Ralph Keyes Quotes & Sayings

Aspiring only to second-place goals is a first-rate way to hedge our bets. Among the least appreciated reasons for doing superficial, second-rate work of any kind is the comfort of knowing that it's not our best that's on the line. Far more is at risk when we do what we really want to do rather than something less. I don't think we'll ever fully appreciate the role of not daring to risk a shattered dream in limiting people to second-choice careers and third-choice lives. — Ralph Keyes

Fear is felt by writers at every level. Anxiety accompanies the first word they put on paper and the last. — Ralph Keyes

I think that simply nudging yourself into unfamiliar settings - physical or emotional - can produce surprising results on the writing front. — Ralph Keyes

When members of the London Poetry Society asked Browning to interpret a particularly difficult passage of Sordello, he read it twice, frowned, then admitted, "When I wrote that, God and I knew what I meant, but now God alone knows."
Rather than risk sounding dense, readers, colleagues, and critics who can't figure out what a writer is trying to say but think it sounds intelligent will typically resort to calling such work "daring," "provocative," or "complex." An unholy alliance of writers and readers is at work here. — Ralph Keyes

Fear and courage are like lightning and thunder; they both sart out at the same time, but the fear travels faster and arrives sooner. If we just wait a moment, the requisite courage will be along shortly. — Ralph Keyes

Be as creative in your tactics as you are in your writing. Find what gets your engine going, no matter how peculiar it may seem to others. — Ralph Keyes

One of the most fundamental of human fears is that our existence will go unnoticed. — Ralph Keyes

Writing can be wonderful therapy, and cheap at the price. At the very least, you eventually get bored by thinking about anxious topics and move on. — Ralph Keyes

I prefer a man who is unskillful, who is an awkward writer, but who has something to say, who is dealing himself one time on every page. — Ralph Keyes

Those who generate fog are Wizards of Oz hoping desperately that nobody pulls the curtain to reveal a trembling little writer behind it. This seldom happens. Readers who dare to point out that incomprehensible writing can't be comprehended risk being told that the problem is theirs. — Ralph Keyes

Anxiety is not only an inevitable part of the writing process but a necessary part. If you're not scared, you're not writing. — Ralph Keyes

Wrote Lawrence Block. "Someone once told me that fear and courage are like lightning and thunder; they both start out at the same time, but the fear travels faster and arrives sooner. If we just wait a moment, the requisite courage will be along shortly." (quoted from Write for Your Live by Lawrence Block) — Ralph Keyes

Serious writers write, inspired or not. Over time they discover that routine is a better friend than inspiration. — Ralph Keyes

Writing about something was not the moral equivalent of doing it, — Ralph Keyes

Any writing exposes writers to judgment about the quality of their work and their thought. The closer they get to painful personal truths, the more fear mounts - not just about what they might reveal but about what they might discover should they venture too deeply inside. To write well, however, that's exactly where we must venture. — Ralph Keyes

Willa Cather said that she write best when she stopped trying to write and began simply to remember. — Ralph Keyes

Authors always feel in danger of being abandoned by loved ones. This is a potent fear. Yet it's as inevitable as writer's cramp when we presume to write words for others to read. — Ralph Keyes

One thing I like about writing is that it provides such a wonderful opportunity for confidential chats with readers. In the privacy of writing, and reading, we can discuss topics that are a little touchy, a bit embarrassing, and feel less alone in the process. Feeling consumed by memories from high school. Feeling wimpy. Feeling time-obsessed. Yearning for our fathers. Wishing we were taller, or shorter, or less average. To name just a few. — Ralph Keyes

I'm tempted to say that the top three reasons for hopelessness are rejection, rejection, rejection. But let's cast our net wider. 1) Not being able to write as well as we hoped we could. 2) Not being able to write at all. 3) Rejection. — Ralph Keyes