A book is never finished, it is abandoned.
Gene Fowler (1890-1960) American journalist, author, and dramatist. [b. Eugene Devlan]
Quoted in H. Allen Smith, The Life and Legend of Gene Fowler, ch. 27 (1977)
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Quotations about:
deadline
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.
A deadline is negative inspiration. Still, it’s better than no inspiration at all.
Rita Mae Brown (b. 1944) American author, playwright
Starting from Scratch: A Different Kind of Writers’ Manual, Part 4 (1988)
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Depend upon it, Sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) English writer, lexicographer, critic
Comment (1777-09-19)
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In James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)
HOBBES: Have you an idea for your story yet?
CALVIN: No, I’m waiting for inspiration. You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.
HOBBES: What mood is that?
CALVIN: Last-minute panic.
I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.
Douglas Adams (1952-2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Attributed in Richard Dawkins, “A Lament for Douglas Adams,” The Guardian (2001-05-13)
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Memorial to his friend, Adams; later collected in The Salmon of Doubt, Part 4 "Epilogue" (2002) [ed. Peter Guzzardi]. Many variants exist, e.g., "What I love the most about deadlines is the whooshing sound they make as they go by."
