WIST Quotations

Fowler, Gene -- Skyline: A Reporter’s Reminiscence of the ’20s, ch. 8 (1961)

Dave — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 20:05:11 +0000

I am glad that I paid so little attention to good advice; had I abided by it, I might have been saved from some of my most valuable mistakes.

Gene Fowler (1890–1960) American journalist, author, and dramatist. [b. Eugene Devlan]
Skyline: A Reporter’s Reminiscence of the ’20s, ch. 8 (1961)

Fowler used this exact phrase in his autobiographical book, published posthumously, and I can find no other published reference to the phrase prior to 1960 (a review of the upcoming book).

The phrase is also attributed in many places to the American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950), but with no citation and no searchable use of the phrase during her lifetime.

Gaiman, Neil -- Speech (2012-05-17), Commencement, University of the Arts, Philadelphia [09:17]

Dave — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 19:32:01 +0000

I hope you’ll make mistakes. If you make mistakes, it means you’re out there doing something. And the mistakes in themselves can be very useful. I once misspelled Caroline, in a letter, transposing the As and the O, and I thought, “Coraline looks almost like a real name…”

Neil Gaiman (b. 1960) British author, screenwriter, fabulist
Speech (2012-05-17), Commencement, University of the Arts, Philadelphia [09:17]

(Source (Video))

Faulkner, William -- “The Art of Fiction,” Interview by Jean Stein, Paris Review #12 (Spring 1956)

Dave — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 15:20:58 +0000

Let the writer take up surgery or bricklaying if he is interested in technique. There is no mechanical way to get the writing done, no shortcut. The young writer would be a fool to follow a theory. Teach yourself by your own mistakes; people learn only by error.

William Faulkner (1897–1962) American novelist
“The Art of Fiction,” Interview by Jean Stein, Paris Review #12 (Spring 1956)

Snicket, Lemony -- The Vile Village, ch. 1 (2001)

Dave — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 18:21:10 +0000

A newspaper, as I’m sure you know, is a collection of supposedly true stories written down by writers who either saw them happen or talked to people who did. These writers are called journalists, and like telephone operators, butchers, ballerinas, and people who clean up after horses, journalists can sometimes make mistakes.

Lemony Snicket (b. 1970) American author, screenwriter, musician (pseud. for Daniel Handler)
The Vile Village, ch. 1 (2001)

Clinton, Bill -- Speech to students during the 1992 US Presidential campaign

Dave — Thu, 02 Jun 2016 13:33:16 +0000

If you live long enough, you’ll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you’ll be a better person. It’s how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit.

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (b. 1946) American politician, US President (1993–2001)
Speech to students during the 1992 US Presidential campaign

Stravinsky, Igor -- “Contingencies,” Themes and Episodes (1966)

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

I have learned throughout my life as a composer chiefly through my mistakes and pursuits of false assumptions, not by my exposure to founts of wisdom and knowledge.

Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) American composer
“Contingencies,” Themes and Episodes (1966)