WIST Quotations

Chamfort, Nicolas -- Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionnée], Part 2 “Characters and Anecdotes [Caractères et Anecdotes],” ch. 12 (1795) [tr. Merwin (1969)]

Dave — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 14:02:07 +0000

Man comes to each age of his life as a novice.

[L’homme arrive novice à chaque âge de la vie.]

Nicolas Chamfort (1741-1794) French writer, epigrammist (b. Nicolas-Sébastien Roch)
Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionnée], Part 2 “Characters and Anecdotes [Caractères et Anecdotes],” ch. 12 (1795) [tr. Merwin (1969)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

Man arrives a novice at every age of life.
[ed. Mathews (1878)]

Man reaches each stage in his life as a novice.
[tr. Hutchinson (1902), "The Cynic's Breviary"]

A man begins every stage of his life as a novice.
[tr. Parmée (2003), ¶ 422]

Stross, Charles -- The Nightmare Stacks, ch. 12 (2016)

Dave — Tue, 05 Sep 2017 19:23:21 +0000

Some people are just better than others at noticing things that don’t align with their concern, and Mum and Dad are simply oblivious to elves, vampires, vegans, and other esoteric manifestations of modernity.

Charles "Charlie" Stross (b. 1964) British writer
The Nightmare Stacks, ch. 12 (2016)
(Source)

Stross, Charles -- The Annihilation Score, ch. 19 (2015)

Dave — Wed, 09 Aug 2017 00:21:55 +0000

The invisible man is a Wellsian supervillain, but the invisible women are all around us, anxious and unseen.

Charles "Charlie" Stross (b. 1964) British writer
The Annihilation Score, ch. 19 (2015)
(Source)

Mantel, Hilary -- In “Ten Rules for Writing Fiction,” The Guardian (20 Feb 2010)

Dave — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 12:14:09 +0000

Concentrate your narrative energy on the point of change. This is especially important for historical fiction. When your character is new to a place, or things alter around them, that’s the point to step back and fill in the details of their world. People don’t notice their everyday surroundings and daily routine, so when writers describe them it can sound as if they’re trying too hard to instruct the reader.

Hilary Mantel (b. 1952) English writer
In “Ten Rules for Writing Fiction,” The Guardian (20 Feb 2010)
(Source)