is inevitable, at least for people who are doing something. Perhaps we just need a new perspective to keep us from giving up when failures come. One quote I like is by Ross Perot: "Failures are like skinned knees--painful, but superficial." And one particularly suited to writers is, "But it is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation." (Herman Melville)

Is failure starting to look different? Here are three more ways of looking at failure. "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." (Robert F. Kennedy, who often used quotations from others in his speaking and writing). "Remember the two benefits of failure. First, if you do fail, you learn what doesn't work; and second, the failure gives you the opportunity to begin a new approach." (Roger von Oech). And lastly, "Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure." (Thomas Edison) Is failure bad? No, it is a sign that you are trying.

A new perspective on "failure"

  "Finding great quotations is easier than ever on the Internet." Another thing I have found quotes good for is warm-up exercises for writing. Take one that is particularly meaningful to you that day and write a short essay about it. I have never gotten anything publishable from the exercise, but it gets my creative juices going.

Finding great quotations is easier than ever on the Internet. There are multiple sites dedicated to quotes. You can find a list of some on Yahoo. My personal favorite site is Creative Quotations, which has quotes by author or keyword, as well as plenty of other quote related material. Or you can join a listserv that sends a quote to your email box each morning. The one I moderate is the Quote of the Day list, which is mainly inspirational quotes. You can find information about it, as well quotes sorted by date, author or subject on the Web page above (which you may just have come from), or email me at koberst@hotmail.com for instructions on how to join.

  Quotations are wonderful things. They can inspire you, make you mad, make you think, and generally spice up your life. One warning, though: a love of quotes can easily get out of hand. My own personal list has grown from a handful to 51 pages. But I wouldn't give up a single one. "Quotations spice up your life."


Copyright © 1998 by Karen L. Oberst

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