A Beautiful Quote
I believe the way to write a good play is to convince yourself it is easy to do — then go ahead and to it with ease. Don’t maul, don’t suffer, don’t groan till the first draft is finished. A play is a phoenix: it dies a thousand deaths. Usually at night. In the morning it springs up again from its ashes and crows like a happy rooster. It is never as bad as your think, it is never as good. It is somewhere in between, and success or failure depends on which end of your emotional gamut concerning its value it approaches more closely. But it is much more likely to be good if you think it is wonderful while you are writing the first draft. An artist must believe in himself. Your belief is contagious. Others may say he is vain, but they are affected.
5 October 1941, Tennessee Williams. (via Andy Wingo, Gnome Blogger)
This reminded me of countless late nights at work, where I was sitting over some tricky problem—where the solution just did not fall into place. And indeed, in the morning (or sometimes even at night when brushing my teeth) the solution would just fall into my lap, and everything is joyful! Now reading that quote just totally struck a cord within me.
Du liest "A Beautiful Quote", eingestellt am 19. Oktober 200619. Oktober 2006, abgelegt unter Leben und Leute.