Quotes

Writer’s block is super strong today, so here are some quotes I’ve collected about writing:

“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”
—George Orwell

“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”
—Ernest Hemingway

“The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book.”
—Samuel Johnson

“Write. Rewrite. When not writing or rewriting, read. I know of no shortcuts.”
—Larry L. King, WD

“There are no laws for the novel. There never have been, nor can there ever be.”
—Doris Lessing

“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, WD

“Beware of advice—even this.”
—Carl Sandburg, WD

“I would advise anyone who aspires to a writing career that before developing his talent he would be wise to develop a thick hide.”
—Harper Lee, WD

“I don’t need an alarm clock. My ideas wake me.”
—Ray Bradbury, WD

“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, WD

“Anyone who is going to be a writer knows enough at 15 to write several novels.”
—May Sarton

“I think all writing is a disease. You can’t stop it.”
—William Carlos Williams

“Prose is architecture, not interior decoration.”
–Ernest Hemingway

“It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous.”
–Robert Benchley

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”
–Douglas Adams

“Writing is its own reward.”
–Henry Miller

“There’s no such thing as writer’s block. That was invented by people in California who couldn’t write.”
–Terry Pratchett

“I don’t know why I started writing. I don’t know why anybody does it. Maybe they’re bored, or failures at something else.”
–Cormac McCarthy

“That’s why I write, because life never works except in retrospect. You can’t control life, at least you can control your version.” 
–Chuck Palahniuk

“I just knew there were stories I wanted to tell.” –Octavia E. Butler