Words of wisdom
These are some of our favorite quotes about writing:
“The craft or art of writing is the clumsy attempt to find symbols for the wordlessness. In utter loneliness a writer tries to explain the inexplicable.
– John Steinbeck”
“All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you; the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was. If you can get so that you can give that to people, then you are a writer.
– Ernest Hemingway”
“Draw your chair up close to the edge of the precipice and I’ll tell you a story.
– F. Scott Fitzgerald”
What quotes inspire you, teach you, motivate you, keep you focused, or make you feel the electric thrill of writing? Please share them in the comments. Let’s get each other fired up today about being writers!
Posted by: Kelley
“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”
Steven King
This quote keeps me working on my writing skills. No matter how good I think I am.
@ Stephanie — I love King’s work and his advice. Being willing to do the work is the single biggest common denominator among the writers I know who regard themselves as successful.
Hmm. Time to get back to work (grin).
“A writer may have a message, an emotion, a philosophy to impart in his fiction, and these are the most marvellous kind of serendipity. But his first job is to entertain. To inform comes second. To entertain comes first.”
Above quote is from page 873 of The Essential Harlan Ellison. I scribbled it down but I’m 99% sure it’s penned by him. I just picked up this quote yesterday while hiding from 111 degree heatweave in the air conditioned State library.
“The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.” –Anaïs Nin
@ Ivan — Ellison always tells it straight. All the writer’s feelings won’t matter if no one wants to read the story, if the reader isn’t grabbed, shaken, stirred, moved, amused… entertained. I’m reminded of one of Nicola’s favorite quotes by Pauline Kael: “If art isn’t entertainment, what is it? Punishment?” :)
@ Rebecca — I know a few Nin quotes, but not this one. I like it. It speaks to how I feel about the stories that move me most.
Yes.
Hmmm — my most-inspirational moment was not from a quote, but here goes. I have a lifelong phobia of sorts about committing things to paper, which is quite irksome considering that I’ve always wanted to write. I could never get anything other than homework written until I saw an episode of ‘The Twilight Zone’ in high school – not the original, but the ’80s version. In it, a writer sits down to write and nasty-looking creatures begin to tear up his house trying to get to him. After rounds of trying to fight them he asks them what they want of him, and their answer is simple: write about us. Cliche, but it got me to sit down at the (dinosaur of a) word processor. A 74-page sf novel came out. It’s more a skeleton than a novel because I was raising four kids at the time and didn’t have a lot of hours to spare, but it was a start.
@ Jo — Great story, thanks for sharing it. It’s only a cliche because it’s so true — things within us will come out one way or another, and do whatever they must to get our attention. Writing’s often not easy, but sometimes there’s no other choice. :)
Well, I’m finally back from my long hiatus (for sanity and for finals.)
“Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.” Gloria Steinem
&
“If there’s a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” Toni Morrison
@ Donna — Great to see you back. These are both great quotes, and in particular the Morrison quote is really speaking to me right now. I always write best from the place of wanting so badly to see how the story comes out :).
Love that Morrison quote. That is exactly why I write. Thanks, Donna.
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“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 ”
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