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Drafts Quotes

Because nothing good starts on the first page.

These Drafts quotes come from writers on messy first attempts and the Good work hidden inside years of rewriting.

I'm pretty obsessive-compulsive, and I'm very fast. I tend to not write for a long period of time until I can't not write, and then I write first drafts in gallops. I won't eat right. I forget to do my...

Quotes by Adam Rapp

First drafts are never any good - at least, mine aren't.

Quotes by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Most development doesn't make it to series. So you want the writer and director to have a really good experience with development because, if it doesn't work out, you want to work with them again. You have to know their...

Quotes by Sue Naegle

Recently a study proved that working from a larger, less cluttered computer screen increases concentration. I could have told them that. And yes, I write first drafts with a mechanical pencil and a yellow legal pad. There's good reason for...

Quotes by Stacy Schiff

Always Quotes

Most of my early work was done on typewriter. And the only way to iterate drafts was to re-type it.

Quotes by Seanan McGuire

I usually do at least a dozen drafts and progressively make more-conscious decisions. Because I've always believed stories are closer to poems than novels, I spend a lot of time on the story's larger rhythms, such as sentence and paragraph...

Quotes by Ron Rash

One of the things I noticed more in this draft than in any recent drafts was the importance of the character issue. Players who had baggage, like Justice, fell much farther than his talent dictated. But a lot of coaches...

Quotes by Ron Jaworski

It's a debilitating process, working with the studios. With the length of time it takes for drafts and development deals, your enthusiasm is gone before you're ready to make the film.

Quotes by Paul Morrissey

It took me years of attempts and failed drafts before I finally wrote the elegies I needed to write.

Quotes by Natasha Trethewey

Book Quotes

I think a lot of the dull parts of first drafts come from a kind of over-managing, intrusive writer who wants to direct traffic. The idea of taking out the parts that the reader could infer is very liberating, and...

Quotes by Meg Wolitzer

I write first drafts by hand. Never do I open an umbrella inside the house. I don't predict wins or losses. I used to stand on a certain piece of rug if my brothers and husband were watching football and...

Quotes by Louise Erdrich

I wrote the screenplay for 'This Is Where I Leave You' - all 40 drafts of it.

Quotes by Jonathan Tropper

The bottom line is that I like my first drafts to be blind, unconscious, messy efforts; that's what gets me the best material.

Quotes by Jennifer Egan

Second, there were the discussions and drafts leading up to the White Paper on Employment Policy of 1944 in which the UK government accepted the maintenance of employment as an obligation of governmental policy.

Quotes by James Meade

Day Quotes

I kind of stay away from the mock drafts and stuff. It's hard, obviously, in this day and age with social media... so I might look at it for a quick second, but if it's not one of the 32...

Quotes by James Conner

The first drafts of my novels have all been written in longhand, and then I type them up on my old electric. I have resisted getting a computer because I distrust the whole PC thing. I don't think a great...

Quotes by J. G. Ballard

I get a lot of fan mail addressed to Bilbo and sometimes Sir Bilbo - it's hardly ever addressed to Ian Holm, in fact. My business manager drafts the replies, and then I pop in to the office and sign...

Quotes by Ian Holm

Obviously, drafts sometimes are good ones, or bad ones; I think you can get a good, quality player late in the lottery.

Quotes by Grant Hill

The greatest pleasure when I started making money was not buying cars or yachts but finding myself able to have as many freshly typed drafts as possible.

Quotes by Gore Vidal

Good Quotes

When I made '1983,' there were a bunch of tracks that were in the early drafts that didn't make it because they just sounded like tracks for rappers, and that's not really the sound I look for when I produce...

Quotes by Flying Lotus

Frequently Asked Questions

What do these Drafts quotes cover?
These quotes focus on the writing process, especially how messy or difficult early drafts can be before a finished piece emerges.
Is there a quote admitting first drafts are weak?
Yes, one quote plainly states that first drafts are never any good, at least for that particular writer.
Do the quotes mention how many drafts a project can take?
Yes, one quote describes writing all 40 drafts of a screenplay before it was finished.
Is there a quote about the years it can take to finish something?
Yes, one quote describes years of failed drafts before finally completing a set of elegies.
What other quote pages relate to Drafts?
For more on the creative grind, see our Always and Book quotes pages.

For more on the creative grind, see our Always and Book quote collections.