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First drafts are for learning what your story is about.

Bernard Malamud

And if at all possible, give order to; but one must not withdraw from the task if he has some small things to offer – he does so at the risk of diminishing his humanity.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Diminishing Humanity Small Some Withdraw
I sometimes confuse myself with the little I know.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Knowledge Littles Sometime
Tomorrow the world is not the same as today, though God listens with the same ear.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Change Ears World
You write by sitting down and writing. There’s no particular time or place—you suit yourself, your nature.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Down Sitting Writing
Some men are by nature explorers; my nature is to stay under the same moon and stars, and if the weather is wet, under the same roof. It’s a strange world, why make it stranger?
BERNARD MALAMUD

Adventure Moon Stars
I work with language. I love the flowers of afterthought.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Afterthought Flower Language
Reader, I am myself the subject of my book; you would be unreasonable to spend your leisure on so frivolous and so vain a matter.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Book Frivolous Leisure Matter
First drafts are for learning what your story is about.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Draft Firsts Learn Stories
It was all those biographies in me yelling, ‘We want out. We want to tell you what we’ve done to you.’
BERNARD MALAMUD

Biography Done Want Yelling
The wild begins where you least expect it, one step off your normal course
BERNARD MALAMUD

Course Normal Steps
A man had to learn, it was his nature.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Learning Men Nature
Revision is one of the exquisite pleasures of writing.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Pleasure Revision Writing
Somewhere I put it this way: first drafts are for learning what one’s fiction wants him to say. Revision works with that knowledge to enlarge and enhance an idea, to reform it. Revision is one of the exquisite pleasures of writing.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Ideas Reform Revision Work Writing
If you ever forget you are a Jew a goy will remind you.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Few Forget Jokes Remind
The whole history of baseball has the quality of mythology.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Baseball Mythology Quality
We didn’t starve but nobody ate chicken unless we were sick or the chicken was.
BERNARD MALAMUD

Poor Poverty Sick

First drafts are for learning what your story is about.

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First drafts are for learning what your story is about.

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