When I'm working on a book, I constantly retype my own sentences. Every day I go back to page one and just… — Joan Didion Copy Share Image
“The novel is a more diffused form and more suited to those who like to linger along the way; it also requires… — Flannery O'Connor Copy Share Image
Writing is a mode of agency in the world that is different from mere employment. There has to be some sort of… — Aleksandar Hemon Copy Share Image
I think writing a book about this experience would be trying to capitalize on it in some way and that's not something… — James Frey Copy Share Image
Children who are read to learn two things: First, that reading is worthwhile, and second, that they are worthwhile. — Laura Bush Copy Share Image
If I turned towards books, it was because they were the only sanctuary I knew, one I needed in order to survive,… — Azar Nafisi Copy Share Image
The only advice ... that one person can give another about reading is to take no advice, to follow your own instincts,… — Virginia Woolf Copy Share Image
“You say you're a writer but you're depressed. Not an excuse; write from there. Write some depressing sh*t. Believe me. You will… — Stanley Christopher Copy Share Image
I believe that all novels, ... deal with character, and that it is to express character – not to preach doctrines, sing… — Ursula K. Le Guin Copy Share Image
Forever, reading has been central, the necessary fix, the support system. Her life has been informed by reading. She has read not… — Penelope Lively Copy Share Image
I first read 'Lolita' when I was 16, which I think is a little bit young. But it was a thrilling and… — Sarah Weinman Copy Share Image
Write every day, line by line, page by page, hour by hour. Do this despite fear. For above all else, beyond imagination… — Robert McKee Copy Share Image
I've never been a very prolific person, so when creativity flows, it flows. I find myself scribbling on little notepads and pieces… — Kurt Cobain Copy Share Image
Books are just dead words on paper and it is the readers who bring the stories alive. Previously, writers wrote a book… — Michael Scott Copy Share Image
I'm not a writer. I know a lot of writers; I know a handful of really excellent, great ones, and I know… — David Small Copy Share Image
“Write. Don't talk about writing. Don't tell me about your wonderful story ideas. Don't give me a bunch of 'somedays'. Plant your… — Glen Cook Copy Share Image
I will carry on writing, to be sure. But I don't know if I would want to publish again after Harry Potter. — J. K. Rowling Copy Share Image
So writing stories is not easier in comparison to the playwriting or translation; the stories are easier in league with them. — Nathan Englander Copy Share Image
a writer's first duty is to be clear. Clarity is an excellent virtue. Like all virtues it can be pursued at ruinous… — Storm Jameson Copy Share Image
One of the things that novels have tended not to concentrate on over the centuries is the fact that people read books. — Jonathan Lethem Copy Share Image
“Most of us live in two worlds - our real world and the one we build or spin for ourselves out of… — Julia L. Sauer Copy Share Image
I've found the 90-10 rule to be pretty true: 90 percent of what I come up with and write down is kinda… — Hasan Minhaj Copy Share Image
It's amazing what I could've written in my life if I had realized that I should keep writing and not masturbating. — Lewis Black Copy Share Image
Seriously, I don't consider myself a writer. I don't think I have writing talent. But I will continue to do it. — Charlie Kaufman Copy Share Image
I don't write a book so that it will be the final word; I write a book so that other books are… — Michel Foucault Copy Share Image
Good novels are not written by orthodoxy-sniffers, nor by people who are conscience-stricken about their own orthodoxy. Good novels are written by… — George Orwell Copy Share Image
“...ever since she had read the girl's novel, a piece of artistry that struck her as wish-fulfilment at its most blatant...” — Margaret Westhaven Copy Share Image
“You are not an "author," you are a writer. If your books are still selling like hotcakes ten years after your demise,… — H.P. Oliver Copy Share Image
Three hours of writing require twenty hours of preparation. Luckily I have learned to dream about the work, which saves me some… — John Steinbeck Copy Share Image
Life is a book we all read... Love is a blessing we all need... Always be happy... Always have a smile... Cause… — Nishan Panwar Copy Share Image
There is quite enough sorrow and shame and suffering and baseness in real life, and there is no need for meeting it… — Theodore Roosevelt Copy Share Image
“She looked down at her book and traced the letters of the title with her finger. "Why do you think I like… — Brittany Geragotelis Copy Share Image
I don't think there was a time I ever thought of myself as anything but a writer. I thought I was going… — Shonda Rhimes Copy Share Image
There are many, many types of books in the world, which makes good sense, because there are many, many types of people,… — Anonymous Copy Share Image
As a writer, I'm not convinced that we are the best equipped to understand how we go about the business of literary… — Will Self Copy Share Image
There is a lot of scepticism today as to whether memoir is real. But when fiction is done at a certain level… — Junot Diaz Copy Share Image
The second draft is on yellow paper, that's when I work on characterizations. The third is pink, I work on story motivations.… — Jacqueline Susann Copy Share Image
I try to let go of the intellect and just tell the story. I only read the page I have in front… — Isabel Allende Copy Share Image
For 'The Big Wander,' I probably had ten different outlines before I made myself start writing. I would sleep on each one,… — Will Hobbs Copy Share Image
Writing is a necessity and often a pleasure, but at the same time, it can be a great burden and a terrible… — Jonathan Lethem Copy Share Image
