We can find encouragement and instruction in reading great writing quotes
Two weeks ago I asked you to share your favorite quotes about writing. Mine was “Omit needless words.” Here are some more great writing quotes.
“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” -Toni Morrison
“If you don’t like someone’s story, write your own.” -Chinua Achebe
“Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I’d have the facts.” -Harper Lee
“You do have a story inside you; it lies articulate and waiting to be written—behind your silence and your suffering.” -Anne Rice
“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” -Stephen King
“Writing is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as the headlights, but you make the whole trip that way.” -E. L. Doctorow
“Writing is the Latin of our times. The modern language of the people is video and sound.” -Lawrence Lessig
“Writing is thinking on paper.” -William Zinsser
“A writer needs three things, experience, observation, and imagination, any two of which, at times any one of which, can supply the lack of the others.” -William Faulkner
“If you write to impress it will always be bad, but if you write to express it will be good.” -Thornton Wilder
“You do have a story inside you; it lies articulate and waiting to be written—behind your silence and your suffering.” -Anne Rice
“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” -Louis L’Amour
“Every writer I know has trouble writing,” -Joseph Heller
“A lot of people talk about writing. The secret is to write, not talk.” -Jackie Collins
“It is as easy to dream a book as it is hard to write one.” -Honore de Balzac, novelist
“Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.” -Stephen King
“There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story.” -Frank Herbert
“The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.” -Gustave Flaubert
“Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.” –Isaac Asimov
“Words were not given to man in order to conceal his thoughts.” -José Saramago
“I read hungrily and delightedly, and have realized since that you can’t write unless you read.” -William Trevor
“Puns are the highest form of literature.” -Alfred Hitchcock
And given that:
“To write with a broken pencil is pointless.” -unknown
“A backward poet writes inverse.” –unknown
Learn more about writing and publishing in Peter’s book: Successful Author FAQs: Discover the Art of Writing, the Business of Publishing, and the Joy of Wielding Words. Get your copy today.
Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.