Chris Baty Quotes

A novel rough draft is like bread dough, you need to beat the crap out of it for it to rise.

~ Chris Baty

A deadline is, simply put, optimism in its most kick-ass form. It's a potent force that, when wielded with respect, will level any obstacle in its path. This is especially true when it comes to creative pursuits.

~ Chris Baty

Rereading parts of your novel while writing is like doubling back at rerunning parts of a marathon midrace.

~ Chris Baty

When your novel first peeks its head into the world, it will look pretty much like every newborn: blotchy, hairless, and utterly confused.

~ Chris Baty

Don’t be offended if you encounter some good-natured ribbing, the idea ofwriting a novel in a month deserves to be laughed at.

~ Chris Baty

Today’s tangents will become tomorrow’s arcs, and unforeseen connections will tie up your loose ends in a way that will make you want to slap your head and holler at your accidental brilliance.

~ Chris Baty

If you have a million things to do, adding item number 1,000,001 is not such a big deal. When, on the other hand, you have nothing to do, getting out of bed and washing yourself before 2:00 P.M. feels like too much work to even contemplate.

~ Chris Baty

There's an old folk saying that goes: whenever you delete a sentence from your NaNoWriMo novel, a NaNoWriMo angel loses its wings and plummets, screaming, to the ground. Where it will likely require medical attention.

~ Chris Baty