"The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. You can always do it better, find the exact word, the apt phrase, the leaping simile"
About this Quote
The subtext is a quiet defense of second drafts in a culture that fetishizes first-draft genius. “You don’t have to get it right the first time” isn’t permission to be sloppy; it’s permission to be honest. Cormier is pointing at the real labor: not getting words down, but finding “the exact word” and “the apt phrase,” a triad that sounds almost legalistic in its precision. Then he spikes that discipline with the “leaping simile,” a reminder that craft isn’t only correctness; it’s lift. “Leaping” implies surprise, risk, velocity - the moment language stops being serviceable and starts being alive.
Context matters: Cormier wrote unnerving, morally complicated novels for young readers, books that don’t resolve into tidy lessons. That kind of work demands revision because it demands control - of tone, of dread, of ambiguity. The line is reassurance to writers, yes, but also a warning: the beauty isn’t that you get infinite chances. It’s that you’re responsible for using them.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Cormier, Robert. (2026, January 16). The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. You can always do it better, find the exact word, the apt phrase, the leaping simile. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-beautiful-part-of-writing-is-that-you-dont-134561/
Chicago Style
Cormier, Robert. "The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. You can always do it better, find the exact word, the apt phrase, the leaping simile." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-beautiful-part-of-writing-is-that-you-dont-134561/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. You can always do it better, find the exact word, the apt phrase, the leaping simile." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-beautiful-part-of-writing-is-that-you-dont-134561/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
