Scatter Brained

C H A P T E R   8

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212
S C A T T E R B R A I N E D
“I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as gener-
ally happens in such cases, each time it was a diff erent 
story.”
—Edith Wharton, 
Ethan Frome
When you want to dispense advice of any variety, but you 
don’t want to pretend it’s your own advice because then 
no one would take you seriously, preface the advice with:
“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me 
some  advice  that  I’ve  been  turning  over  in  my  head  ever 
since.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald, 
Th
  e Great Gatsby
✖  ✖  ✖
When you can’t remember the other first sentences but 
you really want to quote the entire first sentence of a ma-
jor 20th-century novel, we’ve found this one pretty easy 
to remember:
“Brrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinng!”
—Richard Wright, 
Native Son
(Note to perfectionists: It’s one 
B,
 seven 
r
’s, 19 
I
’s, 2 
n
’s, and 1 
g.
 
Th
  at kind of attention to detail will soon serve you well—you 
wouldn’t want to drop a stitch. . . .