Writer Quotes

4019 Writer quotes by 2168 unique authors

If you would be a writer, first be a reader. Only through the assimilation of ideas, thoughts and philosophies can one begin to focus his… — Allan W. Eckert
No one put a gun to your head and ordered you to become a writer. One writes out of his own choice and must be… — Stanley Ellin
The purpose of paragraphing is to give the reader a rest. The writer is saying . . . : Have you got that? If so,… — Henry Watson Fowler
As difficult as it is for a writer to find a publisher-admittedly a daunting task-it is twice as difficult for a publisher to sort through… — Olivia Goldsmith
The parody is the last refuge of the frustrated writer. Parodies are what you write when you are associate editor of the Harvard Lampoon. The… — Ernest Hemingway
The best way to become a writer is to go off and write. — Ernest Hemingway
If you're a writer, you want to get your soul out there, where people can look at it. — Jeremy Larner
If you're a fiction writer, though, I can tell you how to let people talk through you. Listen. Just be quiet, and listen. Let the… — Ursula K. Le Guin
One of the obligations of the writer is to say or sing all that he or she can, to deal with as much of the… — Denise Levertov
Write about what really interests you, whether it is real things or imaginary things, and nothing else. (Notice this means that if you are interested… — C.S. Lewis
When a book leaves your hands, it belongs to God. He may use it to save a few souls or to try a few others,… — Flannery O'Connor
Becoming the reader is the essence of becoming a writer. — John O'Hara
Writing is rewriting. A writer must learn to deepen characters, trim writing, intensify scenes. To fall in love with the first draft to the point… — Richard North Patterson
Write what you care about and understand. Writers should never try to outguess the marketplace in search of a salable idea; the simple truth is… — Richard North Patterson
A word is not the same with one writer as with another. One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his… — Charles Peguy
[A writer] must try to think clearly, to feel deeply, to write honestly. If he is fortunate he will make a living, but his work… — Lawrence Clark Powell
The best, most natural dialogue is usually written as if the writer is listening to dictation. You might get stuck on any particular point and… — Ayn Rand
I get a lot of letters from people. They say "I want to be a writer. What should I do?" I tell them to stop… — Ruth Rendell
A writer lives, at best, in a state of astonishment. Beneath any feeling he has of the good or evil of the world lies a… — William Sansom
An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment the… — Irwin Shaw
To finish is a sadness to a writer - a little death. He puts the last word down and it is done. But it isn't… — John Steinbeck
What's this business of being a writer. It's just putting one word after another. — Irving Thalberg
It is almost always a greater pleasure to come across a semicolon than a period. The period tells you that that is that; if you… — Lewis Thomas
A writer judging his own work is like deceived husband - he is frequently the last person to appreciate the true state of affairs. — John D. Voelker
The only difference between a writer and someone who wants to be a writer is discipline. — Ayelet Waldman

Who Wrote These Writer Quotes

2,168 authors contributed a total of 4,019 Writer Quotes, led by these top contributors: