What Makes Good Writing?

A good read doesn't just make you smile or make you laugh.  And it doesn't just get you thinking…  Wondering "What if…".  Sure, good writing does all these things, but at the root of it there is something even more profound.

The hopes of every writer are to touch your very soul, to give you timeless wisdom.

I can engage your mind, your wit, I can tug at your heart strings with little (OK moderate) difficulty.  But in the moment, should there be one, where you say "Aha!  This is the clarification I needed, this is exactly what I thought but could not put into words, this is SOME ESSENTIAL THING I now have the words for,", well, that is the greatest a writer can hope to achieve.

A good writer will take and idea, and distill it and crystallize it into it's most succinct form.  A good writer will say all that is necessary, but no more than is sufficient, to convey a truth that needs to be stated.

I can think of so many books that have changed forever the way I see the World.  Through reading, I have been transported to many Worlds, both real, imaginary, past and present.  But a book is a long road to hoe, to get to this fine crystallization of truth.

So some quotes that I think are brilliant, and many from just a few authors you may not have considered as classically wise (but have nonetheless touched us in profound ways).  I think the quotes will speak for themselves.

Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind. -- Theodore Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss

If you drink much from a bottle marked 'poison' it is certain to disagree with you sooner or later. -- Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland)

Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read. -- Groucho Marx, comedian

You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.  -- A. A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh)

All generalizations are false, including this one. -- Mark Twain (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer)

Happiness is not always the best way to be happy. -- Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are)

Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened. -- Dr. Seuss

If there is a book you want to read but isn`t written yet,write it. -- Shel Silverstein (Where the Sidewalk Ends)

Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.  -- Lewis Carroll

Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.  -- A. A Milne

I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. -- Dr. Seuss

Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often. -- Mark Twain 

Everything is funny, if you can laugh at it. -- Lewis Carroll 

Think, think, think.   -- A. A. Milne

Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple. -- Dr. Seuss

The hurrier I go, the behinder I get. -- Lewis Carroll

Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. -- Mark Twain

Living your life without regrets is  a double-edged sword.  It is so much easier to not regret what you do, if you do not do what you'll regret.  -- Swedish Chef in VA