Roy Peter Clark Quotes & Sayings

Whether the vessel is a legal document or a rap song, language is often chosen ot exclude. To use a scholarly phrase, "discourse communities" are often gated,so it's the good writer's job to offer readers a set of keys. — Roy Peter Clark

Everyone should read, we say, but we act as if only those with special talent should write. — Roy Peter Clark

Riffing on language will create wonderful effects you never intended. Which leads me to this writing advice: 'Always take credit for good stuff you didn't intend, because you'll be getting plenty of criticism in your career for bad stuff you didn't mean either.' — Roy Peter Clark

Without a serious study of journalism, there can be no understanding of citizenship, democracy, or community. — Roy Peter Clark

All of us possess a reading vocabulary as big as a lake but draw from a writing vocabulary as small as a pond. The good news is that the acts of searching and gathering always expand the number of usable words. — Roy Peter Clark

But doesn't add something to what has come before; but takes something away. At its most daring, it can feel like a Bat Turn, a 180-degree spin int the Batmobile. Make that a But Turn. — Roy Peter Clark

Having the urge to write is one thing; acting on it is another. — Roy Peter Clark

Express your most powerful thought in the shortest sentence. — Roy Peter Clark

The bridge between the words glamour and grammar is magic. According to the OED, glamour evolved through an ancient association between learning and enchantment. — Roy Peter Clark

If a period is a stop sign, then what kind of traffic flow is created by other marks? The comma is a speed bump; the semicolon is what a driver education teacher calls a "rolling stop"; the parenthetical expression is a detour; the colon is a flashing yellow light that announces something important up ahead; the dash is a tree branch in the road. — Roy Peter Clark

For what good is freedom of expression if you lack the means to express yourself? — Roy Peter Clark

Writing is not magic. It's a craft, a process, a set of steps. As with any process, things sometimes break down. Even in a good story, the writer runs into problems. So the act of writing always includes problem solving. — Roy Peter Clark

I may have grown up in the Age of Aquarius, but I'm growing old in the Age of the Acronym. — Roy Peter Clark

A teacher of mine once said there are no true synonyms. — Roy Peter Clark

WORKSHOP 1. Read your writing aloud to a friend. Ask, "Does this sound like me?" Discuss the response. 2. After rereading your work, make a list of adjectives that define your voice, such as heavy or aggressive, ludicrous or tentative. Now try to identify the evidence in your writing that led you to these conclusions. 3. Read a draft of a story aloud. Can you hear problems in the story that you could not see? 4. Save the work of writers whose voices appeal to you. Consider why you admire the voice of a particular writer. How is it like your voice? How is it different? In a piece of freewriting, imitate that voice. — Roy Peter Clark