Roy Peter Clark Quotes

#1. 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

#2. 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

#3. 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

#4. A teacher of mine once said there are no true synonyms.

Roy Peter Clark

#5. Express your most powerful thought in the shortest sentence.

Roy Peter Clark

#6. For what good is freedom of expression if you lack the means to express yourself?

Roy Peter Clark

#7. 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

#8. Everyone should read, we say, but we act as if only those with special talent should write.

Roy Peter Clark

#9. Without a serious study of journalism, there can be no understanding of citizenship, democracy, or community.

Roy Peter Clark

#10. 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

#11. I may have grown up in the Age of Aquarius, but I'm growing old in the Age of the Acronym.

Roy Peter Clark

#12. 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

#13. Having the urge to write is one thing; acting on it is another.

Roy Peter Clark