Quotes for All
Never use an adverb to modify the verb ‘said’ . . . he admonished gravely. To use an adverb this way (or almost any way) is a mortal sin. The writer is now exposing himself in earnest, using a word that distracts and can interrupt the rhythm of the exchange. Elmore Leonard
Never use a verb other than \”said\” to carry dialogue… I once noticed Mary McCarthy ending a line of dialogue with \”she asseverated\” and had to stop reading and go to the dictionary. Elmore Leonard
The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. Elmore Leonard
Acutely aware of the poverty of my means, language became obstacle. At every page I thought, ‘That’s not it.’ So I began again with other verbs and other images. No, that wasn’t it either. But what exactly was that it I was searching for? It must have been all that eludes us, hidden behind a … Read more
A painting to me is primarily a verb, not a noun, an event first and only secondarily an image. Elaine de Kooning
One of the glories of English simplicity is the possibility of using the same word as noun and verb. Edward Sapir
And what is a kiss, specifically? A pledge properly sealed, a promise seasoned to taste, a vow stamped with the immediacy of a lip, a rosy circle drawn around the verb ‘to love.’ A kiss is a message too intimate for the ear, infinity captured in the bee’s brief visit to a flower, secular communication … Read more
A kiss, when all is told, what is it? An oath taken a little closer, a promise more exact. A wish that longs to be confirmed, a rosy circle drawn around the verb ‘to love’. A kiss is a secret which takes the lips for the ear, a moment of infinity humming like a bee, … Read more
I wish I was the verb ‘to trust’ and never let you down. Eddie Vedder
A sentence begins quite simply, then it undulates and expands, parentheses intervene like quick-set hedges, the flowers of comparison bloom, and three fields off, like a wounded partridge, crouches the principal verb, making one wonder as one picks it up, poor little thing, whether after all it was worth such a tramp, so many guns, … Read more