A Quote by T.C. Boyle

Music is, by far, the best art. Nothing even comes close. It's so immediate and emotional. In writing, maybe ninety percent of it is the unconscious and ten percent is control. In music, I think it's probably more like ninety-nine percent the unconscious. It's just a beautiful thing happening through you. And so, too, is writing a great story.

T.C. Boyle

Quote Topics

Art Beautiful Beautiful Thing Best Best Art Close Control Emotional Even Far Great Happening Immediate Just Like Maybe More Music Music Is Nine Ninety Ninety Percent Ninety-Nine Percent Nothing Percent Story Ten Thing Think Through Too Unconscious Writing

Quote Author

T.C. Boyle
American - Novelist
Born: December 2, 1948

The Ninety-Ninety Rule of Project Schedules - the first ninety percent of the task takes ninety percent of the time, and the last ten percent takes the other ninety percent.

Arthur Bloch

Persistence isn't very glamorous. If genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration, then as a culture we tend to lionize the one percent. We love its flash and dazzle. But great power lies in the other ninety-nine percent.

Susan Cain

People often say that writing is ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration. This is nonsense, of course. It's pretty much one hundred percent caffeine.

Caprice Crane

I think I've only spent about ten percent of my energies on writing. The other ninety percent went to keeping my head above water.

Katherine Anne Porter

Ninety percent of all music is always crap, and when too many people decide they're going to have guitar bands, then ninety percent of them are going to be crap. It's just a given law.

David Byrne

After a while the business end of writing takes too much of the writing time. Better to pay someone ten percent and find that you're still more than ten percent ahead in the end. Which is true. My present agent says that he always feels that a good agent during the course of a year should earn back for his client at least the ten percent he takes by way of commission, so the client's really nothing out. And what he should ideally do is make him more money than the ten percent.

Roger Zelazny

There's no "magic secret"; writing is like everything else; ten percent inspiration or talent, and ninety percent hard work. Persistence; keeping at it till you get there. As Agnes de Mille said, it means working every day—bored, tired, weary, or with a fever of a hundred and two.

Marion Zimmer Bradley

If you're writing, you're a writer. If you're talking about it or thinking about it, I'm not so sure. Writing is ninety-eight percent work and two percent magic.

Barbara Kingsolver

Only one percent of artists are really profitable and successful. Beyonce is one?tenth of one percent. When we talk about what she can do, ninety-nine percent of artists can't do that.