I like to collect quotes. Quotes about love, life, God, inspiration, writing, etc. This is my top 10 list of favorite writing quotes. I love them all equally so the order of the list is not important. I hope you enjoy.
- There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. – Ernest Hemingway
- First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him! – Ray Bradbury
- Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer. – Barbara Kingsolver
- Tell the readers a story! Because without a story, you are merely using words to prove you can string them together in logical sentences. – Anne McCaffrey
- Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind, is written large in his works. —Virginia Woolf
- When your story is ready for rewrite, cut it to the bone. Get rid of every ounce of excess fat. This is going to hurt; revising a story down to the bare essentials is always a little like murdering children, but it must be done. – Stephen King
- Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that diet have very pleasant careers. – Ray Bradbury
- Keep a small can of WD-40 on your desk—away from any open flames—to remind yourself that if you don’t write daily, you will get rusty. – George Singleton
- You cannot hope to sweep someone else away by the force of your writing until it has been done to you. ― Stephen King
- A classic is classic not because it conforms to certain structural rules, or fits certain definitions (of which its author had quite probably never heard). It is classic because of a certain eternal and irrepressible freshness. – Edith Wharton
This list could’ve gone on for miles because there are so many wonderful quotes out there. What are your favorite writing quotes?
I agree! SO many good ones. These ones are really great. I also like this one by Sinclair Lewis: “It is impossible to discourage real writers. They don’t give a damn what you say, they’re going to write.” Great post! 😀
Liesel, I like that quote! I am going to add it to my collection. So many good ones out there. I have a journal that I keep my quotes in. I think I have 4 now just full of amazing quotes or poems that I have found over the years.