Advice from the Masters: David McCullough

Oct 21, 2015 | Better Writing

David McCullough has written several books and won a bunch of awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Right now I’m engrossed in his latest book, The Wright Brothers. As a reader I love how he carries me along on the wave of a story about real people. As a writer, I envy his effortless style.

Here’s a bit of wisdom from David McCullough, titled “The Title Always Comes Last” on the National Endowment for the Humanities web site. There is a whole bunch of insight packed into this short quote

“You can’t learn to play the piano without playing the piano, you can’t learn to write without writing, and, in many ways, you can’t learn to think without thinking. Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That’s why it’s so hard.”

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