... the spirit, I think, is a stream, a fountain, and must be continually poured out, for only if it is poured out will more and clearer streams come. Brenda Ueland More Quotes by Brenda Ueland More Quotes From Brenda Ueland No writing is a waste of time – no creative work where the feelings, the imagination, the intelligence must work. With every sentence you write, you have learned something. It has done you good. Brenda Ueland creative imagination writing The true self is always in motion like music, a river of life, changing, moving, failing, suffering, learning, shining. Brenda Ueland life-changing self moving Since you are like no other being ever created since the beginning of time, you are incomparable. Brenda Ueland unique acceptance inspirational the only way to become a better writer is to become a better person. Brenda Ueland better-person writing way Orthodox criticism ... is a murderer of talent. And because the most modest and sensitive people are the most talented, having the most imagination and sympathy, these are the first ones to get killed off. Brenda Ueland helping-others imagination people I hate orthodox criticism. I don't mean great criticism, like that of Matthew Arnold and others, but the usual small niggling, fussy-mussy criticism, which thinks it can improve people by telling them where they are wrong, and results only in putting them in straitjackets of hesitancy and self-consciousness, and weazening all vision and bravery. Brenda Ueland hate mean thinking Think of yourself as incandescent power, illuminated perhaps and forever talked to by God and his messengers. Brenda Ueland power forever thinking ... the great artists ... do not want security, egoistic or materialistic. Brenda Ueland materialistic artist want Even if I knew for certain that I would never have anything published again, and would never make another cent from it, I would still keep on writing. Brenda Ueland creativity writing art In true courage there is always an element of choice, of an ethical choice, and of anguish, and also of action and deed. There is always a flame of spirit in it, a vision of some necessity higher than oneself. Brenda Ueland flames choices inspirational There is that American pastime known as "kidding" - with the result that everyone is ashamed and hangdog about showing the slightest enthusiasm or passion or sincere feeling about anything. Brenda Ueland passion enthusiasm feelings Now some people when they sit down to write and nothing special comes, no good ideas, are so frightened that they drink a lot of strong coffee to hurry them up, or smoke packages of cigarettes, or take drugs or get drunk. They do not know that ideas come slowly, and that the more clear, tranquil and unstimulated you are, the slower the ideas come, but the better they are. Brenda Ueland coffee strong writing If you are never satisfied with what you write, that is a good sign. It means that your vision can see so far that it's hard to come up to it. Again I say - the only unfortunate people are the glib ones, immediately satisfied with their work. To them, the ocean is only knee-deep. Brenda Ueland ocean writing mean The imagination needs moodling,--long, inefficient happy idling, dawdling and puttering. Brenda Ueland creativity happiness long These people who are always briskly doing something and as busy as waltzing mice, they have little, sharp, staccato ideas, such as: "I see where I can make an annual cut of $3.47 in my meat budget." But they have no slow, big ideas. Brenda Ueland cutting ideas thinking Advertising companies hire the very brightest, wittiest young people to write for them. Not one single sentence of it is worth repeating. Why? Because it wasn't meant. Brenda Ueland advertising writing people Don't think of yourself as an intestinal tract and tangle of nerves in the skull, that will not work unless you drink coffee. Think of yourself as incandescent power, illuminated perhaps and forever talked to by God and his messengers.... Think if Tiffany's made a mosquito, how wonderful we would think it was! Brenda Ueland skulls coffee thinking Self-trust is so important. When you launch on a story, make your neck loose, feel free, good-natured. And be lazy. Feel that you are going to throw it away. Try writing utterly unplanned stories and see what comes out. Brenda Ueland lazy self writing The writer has a feeling and utters it from his true self. The reader reads it and is immediately infected and has exactly the same feeling. This is the whole secret of enchantment and fascination. Brenda Ueland self secret feelings When you will, make a resolution, set your jaw, you are expressing an imaginative fear that you won't do the thing. If you knew you would do the thing, you would smile happily and set about it. And this fear (since the imagination is always creative) comes about presently and you slide down into the complete slump of several weeks or years - the very thing you dreaded and set your jaw against. Brenda Ueland creative imagination years
