Darynda Jones Quotes

Bye-bye. Nice knowing you. But if you are waiting for that perfect idea to strike like lightning during a dust storm (I live in New Mexico), you could be waiting a long time. Ideas are everywhere. EVERYWHERE. I can’t walk to the bathroom without being hit with another idea. It’s what you DO with that idea that matters. Here is your mantra: BICHOK, BICHOK, BICHOKTranslation: Butt in chair, hands on keys. Just write. Every stinking day.
Darynda Jones
No writing is effortless. I’m not saying you can’t have a good day where the words just kind of flow, but even those words have to be edited. Probably more than once. And I’m not saying a character hasn’t somehow gone in a different direction that I wanted her to go, but that was me, not her. I let her get away from me. I let her roam free and nine times out of ten, the result is not good. I have to go back and start over because she veered off the path of my book. She changed the vision. And I did that. Not her.
Darynda Jones
Doing nothing is hard. You never know when you’re done. —T-SHIRT
Darynda Jones
I also become the local computer nerd. The administration brings me in to fix all the computers, I create viruses to invade at a specific day and time. They call me in, and I eradicate my own virus, only to plant another one to go into effect a couple months later. They ask me why I can't just fix the computers once and for all. I tell them to quit going to porn sites and it will stay fixed. That shuts them up every time.
Darynda Jones
But have you ever seen one?....They shook their heads. "Not Physically, no. But if you look at this passage - "Man, she liked that Bible. I'd read it and could definitely understand it's appeal, but I didn't have time for this.
Darynda Jones
I could’ve knocked the shit out of her .She’d have good reason to roll her eyes then. But knocking the shit out of rude people wasn’t my style. Heckling them every chance I got was. Hopefully she’d screw up soon. I didn’t have all day.
Darynda Jones
Can I brush your hair?” she asked as she led the way, her disposition doing a 180 on a dime. Kids. Can’t live with ’em. Can’t eat ’em for lunch.
Darynda Jones
He was leaving my stepmother for a sailboat. Not that I blamed him. A sailboat would at least be useful.
Darynda Jones
Thrilled that Reyes and I were outside, and taking that as her cue to get her freak on, Artemis ran around like a gerbil on meth, turning occasionally to make sure we were still watching. And God help us if we weren't.
Darynda Jones
Step back and scrutinize your work, to delve deep into the meaning behind the words, it will get both easier in some ways and harder in others. Either way, you need to practice everyday. You will probably get faster with time, because you learn to do this instinctively, and the writing may flow better on some days more than others, but it doesn’t get easier. And if you aren’t writing everyday, you are doing yourself and your craft a disservice. Writing is a habit. Get into the habit.
Darynda Jones
If you can master the opening, you will be leaps and bounds ahead of the competition.
Darynda Jones
The key to high concept is that fresh twist. Make it a big one. Wow your reader. Force her to gasp when she comes to that part in your story.
Darynda Jones
We don’t read to observe the character from a distance. We read to become the character and experience the conflicts and rewards they are experiencing.
Darynda Jones
While the goal of a book is to create a positive emotional experience for the reader, the goal of the opening is to set the stage, to pull the reader in.
Darynda Jones
There is a light at the end of the tunnel. A finished manuscript is AWESOME! So go, go, go! *waves pompoms*
Darynda Jones
Don't let writers block push you around. Figure out what the problem is,whether it's with the ms or it's in your personal life, and face it head on. Don't stop writing. Just try really hard to work through it.
Darynda Jones
Any time a beloved character is killed off, it affects the audience in a very powerful way, especially in a series.
Darynda Jones
I've been rejected a hundred times. It just takes that one person who totally believes in you!
Darynda Jones
I think the first draft is so challenging because that elusive BALANCE is so challenging.
Darynda Jones
Fresh writing and an original twist on an old idea. As much as this term is hated in the industry, it doesn't make it any less true. High concept. Simply put, you take a universal concept, something that has been done a million times (because everything has been done a million times), and add a fresh twist to it. Something no one saw coming. But mostly fresh writing! Keep it clean, simple, and compelling.
Darynda Jones
Screw the beaten path! Do your thing. Write the best story you can. the rest will fall into place.
Darynda Jones
I made a decision long ago not to make any apologies. Romance rocks, and even though my books don't actually fall into the romance genre, I tout them as very much being about the romance. It's fun. We're all obsessed with it. And it's human nature. Remember, NO APOLOGIES! Write what 's in your heart!
Darynda Jones
You take a universal concept, something that has been done a million times (because everything has been done a million times), and add a fresh twist to it. Something no one saw coming. But mostly fresh writing! Keep it clean, simple, and compelling.
Darynda Jones
ALWAYS hook a reader. If a detail is unnecessary, it doesn't belong in your work, long or short! Make everything intriguing. If you have to describe a desk, make it awesome.
Darynda Jones
I learn from everything I do, right and wrong. I think it helps me grow as a writer and a person.
Darynda Jones
Read. Write. Read some more. Explore the universe through your writing. Practice and learn what moves you and what doesn't.
Darynda Jones
WHILE writing, just try to have fun with your ms. Enjoy the process, but push on. Always push toward the finish line!
Darynda Jones
Does he ever eat cotton candy for breakfast?"He stepped around the counter to face us, lowered his gaze, and took a sip from the black mug in his hands."No," I said. "He's very much like the Big Bad Wolf. He eats little girls for breakfast."He spoke from behind the cup, his voice deep and as smooth as butterscotch. "She's wrong. I eat big girls for breakfast.
Darynda Jones
We all have a certain knowledge about how the universe works. And when someone comes along and challenges that knowledge, we don’t know how to deal with it. We aren’t hardwired that way. It’s difficult to question everything you’ve ever thought to be true. So, like I said, it’s not your fault. You can believe me or not, but whichever you choose, you’re the one who has to deal with the consequences. So make your decision wisely, grasshopper,
Darynda Jones
In that one, they'd done their darnedest to destroy Riley's Switch. This time, instead of two-by-fours and tire irons, they seemed a little more focused on choke holds and knees to the face. Their desire to be close to each other was sweet.
Darynda Jones
And as your writing evolves, what you need and get from it evolves.
Darynda Jones
There is a difference between fresh and weird. You never want to throw your reader out of the story. Keep it fresh but natural.
Darynda Jones
Humor is so subjective, not everyone is going to get what you are peddling. Others will be offended when what you meant no offense whatsoever. Those are the stakes. You have to be able to stand up for yourself and what you’ve written. Comedy pushes limits, makes people uncomfortable, and is a natural reaction to the environment. Otherwise, as I said, it is forced. Let it flow and give your characters permission to cross a line or two, but only if you can take the heat afterward.
Darynda Jones
I cannot tell you how important fresh, crisp writing is for an aspiring writer. Plot is great. The overall concept is super important. But the writing is what sells your work. It all boils down to the words you choose and the order in which you arrange them.
Darynda Jones
Developing your voice takes... time and practice.
Darynda Jones
I am apparently the complete opposite of a sociopath. (Seriously. I took a test.) WHEW! ‪#‎dodgedabullet‬
Darynda Jones
You know?” he asked.“Yes. I know what I am.”“You – you do?”“I’m a time traveler.
Darynda Jones
Writing doesn’t get any easier with time or talent. If writing is easy for you, you’re probably still learning the craft. You haven’t perfected your style or landed upon your “voice.” You haven’t learned to analyze your writing with a critical eye, to rip it apart and figure out why it isn’t doing exactly what you want.
Darynda Jones
Writing is transcendental. It is a form of expression, a form of art that you can take anywhere. That you can do anywhere. It poses the deepest questions in the universe. It generates emotion. It elicits empathy, promotes learning, creates an intellect you simply cannot get from any other medium. For me, it is air.
Darynda Jones
Never wait for your muse. Train him/her to show up to work when you do by pushing on. It's a dominant submission thing.
Darynda Jones
The point is, stories can be all lengths. Never underestimate the power of “less is more.
Darynda Jones
How old are you, anyway?""How old are you?""Seventeen."I raise a brow."Almost. I'll be seventeen in two weeks. You?"Part of me doesn't want to tell her. She'll be horrified. But part of me wants to know what she will do when she knows the truth. "How old do you think I am?"She lifts a slender shoulder. "At first I thought maybe eighteen, but now I'm thinking at least nineteen. Maybe even twenty?""why's that?""You seem very ... experienced."I nod. "You're close. Today's my birthday. I'm thirteen.
Darynda Jones
A lot of people are alive because I shed too much hair to get away with murder.
Darynda Jones
You still owe me a million dollars." I'd presented him with a bill for proving his innocence and getting him freed from prison. He had yet to pay. Couldn't imagine why."Yeah, I was hoping we could work that out.""The interest alone is going to kill you.""What do you charge?""Three hundred eighty-seven percent.""Is that ethical?""It's as ethical as my dating the son of Satan.
Darynda Jones
So, where are you from?" Agent Carson asked Reyes. "Originally?"I whirled around to face him again, this time pinning him with a warning glare. Carson was an FBI agent, but I was all about stealth. Surely she wouldn't pick up on my silent threat.He studied my mouth, not the least bit worried about my warning glare, then said at last, "Here and t
Darynda Jones
I essentially killed those men. Am I slated for hell?"He stepped to me. Put his fingers underneath my chin. Raised it until our gazes locked. "You're a god, Dutch. And the reaper. You don't get slated. You are the slate.
Darynda Jones
Amador and Bianca have a great life that I'm only a little jealous of. They have two kids they bring to see me. His daughter, Ashlee, is almost five now. She has asked me to marry her when I get out. It feels kind of weird since she calls me Uncle Reyes and incest is frowned upon, but who am I to argue with true love?
Darynda Jones
I still had my hand on his side, careful not to press. He reached out and hooked a finger into the belt loop on my jeans. It felt so natural, so fulfilling, to be there with him. To talk with him as if we did it everyday. As if we'd been doung it every day for years. Not even the heat of Ian's fury could penetrate the warmth I was getting from Reyes.
Darynda Jones
You do have a tendency to severe spinal cords.""Only for you.
Darynda Jones
Keep Reading.Keep Writing.Keep Pushing yourself!And never stop learning!We writerly types have to stick together mostly because everybody else thinks we're "weird".
Darynda Jones
You rented the apartment with a dead guy in the corner?” I shrugged. “I wanted the apartment, and I figured I could cover him up with a bookcase or something.
Darynda Jones
I am a huge believer in revelations and fun twists.
Darynda Jones
A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory. —STEVEN WRIGHT
Darynda Jones
Real writers write. Period. No, the muse does not come to visit everyday. She’s a lazy, precocious flirt. You cannot get into the habit of being “in the mood” to write. No writer on Earth is in the mood to write everyday, but the good ones do it anyway. They fight through their fatigue, their stress, their doubt, and they write. They get the words on the page. Period. So stop waiting for your muse. Trust me, she sleeps around.
Darynda Jones
After an initial rush of pleasure that left me trembling with need, I broke off the heated kiss and whispered, "Okay, you win."He leaned over me and said into my ear, "Dutch, I won the moment you crawled into bed."He really did need to work on his self-esteem.
Darynda Jones
I stop fighting my inner demons. We're on the same side now. T-shirt
Darynda Jones
You just seem so sad,” I said, dialing voice mail. “Like someone stole your favorite nine millimeter.”“I’m not sad.” He started down the hall, then turned back. “Least not when I look at you.”.
Darynda Jones
Gemma had blond hair and blue eyes. I did not.Gemma was always an A student. I was more of a B-all-you-can-be kind of gal.When Gemma was into science, I was into skipping.When Gemma was into foreign languages, I was into the hot Italian guy down the street.
Darynda Jones
And I like the light-up.”“The what?”“The light-up,” he’d say. “You know, that look people get when they finally realize you’re for real. It’s like electricity. It makes me tingle all over. Like a blanket full of static.”Ew. “Really? I’ve never heard that.”“Yeah, and I like it when people realize we’re out here.”I leaned in close once and asked him, “Do you want your mom to realize you’re out here? Do you want her to know?”“Nah. It took her too long to get over me.”All in all, he was a good kid.
Darynda Jones
The woman eyed Ubie a moment before grabbing a pen and writing down the dates I had. Ubie eyed her back. Sparks flew.
Darynda Jones