WIST Quotations

Hall, Christy -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 16:59:52 +0000

The night before a deadline, I usually am in desperate need of a back rub. And new wrists. And candy. And little mice to secretly finish the job while I am sleeping.

Christy Hall (contemp.) American playwright, screenwriter, film director
(Attributed)

Popularly ascribed to Hall, but I cannot find a primary source.

Marlowe, Christopher -- The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, Act 5, sc. 2 (sc. 19), l. 1498ff (1594; 1604 “A” text)

Dave — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 23:00:16 +0000

FAUSTUS: No, Faustus, curse thyself, curse Lucifer,
That hath deprived thee of the joys of heaven.
(The clock striketh twelve.)
O, it strikes, it strikes! Now, body, turn to air,
Or Lucifer will bear thee quick to hell.
(Thunder and lightning.)
O soul, be changed into little water drops,
And fall into the ocean, ne’er be found!
My God, my God, look not so fierce on me!
(Enter Devils.)
Adders, and serpents, let me breathe a while!
Ugly hell, gape not. Come not Lucifer!
I’ll burn my books! Ah, Mephistophilis!
(Exeunt Devils with Faustus.)

Christopher "Kit" Marlowe (1564–1593) English dramatist and poet
The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, Act 5, sc. 2 (sc. 19), l. 1498ff (1594; 1604 “A” text)

The B-Text (1594; 1616), l. 2081ff, is largely the same, with minor punctuation changes, except that rather than cry "My God, my God," Faustus cries "O mercy, heaven!"

Fowler, Gene -- Quoted in H. Allen Smith, The Life and Legend of Gene Fowler, ch. 27 (1977)

Dave — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 15:57:45 +0000

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)

Fowler was speaking about publisher deadlines. Others have used similar phrases regarding the creative process as a whole. See Valéry and Abram.

Brown, Rita Mae -- Bingo (1988)

Dave — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 21:13:46 +0000

If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.

Rita Mae Brown (b. 1944) American author, playwright
Bingo (1988)

The phrase can actually be found prior to Brown's formulation (1, 2), but Brown appears to have been the first to popularize it, and it entered into much wider use after her.

Frequent variant: "If not for the last minute ...."

Brown, Rita Mae -- Starting from Scratch: A Different Kind of Writers’ Manual, Part 4 (1988)

Dave — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 18:41:58 +0000

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)

Johnson, Samuel -- Comment (1777-09-19)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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)

In James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791)

Watterson, Bill -- Calvin and Hobbes (1992-05-21)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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.

Bill Watterson (b. 1958) American cartoonist
Calvin and Hobbes (1992-05-21)

Adams, Douglas -- Attributed in Richard Dawkins, “A Lament for Douglas Adams,” The Guardian (2001-05-13)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

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)

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."