James Scott Bell Quotes & Sayings

The most important rule: Do not, I repeat, do not censor yourself in any way. Leave your editorial mind out of the loop. Just let the ideas come pouring out in any way, shape, or form they want to. Do not judge anything. — James Scott Bell

Status, worry and comparison are ways to madness, not victory. — James Scott Bell

Get a PHD No, not a doctoral degree. I mean a PHD attitude: Poor, Hungry and Driven. — James Scott Bell

Superb historical romance, with a spiritual theme woven seamlessly throughout. I much enjoyed The Covered Deep and look forward to more from its author! — James Scott Bell

You stupid chick ... nun ... whatever. I'm a tenth-degree black belt in Korean Karate!" "But you don't have the power of God, you uncircumcised philistine! — James Scott Bell

Characters who are absolutely sure about what they do, who plunge ahead without fear, are not that interesting. We don't go through life that way. In reality, we have doubts just like everyone else.
Bringing your Lead's doubts to the surface in your plot pulls the reader deeper into the story, and this is an excellent way to coax the reader to lose himself in the story world you're about to create. — James Scott Bell

Structure is translation software for your imagination. — James Scott Bell

If you can write each day, do it, and meet a quota. Minimum 350 words a day. A baboon can do 350 words a day. Don't be shown up by a baboon — James Scott Bell

Think of it as the Doorway of No Return. The feeling must be that your lead character, once she passes through, cannot go home again until the major problem of the plot is solved. — James Scott Bell

In fact, one could argue that the skill of the fiction writer boils down to the ability to exploit intensity. — James Scott Bell

God created the world in six days. On the seventh day, he rested. On the eighth day, he started getting complaints. And it hasn't stopped since. — James Scott Bell

Anyone living in Los Angeles who has opposable thumbs is required to write a screenplay. — James Scott Bell

The semi-colon is a burp, a hiccup. It's a drunk staggering out of the saloon at 2 a.m., grabbing your lapels on the way and asking you to listen to one more story. — James Scott Bell

There's a perilous word fiction writers need to watch out for. The word is 'had.' — James Scott Bell

Write like you're in love. Edit like you're in charge. — James Scott Bell

Every hour you spend writing is an hour you don't spend worrying about your writing. — James Scott Bell

The thing I do at the beginning is a "voice journal," a free form doc that is the character speaking to me. I just work on it until I start to hear different from my own, or the other characters. — James Scott Bell

A writing teacher once told me that the most successful movies and books were simple plots about complex characters. You should be able to articulate your concept in a couple of lines. — James Scott Bell

My philosophy on writing books is that if you learn only one new thing, or even get a new take on something you already know, it's worth it. — James Scott Bell

When our characters show us the full fire of that inner battle, we have the makings of great fiction. For whether the choice is ultimately for honor or dishonor, we will see the consequences and the reader will be instructed without being taught. — James Scott Bell