Top 3 Quotes by Noah Lukeman

Personally, I am always more impressed by simplicity, clarity; it is the mark of a writer who knows his subject well and is secure enough not to 'lay it on' in the telling. Aim for complexity of thought, not expression.

Personally, I am always more impressed by simplicity, clarity; it is the mark of a writer who knows his subject well and is secure enough not to 'lay it on' in the telling. Aim for complexity of thought, not expression.

Noah Lukeman

Expression, Simplicity, Clarity

Noah Lukeman (2010). “The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile”, p.36, Oxford University Press, USA

Despite popular conviction, a writer needn't wear black, be unshaven, sickly and parade around New York's East Village spewing aphorisms and scaring children.

Noah Lukeman

New York, Children, Black

Noah Lukeman (2010). “The First Five Pages: A Writer'S Guide To Staying Out of the Rejection P”, p.16, Simon and Schuster

In order to even begin to learn how to play his instrument, it takes the guitarist weeks to build calluses on his fingertips; it takes the saxophonist months to strengthen his lip so that he might play his instrument for only a five-minute stretch; it can take the pianist years to develop dual hand and multiple finger coordination. Why do writers assume they can just “write” with no training whatsoever-and then expect, on their first attempt, to be published internationally? What makes them think they're so much inherently greater, need so much less training than any other artists?

Noah Lukeman

Writing, Artist, Thinking

Noah Lukeman (2010). “The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile”, p.72, Oxford University Press, USA