It is in the hard rockpile labour of seeking to win, hold…

It is in the hard, hard rockpile labor of seeking to win, hold, or deserve a reader's interest that the pleasant agony of writing…

— John Mason Brown

Writers talk about the agony of writing; I talk about the agony of not writing.

— Laura Z. Hobson

The clash between capital and labour, between those seeking to maximise profit and those with only their toil to sell, was the driving force…

— David Blunkett

“For all I know, writing comes out of a superior devotion to reading.”

— Eudora Welty

When you're writing, I think a big part of writing comes out of an attempt to understand yourself. You're dealing with emotions and thoughts…

— Sheila Heti

True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, as those who move easiest have learned to dance.

— Alexander Pope

I think if the writing comes too easily, it shows - it's usually hard to read.

— Tracy Kidder

I learned to write by listening to people talk. I still feel that the best of my writing comes from having heard rather than…

— Gayl Jones

I have great difficulty sitting in the middle of the night and writing. Everything I do comes spontaneous. Sometimes it takes a long time;…

— Ravi Shankar

“I've worked really hard to make myself a better writer. I don't think writing is something that comes to people naturally; it is a…

— Nathan Nixon

All good writing comes out of aloneness.

— Sam Shepard

“The real importance of reading is that it creates an ease and intimacy with the process of writing; one comes to the country of…

— Stephen King

Because I'm an art historian, I have some experience of writing that comes out of close attention. That's what really art history is. You're…

— Teju Cole

Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write.

— Annie Proulx

Often the block [in writing] comes from the wall of words that keep out the simplicity of sense.

— Adam Gopnik