Good Quotes

And How To Use Them (2 Ways)

Good quotes can make your writing shine, even (especially!) if you don't see yourself as a natural 'writer'. This section is full of material that you can use in 2 ways:

1.To back up a point or make your writing more interesting.

2.By changing the words, you have your own lively and original writing.

How does this second use work in practice? Let's take this example about Michael Jackson's whiter-than-white complexion:

It was...the face of an angel with jet lag
Gilbert Adair

You can recycle this to describe just about anything. This citation is memorable because you would never imagine an angel suffering from jet lag.

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Now replace these 2 contrasting ideas with any of the following:

A Greek god with post-traumatic stress disorder
A politician doing graffitti art
A statue with a ghetto blaster

Although none of these seem to be of much use in any particular context, just thinking up ways you can adapt and recycle what you hear will increase your word power and make you a better writer generally.

Top Tips

Start collecting words of wisdom - take a notebook with you everywhere, and write down good quotes that you come across.

Cannibalise newspapers and magazines for witty snippets and keep them in a scrapbook. The very act of collecting them will make the ideas stick in your mind, ready for reuse when you need them most.

In This Section:

Inspirational Quotes
"There's no such thing as failure, only feedback"...and more motivational gems.

Short Funny Quotes
....about everything from dating and housework to one of Jack Nicholson's best films.

Michael Jackson Quotes
Memorable quotes by and about the King of Pop, with plenty of suggestions about how to adapt them to improve your on writing.

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