10 Quotes on Writing by H.P Lovecraft

smackit (53)in #quotes • 6 years ago

1. “It is necessary … to caution the beginner to keep a reliable grammar and dictionary always beside him, that he may avoid in his compositions the frequent errors which imperceptibly corrupt even the purest ordinary speech.”

2. “All attempts at gaining literary polish must begin with judicious reading, and the learner must never cease to hold this phase uppermost.”

3. “Popular magazines inculcate a careless and deplorable style which is hard to unlearn, and which impedes the acquisition of a purer style. If such things must be read, let them be skimmed over as lightly as possible.”

4. “Never should an unfamiliar word be passed over without elucidation.”

5. “In enlarging our vocabulary, we must beware lest we misuse our new possessions. We must remember that there are fine distinctions betwixt apparently similar words, and that language must ever be selected with intelligent care.”

6. “Description, in order to be effective, calls upon two mental qualities; observation and discrimination.”

7. “The reader must remember that they are only suggestions, and not for literal use. The extent of any description is to be determined by its place in the composition; by taste and fitness. In fiction, description must not be carried to excess. A plethora of it leads to dullness, so that it must ever be balanced by a brisk flow of narration.”

8. "It is deemed wisest in most cases to give narratives a climactic form; leading from lesser to greater events, and culminating in that chief incident upon which the story is primarily founded, or which makes the other parts important through its own importance.”

9. “Plots may be simple or complex; but suspense, and climactic progress from one incident to another, are essential.”

10. “Every incident in a fictional work should have some bearing on the climax or denouement, and any denouement which is not the inevitable result of the preceding incidents is awkward and unliterary.”

H.P. Lovecraft

Howard Phillips Lovecraft was born August 20th, 1890, Providence, RI. Died March 15th, 1937, Providence, RI. Lovecraft was an American writer who wrote influential works of horror. He died in poverty, unknown, years later he gained fame and is now regarded as one of the most significant 20th-century authors in his genre.

“In fictional narration, verisimilitude is absolutely essential. A story must be consistent and must contain no event glaringly removed from the usual order of things, unless that event is the main incident, and is approached with the most careful preparation.”~ H.P.Lovecraft