The Beauty Of Word Processing, God Bless My Word Processor, Is That It Keeps The Plotting Very Fluid. The Prose Becomes Like A Liquid That You Can Manipulate At Will. In The Old Days, When I Typed, Every Piece Of Typing Paper Was Like Cast In Concrete.

-Sue Grafton

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The Beauty Of Word

Sue Grafton

Topic

Pieces

Paper

Liquid

More From Sue Grafton

Grief Is As Contagious As A Yawn.

Grief

Contagious

Happiness Is Seasonal, Like Anything Else

Happiness

You Never Know Which People Will Affect Your Life.

People

Knows

It's Been My Observation, After Years In The [insurance] Business, That A Certain Percent Of The Population Simply Can't Resist The Urge To Cheat.

Years

Population

Dishonesty

What Could Smell Better Than Supper Being Cooked By Someone Else?

Smell

Supper

No One With A Happy Childhood Ever Amounts To Much In This World. They Are So Well Adjusted, They Never Are Driven To Achieve Anything.

Childhood

World

Achieve

I Made The Rules I Figured I Could Be The One To Break Them. I Thought I Would Write About Xenophobia, A Hatred Of Foreigners. After I Stated Writing The Story There Was Not A Foreigner To Be Had. I Did Not Want To Just Stick One In There So I Could Get A Title Out Of It Since It Seemed Like Cheating. I Never Figured Out How I Could Get Out Of This Dilemma So I Just Called It X And Weaved X Traits Into The Story.

Cheating

Xenophobia

Writing

My Notion Of An Elegant Table Is You Don't Leave The Knife Sticking Out Of The Mayonnaise Jar.

Knives

Tables

Jars

I Think You'd Best Make Your Peace With The Past Since You've Come This Far. I Think You Know By Now That You Won't Go Back Again.

Past

Thinking

Back Again

People Talk About Dysfunctional Families; I've Never Seen Any Other Kind.

Family

People

Dysfunctional Family

People In California Seem To Age At A Different Rate Than The Rest Of The Country. Maybe It's The Passion For Diet And Exercise, Maybe The Popularity Of Cosmetic Surgery. Or Maybe We're Afflicted With Such A Horror Of Aging That We've Halted The Process Psychically.

Country

Passion

Exercise

I Love Being Single. It's Almost Like Being Rich.

Single

Rich

Being Single

The Critical Lessons In Life Hold Sway Whether You Like It Or Not.

Life Lesson

Lessons

You Like It

Pay Minimum Wage, You Get Minimum Work. Nobody Seems To Get That.

Minimum Wage

Pay

Minimum

You Try To Keep Life Simple But It Never Works, And In The End All You Have Left Is Yourself.

Simple

Trying

Ends

Train Yourself To Listen To That Small Voice That Tells Us What's Important And What's Not.

Voice

Important

Train

You Can’t Save Others From Themselves Because Those Who Make A Perpetual Muddle Of Their Lives Don’t Appreciate Your Interfering With The Drama They’ve Created. They Want Your Poor-sweet-baby Sympathy, But They Don’t Want To Change.

Change

Sympathy

Baby

I Know There Are People Who Believe You Should Forgive And Forget. For The Record, I'd Like To Say I'm A Big Fan Of Forgiveness As Long As I'm Given The Opportunity To Get Even First.

Believe

Opportunity

Long

My Second Husband And I Were Going Through A Bitter Divorce, And I Didn't Have The Money For A Fancy-pants Attorney. I Didn't Know How To Fight, So I'd Lie Awake At Night And Think Of Ways To Kill Him. But I Knew I'd Get Caught, So I Decided To Put It In A Book And Get Paid For It! I Always Think It's Odd That A Whole Career Came Out Of That Homicidal Impulse.

Husband

Lying

Book

To Many Women Mistake A Man's Hostility For Wit And His Silence For Depth.

Mistake

Men

Silence

Too Much Virtue Has A Corrupting Effect.

Too Much

Virtue

Effects

Writing Isn't About The Destination-writing Is The Journey That Transforms The Soul And Gives Meaning To All Else.

Writing

Journey

Giving

The Hard Thing About Death Is That Nothing Ever Changes. The Hard Thing About Life Is That Nothing Stays The Same.

Life Is

Nothing Ever Changes

Hard

Beware The Dark Pool At The Bottom Of Our Hearts. In Its Icy, Black Depths Dwell Strange And Twisted Creatures It Is Best Not To Disturb.

Heart

Dark

Black

That's The Way The System Works. Sometimes You Get The Bear, Sometimes The Bear Gets You.

There Are Days When None Of Us Can Bear It, But The Good Comes Around Again. Happiness Is Seasonal, Like Anything Else. Wait It Out. There Are People Who Love You. People Who Can Help.

Love You

People

Waiting

People Who've Had Happy Childhoods Are Wonderful, But They're Bland... An Unhappy Childhood Compels You To Use Your Imagination To Create A World In Which You Can Be Happy. Use Your Old Grief. That's The Gift You're Given.

Happiness

Grief

Unhappy Childhood

Pretending To Be 'normal' Is A Lot Harder Than You Think.

Thinking

Normal

Pretending

A Woman Should Never, Never, Never Be Financially Dependent To Anyone, Especially A Man, Because The Minute You Were Dependent, You Could Be Abused.

Men

Should

Minutes

There Are Laws For Everything Except The Harm Families Do.

Law

Harm

Some People Can't See The Color Red. That Doesn't Mean It Isn't There.

Mean

Color

People

Ghosts Don't Haunt Us. That's Not How It Works. They're Present Among Us Because We Won't Let Go Of Them.

Letting Go

Ghost

Sometimes The Hardest Part Of My Job Is The Incessant Reminder Of The Fact We're All Trying So Assiduously To Ignore: We Are Here Temporarily. Life Is Only Ours On Loan.

Jobs

Trying

Facts

Sometimes I Wonder What The Difference Is Between Being Cautious And Being Dead.

Differences

Sometimes

Wonder

I Started Writing Seriously When I Was 18, Wrote My First Novel When I Was 22, And I've Never Stopped Writing Since.

Writing

Firsts

Novel

If I'd Been Listening Closely, I'd Have Caught The Sound Of The Gods Having A Great Big Old Tee-hee At My Expense.

Listening

Sound

Tees

Having Reached The Halfway Mark In The Alphabet, My Prime Focus Is On Writing Each New Book As Well As I Can.

Book

Writing

Umpires

Age Plays Cruel Tricks On The Human Face; All Our Repressed Feelings Become Visible On The Surface, Where They Harden Like A Mask.

Play

Feelings

Age

I Spent The First Twenty Years Of My Writing Career Preparing For The Mystery Genre, Which Is My Favorite Literary Form.

Writing

Years

Careers

When All Else Fails, Cleaning House Is The Perfect Antidote To Most Of Life's Ills.

Perfect

House

Cleaning

I've Never Written About My Husband, Steve, Or Any Of My Children Because I Know Them All Too Well. I See Them In All Their Complexities Which Makes Them Impossible To Render On The Printed Page.

Husband

Children

Pages

Ideas Are Easy. It's The Execution Of Ideas That Really Separates The Sheep From The Goats.

Sheep

Ideas

Goats

All Of Us Are Subjected To Somebody Else's Power At Some Point. So Once In A While You Kiss Ass. So What? Either You Make Your Peace With That Early, Or You End Up Living Your Life As A Crank And A Misfit.

Kissing

Live Your Life

Ass

You Write One Book And You're Ready For Fame And Fortune. I Don't Know That People Are Spending The Time And Attention On Learning How To Write-which Takes Years. Everybody Sees The Success Stories.

Book

Writing

Years

I Caution Writers All The Time To Slow Down And Pay More Attention To The Work In Front Of Them Than To The End Result. I Don't Think You Write One Book And Get Anywhere. I Think You Write Five Books And Then Maybe You Are Finally On The Right Path.

Book

Writing

Thinking

My Father Taught Me To Love Detective Fiction Writers Such As Raymond Chandler. When I Decided To Have A Hard-boiled Detective Series I Did A Lot Of Studying Before I Wrote The First Book. I Learned Police Procedure, The California Criminal Law, And Many Areas Outside My Expertise.

Father

Book

Law

I Read The Paper Every Day. There Are Certain Subjects That Will Catch My Attention. I Have An Entire File Of Articles. Of Course I Make Up The Story, Especially Since Most Criminals Are Not Very Smart And Fictional Crime Must Be Clever. I Have To Make Sure The Story I Am Telling Is Interesting And Realistic. In This Book I Went On Line And Found Out The Manners Of Codes. I Thought It Interesting To Use Them As A Jumping Off Point.

Clever

Smart

Book

Personally, I'd Rather Grow Old Alone Than In The Company Of Anyone I've Met So Far. I Don't Experience Myself As Lonely, Incomplete, Or Unfulfilled, But I Don't Talk About That Much. It Seems To Piss People Off--especially Men. (kinsey Millhone)

Lonely

Men

People

Grade School Was Perilous. ... I Can See How I Must Have Worried Them. I Was The Kind Of Kid Who, For No Apparent Reason, Wept Piteously Or Threw Up On Myself. On An Especially Scary Day, I Sometimes Did Both.

School

Kids

Scary

It's Disconcerting To Realize How Little You Have To Say To Someone Who Once Occupied Such A Prominent Place In Your Bed.

Inspiring Love

Bed

Littles

Perhaps When We're Forced To Forfeit What We Own, We Lose Any Sentimental Associations. Perhaps Pawning Our Valuables Frees Us In The Same Way A House Fire Destroys Not Only Our Worldly Goods, But Our Attachment To What's Gone.

Fire

Attachment

House

Ghosts Don't Haunt Us. That's Not How It Works. They're Present Among Us Because We Won't Let Go Of Them." "i Don't Believe In Ghosts," I Said, Faintly. "some People Can't See The Color Red. That Doesn't Mean It Isn't There," She Replied.

Letting Go

Believe

Mean

Insecure People Have A Special Sensitivity For Anything That Finally Confirms Their Own Low Opinion Of Themselves.

Insecure

People

Special

Give Yourself Time To Get Better.

Writing

Giving

Get Better

Society Values Cooperation Over Independence, Obedience Over Individuality, And Niceness Above All Else.

Independence

Individuality

Cooperation

Personally, I Don't Endorse The Notion Of Mortality. It's Fine For Other Folk, But I Disapprove Of The Concept For Me And My Loved Ones.

Loved Ones

Mortality

Fine

If You're Unhappy, Change Something.

Unhappy

Ifs

Life Was Reduced To Its Four Basic Elements: Air, Food, Drink, And A Good Friend.

Good Friend

Air

Elements

Grieving Is Like Being Ill. You Think The Entire World Revolves Around You And It Doesn't.

Thinking

Grieving

World

Pay Enough For Anything And It Passes For Taste.

Pay

Taste

Enough

Except For Cases That Clearly Involve A Homicidal Maniac, The Police Like To Believe Murders Are Committed By Those We Know And Love, And Most Of The Time They're Right - A Chilling Thought When You Sit Down To Dinner With A Family Of Five. All Those Potential Killers Passing Their Plates.

Believe

Police

Dinner

A Is For Alibi, My First Book, Was Published In 1982. As It Happened The Next Couple Of Books Took Place In June And August Of That Year. Without Meaning To I Painted Myself Into A Corner. The Other Issue Was The Aging Process. I Did Not Want My Main Character To Age One Year For Every Book So I Slowed The Whole Process Down. This Way I Could Get Through All 26 Letters Of The Alphabet Without Making Her 109 Years Old In 2015. I Might End The Series In Either 1990 Or On New Years Eve 1989.

New Year

Couple

Book

The Struggle Is What Teaches You.

Struggle

Teach

Thinking Is Hard Work, Which Is Why You Don't See Many People Doing It.

Hard Work

Independent

Thinking

I Write Letters To My Right Brain All The Time. They're Just Little Notes. And Right Brain, Who Likes To Get Little Notes From Me, Will Often Come Through Within A Day Or Two.

Writing

Two

Brain

Lying Contains The Same Hostile Elements As A Practical Joke In That The 'victim' Ends Up Looking Foolish In His Own Eyes And Laughable In Everyone Else's.

Lying

Eye

Elements

The Jungian Therapist Taught Me The Difference Between The Ego And The Shadow. I Realized I'd Been So Busy Being A Good Girl That I'd Completely Detached From My Shadow. It's Something We All Have, And It's Where All The Creative Juices Are.

Girl

Writing

Creative Juices

I Write Because It's All I Know How To Do. Writing Is My Anchor And My Purpose. My Life Is Informed By Writing, Whether The Work Is Going Well Or I'm Stuck In The Hell Of Writer's Block, Which I'm Happy To Report Only Occurs About Once A Day.

Block

Writing

Anchors

Dream Big But Think Small.

Dream

Thinking

Bigs

My Primary Lesson, However, Was That I'm A Solo Writer, Happiest When I'm Making All The Executive Decisions. I've Always Been Willing To Rise Or Fall On My Own Merits.

Fall

Decision

Merit

There Is No Sound So Terrible As A Man's Sorrow For His Own Death.

Men

Sorrow

Sound

There's Nothing Quite As Irksome As Someone Else's Mess.

Mess

God Save Us From The People Who Want To Do What's Best For Us.

People

Want

Busybodies

After My Years In Hollywood, I Got Tired Of Apologizing For Work That Really Wasn't Mine To Begin With.

Tired

Apology

Years

You Kill People You Hate Or You Kill In Rage Or You Kill To Get Even, But You Don't Kill Someone You're Indifferent To.

Hate

People

Rage

You Can't Make Anyone Love You And You Can't Stop Anyone From Dying.

Love You

Dying

One Love

I Focus On The Writing And Let The Rest Of The Process Take Care Of Itself. I've Learned To Trust My Own Instincts And I've Also Learned To Take Risks.

Writing

Focus

Risk

If Your Mind Isn't Open, Keep Your Mouth Shut Too.

Mind

Mouths

Insult

For The Record, I'd Like To Say That I'm A Big Fan Of Forgiveness As Long As I Have A Chance To Get Even First" Kinsey Millhone, V Is For Vengeance

Long

Fans

Records

It Is A Truth Of Human Nature That We Can Ponder Life's Mysteries For Only So Long Before We Lose Interest And Move On To Something Else.

Moving

Long

Mystery

There Was An Author Who Titled His Books By Days Of The Weeks And Another One That Used Colors. Then There Was Edward Gorey Who Wrote The Book The Gashlycrumb Tinies, About The Untimely Death Of 26 Victorian Children, Each Representing A Letter Of The Alphabet. I Thought What A Great Way To Link The Titles.

Children

Book

Color

Writing Is A Process And You Must Trust The Process! Fear And Anxiety Are Part Of That Process Along With The Enthusaism And The Good Days And The Joy And The Passion And The Great Hopes You Have For A Book. But When You Run Into Problems, When You Get Stuck Or Scared, You Must Trust That That Is Part Of How A Book Comes To Pass, And What You Need To Do Is Get Very Still And Quiet Because Self Will Tell You How To Get Out Of A Hole You've Dug For Yourself.

Running

Book

Passion

There's A Certain Class Of People Who Will Do You In And Then Remain Completely Mystified By The Depth Of Your Pain.

Pain

Class

People

Lucky Is The Spouse Who Dies First, Who Never Has To Know What Survivors Endure.

Lucky

Survivor

Firsts

The Memory Is Like Orbiting Twin Stars, One Visible, One Dark, The Trajectory Of What's Evident Forever Affected By The Gravity Of What's Concealed.

Stars

Memories

Dark

Emotion Doesn't Travel In A Straight Line. Like Water, Our Feelings Trickle Down Through Cracks And Crevices, Seeking Out The Little Pockets Of Neediness And Neglect, The Hairline Fractures In Our Character Usually Hidden From Public View.

Character

Views

Water

Grief Rolled Across The Space Between Us Like A Wash Of Salt Water.

Grief

Grieving

Space

The Character Of Rosie Is Based On A Woman Who Used To Live In The Same Apartment Building I Lived In Many Years Ago. She's Taken On A Life Of Her Own, Of Course.

Taken

Character

Insomnia

Writing Is Self-taught. Consulting Other People Only Teaches You To Depend On Their Reactions, Which May Or May Not Be Legitimate. Quit Looking For Approval ... Learn To Evaluate Your Own Work With A Dispassionate Eye ... The Lessons You Acquire Will Be All The More Valuable Because You've Mastered Your Craft From Within.

Writing

Eye

Self

I Hate Nature. I Really Do. Nature Is Composed Entirely Of Sticks, Dirt, Fall-down Places, Biting And Stinging Things, And Savageries Too Numerous To List. And I'm Not The Only One Who Feels This Way. Man Has Been Building Cities Since The Year Oughty-ought, Just To Get Away From This Stuff.

Hate

Fall

Men

If High Heels Were So Wonderful, Men Would Still Be Wearing Them.

Inspiring

Witty

Girlfriend

He Might Be A Man Without Character, But She Was A Woman Without Courage. Of The Two, Which Was Worse?

Character

Men

Two

My Job As The Writer Is To Fool You. Your Job As The Reader Is To See If You Can Catch Me At It.

Jobs

Fool

Reader

Kinsey Was Never A Lawyer. She's Strictly Blue Collar.

Eye

Blue

Lawyer

We All Need To Look Into The Dark Side Of Our Nature - That's Where The Energy Is, The Passion. People Are Afraid Of That Because It Holds Pieces Of Us We're Busy Denying.

Fear

Passion

Dark

I Attended The University Of Louisville My Freshman Year, Transferred To What Was Then Western Kentucky State Teachers College For My Sophomore And Junior Years, And Then Graduated From The University Of Louisville In The Summer Of 1961.

Summer

Teacher

College

Sometimes Being Fooled By Love Is Worth The Price. At Least You Know You're Alive And Capable Of Feeling, Even If All You End Up With Is Chest Pain.

Pain

Love Is

Feelings

Writing Is Not About Making A Buck, Not About Publishers And Agents. Writing Is Not About Feeling Good. Writing Is About Pain, Suffering, Hard Work, Risk, And Fear.

Pain

Hard Work

Writing

I Figure Guys Are Like Whitman's Samplers. I Like To Take A Little Bite Out Of Each And Then Move On Before The Whole Box Gets Stale.

Moving

Guy

Littles

School Was A Source Of Great Suffering To Me, But Once I Learned To Read, I Disappeared Into Books, Where I Was A Happy Visitor To All The Worlds That Sprang Full-blown From The Printed Page.

Book

Healing

School

Everything Happens For A Reason, But That Doesn't Mean There's A Point.

Mean

Everything Happens For A Reason

Reason

Smile. It Gives Your Face Something To Do.

Giving

Faces

Your Face

I've Never Known Anyone Yet Who Doesn't Suffer A Certain Restlessness When Autumn Rolls Around... We're All Eight Years Old Again And Anything Is Possible.

Fall

Autumn

Eight

Of The First Seven Novels I Wrote, Numbers Four And Five Were Published. Numbers One, Two, Three, Six, And Seven, Have Never Seen The Light Of Day... And Rightly So.

Numbers

Light

Two

I Was An English Major In College With Minors In Fine Arts And Humanities.

Art

College

Humanity

In My Opinion, There's No Condition In Life That Can't Be Ameliorated By A Dose Of Junk Food.

Junk

Opinion

Dose

Poise And Indifference So Often Look The Same.

Confidence

Looks

Indifference

Who Knows What Part We Play In Other People's Dreams?

Dream

Play

People

Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.

2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.

2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.

2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.

3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.

3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.

3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.

4. Proper Usage of Quotes

4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.

4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.

4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).

5. Common Mistakes to Avoid

5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.

5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.

5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.

6. Quotes in Different Contexts

6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.

6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.

6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.

7. Punctuation and Formatting

Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:

Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.

Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.

Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.

8. Ethical Considerations

Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes

Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.

Conclusion

Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.

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