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W. Somerset Maugham on Writing

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“No author can create a character out of nothing. He must have a model to give him a starting point; but then his imagination goes to work, he builds him up, adding a trait here, a trait there, which his model did not possess.”
#704
W. Somerset Maugham

More from W. Somerset Maugham

“Writing is a wholetime job: no professional writer can afford only to write when he feels like it.”
#705
W. Somerset Maugham
“The ideas for stories that thronged my brain would not let me rest till I had got rid of them by writing them.”
#706
W. Somerset Maugham
“If you can tell stories, create characters, devise incidents, and have sincerity and passion, it doesn't matter a damn how you write.”
#23
W. Somerset Maugham
“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”
#65
W. Somerset Maugham
“Imagination grows by exercise, and contrary to common belief, is more powerful in the mature than in the young.”
#695
W. Somerset Maugham
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Focus Saved In my younger and more vulnerable years years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” He didn’t say any more, but we’ve always been unusually communicative in a reserved way, and I understood that he meant a great deal more than that. In consequence, I’m inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores. | The Great Gatsby Chapter I Words 106 Writing Time 00:18:20 / 00:30:00 Speed 342 words/hour
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” He didn’t say any more, but we’ve always been unusually communicative in a reserved way, and I understood that he meant a great deal more than that. In consequence, I’m inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores. | The Great Gatsby 12:46:32 Chapter I 106 W 00:18:20