Aphorisms from Tosh Berman Regarding the Subject Matter of Writing

Inspirational Quotations/ Aphorisms from Tosh Berman (on Writing)

• When everything is squeezed out of you, and there is nothing but the ground below and the unknown above, go higher. 

• When everything is horrific, appreciate the absurdity.

• When you are given two choices, always choose the third one. 

• Look for inspiration every day in the most boring procedures one does every day. 

• If one has to make a serious decision in life, flip a coin. It can be a mistake, but blaming it on fate will make that decision easier. 

• Always be honest with others about your music tastes. There is nothing more awful than telling people you genuinely admire that you love The Clash or, even worse, Arcade Fire when you know they are shit.  They’ll hate you for it, but a true friend would understand. 

• If you must borrow (or steal), ensure it is from the best.  Nothing is more embarrassing when one steals from an artist with less than your talent.

• Knowing when your moment is coming up is challenging, but try to die with a smile.  If for nothing else, do it for Alain Delon, who shot an alternative to the ending of Le Samurai with a smile on his face.

• Dark times with exciting people are OK, but dark times with dull people are never good. 

• It is false to have friends who have questionable political leanings or views. Eliminate them from your life.  They are like a virus, and all they want to do is convert you to their narrow-minded religion. 

• Being a snob is an excellent and healthy quality.  Those who attack you are doing it because they stand for nothing.  Open mindlessness is good, but only when you take your time to obtain that stature. Never do it under someone’s pressure.

• Those critics who attack people for their sexual perversity usually hide their obsessions from others.   They speak loudly to throw one off their pathway to depraved needs.