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Wednesday

Emerson: Famous writers from A to Z on writing




Maybe real writers will write, no matter how readers receive their work. Some persist, even if no one is reading at all. After all, haven’t lots of famous authors and poets only hit the big time after they died?

Maybe Ralph Waldo Emerson would beg to differ.

American Transcendentalist writer and philosopher Emerson (1803-1882) penned essays, lectures, letters, poems, and other works. His best known titles include The American Scholar, “Concord Hymn,” Nature, and Self-Reliance.

Consider what Ralph Waldo Emerson said about readership.

“People do not deserve to have good writing; they are so pleased with bad.”

Still, once a writer has done his or her level best, perhaps it’s important to know where to stop. Emerson summed it up this way:

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. “

It’s not an excuse, an alibi, or an out. As intrepid, self-starter writers know, sometimes the end is harder than the beginning. Once in a while, we don’t know when to call it a wrap.

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3 comments:

  1. Finish each day and be done ... is as true for life in general as it is for writing. Cool! (Of course, it's valid to go back and examine and learn from your mistakes, but not to stress and obsess indefinitely.) Thanx for the quote!

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  2. I like his sentiment about putting the day behind you, but it's not easy to do. I'm sure I would sleep better every night if I could it.
    Robin from Write On Sisters

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  3. Wise and encouraging thoughts. Thank you so much for sharing his work!

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