--- title: "11 Writing Secret Quotes by 11 authors" description: "Browse 11 Writing Secret quotes by 11 authors. Discover the best Writing Secret sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/stephen-king-13_done_the-act-of-writing-itself-is-done-in-sec_2901116.jpg" --- > [The act of writing itself is done in secret, like masturbation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-act-of-writing-itself-is-done-in-secret-like-masturbation/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/stephen-king-13_done_the-act-of-writing-itself-is-done-in-sec_2901116.jpg) > [“Every day we live, we are writing our own secret book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrys-fey/every-day-we-live-we-are-writing-our-own-secret-book/) [Chrys Fey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrys-fey/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e6/chrys-fey-45014_books_every-day-we-live-we-are-writing-our-own_131066.jpg) > [Here's the secret of writing: there is no secret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fletcher/here-s-the-secret-of-writing-there-is-no-secret/) [Ralph Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-fletcher/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/ralph-fletcher-34579_secret_here-s-the-secret-of-writing-there-is-no_3019197.jpg) > [A lot of people talk about writing. The secret is to write, not talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-collins/a-lot-of-people-talk-about-writing-the-secret-is-to-write-not-talk/) [Jackie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-collins/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed5/jackie-collins-9686_inspirational_a-lot-of-people-talk-about-writing-the-s_2234824.jpg) > [Well, the secret to writing is writing. It's only a secret to people who don't want to hear it. Writing is how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/well-the-secret-to-writing-is-writing-it-s-only-a-secret-to-people/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/ursula-k-le-guin-138_people_well-the-secret-to-writing-is-writing-it_2158767.jpg) > [I was really interested in piano and sort of discovered that I was a writer when I was about 13 and started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/i-was-really-interested-in-piano-and-sort-of-discovered-that-i-was-a/) [Ottessa Moshfegh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottessa-moshfegh/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/ottessa-moshfegh-8200_my-passion_i-was-really-interested-in-piano-and-sor_1401693.jpg) > [When I was a young mother at home with a two year old and a five year old, living on the Eastside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/when-i-was-a-young-mother-at-home-with-a-two-year-old-and-a-five-year/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/deb-caletti-697_cars_when-i-was-a-young-mother-at-home-with-a_2147184.jpg) > [The act of writing is for me often nothing more than the secret or conscious desire to carve words on a tombstone:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/the-act-of-writing-is-for-me-often-nothing-more-than-the-secret-or/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/elie-wiesel-341_childhood_the-act-of-writing-is-for-me-often-nothi_1424747.jpg) > [It didn't occur to me that my books would be widely read at all, and that enabled me to write anything I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/it-didn-t-occur-to-me-that-my-books-would-be-widely-read-at-all-and/) [Louise Erdrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erdrich/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/237/louise-erdrich-1271_book_it-didn-t-occur-to-me-that-my-books-woul_2486571.png) > [Nu shu means women's writing. And it was a secret writing system that was invented by women, used by women and kept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-see/nu-shu-means-women-s-writing-and-it-was-a-secret-writing-system-that/) [Lisa See](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-see/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/lisa-see-2200_anywhere_nu-shu-means-women-s-writing-and-it-was_466151.jpg) > [I have friends who are capable of writing a very rough draft and then going back and embroidering - they're sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-russell/i-have-friends-who-are-capable-of-writing-a-very-rough-draft-and-then/) [Karen Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-russell/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/893/karen-russell-1697_builder_i-have-friends-who-are-capable-of-writin_363997.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-secret/#itemlist", "name": "Writing Secret Quotes", "numberOfItems": 11, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The act of writing itself is done in secret, like masturbation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen King" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-act-of-writing-itself-is-done-in-secret-like-masturbation/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/stephen-king-13_done_the-act-of-writing-itself-is-done-in-sec_2901116.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/stephen-king-13_done_the-act-of-writing-itself-is-done-in-sec_2901116.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/stephen-king-13_done_the-act-of-writing-itself-is-done-in-sec_2901116.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The act of writing itself is done in secret, like masturbation.” — Stephen King", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Every day we live, we are writing our own secret book.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chrys Fey" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrys-fey/every-day-we-live-we-are-writing-our-own-secret-book/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e6/chrys-fey-45014_books_every-day-we-live-we-are-writing-our-own_131066.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e6/chrys-fey-45014_books_every-day-we-live-we-are-writing-our-own_131066.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e6/chrys-fey-45014_books_every-day-we-live-we-are-writing-our-own_131066.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every day we live, we are writing our own secret book.” — Chrys Fey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Here's the secret of writing: there is no secret.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Fletcher" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-fletcher/here-s-the-secret-of-writing-there-is-no-secret/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/ralph-fletcher-34579_secret_here-s-the-secret-of-writing-there-is-no_3019197.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/ralph-fletcher-34579_secret_here-s-the-secret-of-writing-there-is-no_3019197.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/06b/ralph-fletcher-34579_secret_here-s-the-secret-of-writing-there-is-no_3019197.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Here's the secret of writing: there is no secret.” — Ralph Fletcher", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A lot of people talk about writing. The secret is to write, not talk.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jackie Collins" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-collins/a-lot-of-people-talk-about-writing-the-secret-is-to-write-not-talk/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed5/jackie-collins-9686_inspirational_a-lot-of-people-talk-about-writing-the-s_2234824.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed5/jackie-collins-9686_inspirational_a-lot-of-people-talk-about-writing-the-s_2234824.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed5/jackie-collins-9686_inspirational_a-lot-of-people-talk-about-writing-the-s_2234824.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A lot of people talk about writing. The secret is to write, not talk.” — Jackie Collins", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Well, the secret to writing is writing. It's only a secret to people who don't want to hear it. Writing is how you be a writer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ursula K. Le Guin" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/well-the-secret-to-writing-is-writing-it-s-only-a-secret-to-people/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/ursula-k-le-guin-138_people_well-the-secret-to-writing-is-writing-it_2158767.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/ursula-k-le-guin-138_people_well-the-secret-to-writing-is-writing-it_2158767.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d7/ursula-k-le-guin-138_people_well-the-secret-to-writing-is-writing-it_2158767.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Well, the secret to writing is writing. It's only a secret to people who don't want to hear it. Writing is…” — Ursula K. Le Guin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was really interested in piano and sort of discovered that I was a writer when I was about 13 and started writing. And it was my secret thing and my passion.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ottessa Moshfegh" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/i-was-really-interested-in-piano-and-sort-of-discovered-that-i-was-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/ottessa-moshfegh-8200_my-passion_i-was-really-interested-in-piano-and-sor_1401693.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/ottessa-moshfegh-8200_my-passion_i-was-really-interested-in-piano-and-sor_1401693.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/73c/ottessa-moshfegh-8200_my-passion_i-was-really-interested-in-piano-and-sor_1401693.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was really interested in piano and sort of discovered that I was a writer when I was about 13 and started…” — Ottessa Moshfegh", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was a young mother at home with a two year old and a five year old, living on the Eastside in one of those neighborhoods where all the houses look the same, where all the cars look the same and the lawns look the same, I was writing in secret.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Deb Caletti" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/when-i-was-a-young-mother-at-home-with-a-two-year-old-and-a-five-year/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/deb-caletti-697_cars_when-i-was-a-young-mother-at-home-with-a_2147184.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/deb-caletti-697_cars_when-i-was-a-young-mother-at-home-with-a_2147184.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/deb-caletti-697_cars_when-i-was-a-young-mother-at-home-with-a_2147184.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I was a young mother at home with a two year old and a five year old, living on the Eastside in one of…” — Deb Caletti", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The act of writing is for me often nothing more than the secret or conscious desire to carve words on a tombstone: to the memory of a town forever vanished, to the memory of a childhood in exile, to the memory of all those I loved and who, before I could tell them I loved them, went away.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Elie Wiesel" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/the-act-of-writing-is-for-me-often-nothing-more-than-the-secret-or/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/elie-wiesel-341_childhood_the-act-of-writing-is-for-me-often-nothi_1424747.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/elie-wiesel-341_childhood_the-act-of-writing-is-for-me-often-nothi_1424747.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3d9/elie-wiesel-341_childhood_the-act-of-writing-is-for-me-often-nothi_1424747.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The act of writing is for me often nothing more than the secret or conscious desire to carve words on a…” — Elie Wiesel", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It didn't occur to me that my books would be widely read at all, and that enabled me to write anything I wanted to. And even once I realized that they were being read, I still wrote as if I were writing in secret. That's how one has to write anyway--in secret.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Louise Erdrich" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/it-didn-t-occur-to-me-that-my-books-would-be-widely-read-at-all-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/237/louise-erdrich-1271_book_it-didn-t-occur-to-me-that-my-books-woul_2486571.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/237/louise-erdrich-1271_book_it-didn-t-occur-to-me-that-my-books-woul_2486571.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/237/louise-erdrich-1271_book_it-didn-t-occur-to-me-that-my-books-woul_2486571.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It didn't occur to me that my books would be widely read at all, and that enabled me to write anything I…” — Louise Erdrich", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nu shu means women's writing. And it was a secret writing system that was invented by women, used by women and kept a secret by women in one very remote county in China for a thousand years. It's the only language that was invented and used by women to have been found anywhere in the world.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lisa See" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-see/nu-shu-means-women-s-writing-and-it-was-a-secret-writing-system-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/lisa-see-2200_anywhere_nu-shu-means-women-s-writing-and-it-was_466151.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/lisa-see-2200_anywhere_nu-shu-means-women-s-writing-and-it-was_466151.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d01/lisa-see-2200_anywhere_nu-shu-means-women-s-writing-and-it-was_466151.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nu shu means women's writing. And it was a secret writing system that was invented by women, used by women…” — Lisa See", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have friends who are capable of writing a very rough draft and then going back and embroidering - they're sort of the cathedral builders of fiction. I never really know what I'm doing, and all my pleasure's on the level of the line. It's a weird way to move forward. It's kind of like a way to caterpillar your way through these great woods. The best ones, whatever I feel like I'm writing about, some other secret thing will begin to come into focus.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karen Russell" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-russell/i-have-friends-who-are-capable-of-writing-a-very-rough-draft-and-then/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/893/karen-russell-1697_builder_i-have-friends-who-are-capable-of-writin_363997.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/893/karen-russell-1697_builder_i-have-friends-who-are-capable-of-writin_363997.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/893/karen-russell-1697_builder_i-have-friends-who-are-capable-of-writin_363997.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have friends who are capable of writing a very rough draft and then going back and embroidering - they're…” — Karen Russell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-secret/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-secret/", "name": "Writing Secret Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-secret/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a89/stephen-king-13_done_the-act-of-writing-itself-is-done-in-sec_2901116.jpg" }, "description": "Browse 11 Writing Secret quotes by 11 authors. Discover the best Writing Secret sayings and thoughts.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-secret/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-secret/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Writing Secret Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-secret/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```