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David Mamet on Writing

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“You've got to stand being bad if you wanna be a writer, because if you don't, you're never going to write anything good.”
#56
David Mamet

More from David Mamet

“The difficulties of the hero are the same thing as the difficulties of the writer.”
#61
David Mamet
“Get into the scene late; get out of the scene early.”
#615
David Mamet
“The subject of drama is The Lie. At the end of the drama THE TRUTH — which has been overlooked, disregarded, scorned, and denied — prevails.”
#616
David Mamet
“Writing a novel is an incredibly free experience. One puts one's self in a narrative mode. You can go off in any direction - the past, the future, or go laterally, or include one's own beliefs. It's total freedom.”
#617
David Mamet
“The true writer must write not the acceptable but the true.”
#618
David Mamet
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Focus Saved In my younger and more vulnerable years years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” He didn’t say any more, but we’ve always been unusually communicative in a reserved way, and I understood that he meant a great deal more than that. In consequence, I’m inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores. | The Great Gatsby Chapter I Words 106 Writing Time 00:18:20 / 00:30:00 Speed 342 words/hour
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” He didn’t say any more, but we’ve always been unusually communicative in a reserved way, and I understood that he meant a great deal more than that. In consequence, I’m inclined to reserve all judgements, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to me and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores. | The Great Gatsby 12:46:32 Chapter I 106 W 00:18:20