Friday, January 13, 2012

Some of My Favorite Quotes About Writing


"I want to write books that unlock the traffic jam in everybody's head." ~John Updike

"It should be noted that there are two blissful things about writing novels: making them up and seeing them finished." ~ Ann Patchett

found here
“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

"There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they never happened." ~ Willa Cather


"It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive." ~ James Baldwin 

“The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the 1st time unlike, say, brain surgery.” R. Cormier

found here
"Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it." ~Hannah Arendt


"If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." ~Toni Morrison

"Writing books is the closest men will ever come to child bearing." - Norman Maile



"If I don't write to empty my mind, I go mad." ~Lord Byron


You and me both, Lord Byron. You and me both.

What's your favorite quote about writing?



5 comments:

  1. "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." - Douglas Adams

    "I am a galley slave to pen and ink." - Honore de Balzac

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  2. I love these! And I'm totally with you and Lord Byron. :D

    I always think of a quote that's not really writing related, but which always comes back to that for me: "A ship in a harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for" by John A. Shedd. Because I can write something and it can be nice and safe and there, but unless I push on and get it out there--whether it's out on paper or out to the public--it's going to be in my head, or on my computer, when maybe it could make a difference to somebody.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Joshua: That Douglas Adams one always makes me smile. I hadn't read the 2nd one... love it!

    Laura: That's a good quote. I should put that on a wall or something.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The quote you have listed as from Jack Kerouac, is actually from James Baldwin.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're right! That quote is apparently mistakenly attributed to Kerouac all over the internet.

      Delete

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