My Favorite Quotes on Writing

 

Reading is like breathing in. Writing is like breathing out. Pam Allyn

When I encountered the above quote, I was immediately captivated, finding it concise and wise. I asked myself what were my favorite quotes regarding writing and, to supplement these, went through websites that collected pithy bits of wisdom. I present my selections below. 

The Obsession.

If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster. Isaac Asimov

"It's Harder Not To." Carl Van Doren, when asked if it was hard to write.

What moves those of genius, what inspires their work is not new ideas, but their obsession with the idea that what has already been said is still not enough. Eugene Delacroix

On Getting On With It.

Start before you're ready.  Steven Pressfield

Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way. E. L. Doctorow

We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down. Kurt Vonnegut

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

Where Writing Comes From.

You want to tell a story? Grow a heart. Grow two. Now, with the second heart, smash the first one into bits. Charles Yu.

Our stories are the tellers of us. Chris Cleave

Tears are words that need to be written. Paulo Coelho

I write to discover what I know. Flannery O'Connor

Stories aren't made of language: they're made of something else... perhaps they're made of life. Philip Pullman

We are cups, quietly and constantly being filled. The trick is knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.  Ray Bradbury

The Multiple Lives of Writers.

We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect. Anaïs Nin

Writers live twice. Natalie Goldberg

Writers aren't people exactly. Or, if they're any good, they're a whole lot of people trying so hard to be one person.  F. Scott Fitzgerald

Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia. E.L. Doctorow

Rules. 

There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. W. Somerset Maugham

Instructions for living a life:

Pay attention.

Be astonished.

Tell about it.

Mary Oliver

Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I'd have the facts. Harper Lee

The road to hell is indubitably paved with adverbs. paraphrasing Stephen King (I added the word indubitably.)

An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.  F. Scott Fitzgerald

Prose is architecture, not interior decoration. Ernest Hemingway

You don't write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid's burnt socks lying in the road.  Richard Price

Ideas and Inspiration. 

If you wait for inspiration to write, you're not a writer, you're a waiter.  Dan Poynter

You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. Maya Angelou

Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck

Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions.  Albert Einstein

Editing. 

The first draft is you just telling yourself the story.  Terry Pratchett

I'm writing a first draft and reminding myself that I'm simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.  Shannon Hale

You can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page.  Jodi Picoult

The secret of being a bore is to tell everything. Voltaire

So the writer who breeds more words than he needs 

is making a chore for the reader who reads.  Dr. Seuss

When you are describing a shape, or sound, or tint, 

don’t state the matter plainly, but put it in a hint. 

And learn to look at all things with a sort of mental squint.  Lewis Carroll

General Advice.

How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live. Henry David Thoreau

A good story is a dream shared by the author and the reader. Anything that wakes the reader from the dream is a mortal sin. Victor J. Banis

You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows that they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift.  Erin Morgenstern

As a writer, you should not judge, you should understand. Ernest Hemingway

You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant. Harlan Ellison

Easy reading is damn hard writing.  Nathaniel Hawthorne

Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.  Tom Stoppard

If you get to like it, grammar reveals the hidden meaning of history, hides disorder and abandonment, links things and brings opposites together. Delphine de Vigan

I think life is too serious to be taken seriously. Ray Bradbury

Don't listen to writing advice and, most especially, don't listen to me. Martin Hill Ortiz

Miscellaneous.

Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.  Groucho Marx

The pen is mightier than the sword, and considerably easier to write with. Marty Feldman

I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers done.  Steven Wright

If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second-greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first-greatest, of course, is to shoot them now while they're happy.  Dorothy Parker

The following sources have further quotes on writing and, on some occasions, longer versions of the above quotes.

Sources: 

https://www.inc.com/glenn-leibowitz/50-quotes-from-famous-authors-that-will-inspire-yo.html

https://www.audible.com/blog/quotes-writing

https://www.nicolemgulotta.com/blog/25-inspirational-quotes

https://storyempire.com/2021/09/24/quotes-on-writing-from-famous-writers/

https://getfreewrite.com/blogs/writing-success/55-motivational-writing-quotes?srsltid=AfmBOopI0czyArIVM-qCp3SIMDUd6PTPQ918RdhX-HwFP3oM1uKfKdxP

https://writergadgets.com/funny-writing-quotes/

https://www.bryndonovan.com/2020/10/26/20-funny-quotes-about-writing/

https://jerichowriters.com/99-quotes-about-writing-by-the-worlds-greatest-writers/

https://ronovanwrites.com/2016/05/19/16-quotes-of-for-writers-obsession/

me.

Martin Hill Ortiz is the author of several novels including most recently the thriller, Floor 24. 

Floor 24
Oliver-Heber Books

"From the mob underworld to the tops of new skyscrapers, Floor 24 is a heart-thumping New York 1920's historical mystery!" - Holly Newman, bestselling author of A Chance Inquiry mystery series.