I confess to wincing every so often at a poorly chosen word, a mangled sentence, an expression of emotion that seems indulgent or overly practiced. I have the urge to cut the book by fifty pages or so, possessed as I am with a keener appreciation for brevity.

Barack Obama
About This Quote

The writer of this sentiment has a great appreciation for how we can improve and make ourselves more efficient and better writers. However, the writer also admits to having a soft spot for our favorite authors. The urge to cut the book by fifty pages or so is not a desire to have all of those pages removed from the novel. Instead, it is a desire to improve the book as a whole.

In some ways, this quote illustrates that there is no such thing as perfection as it is impossible to be without any flaws or errors in writing. We choose to focus on the parts we dislike so that we can improve.

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