Writing Quotes

18562 Writing quotes by 6643 unique authors

Many a poem is marred by a superfluous word. — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The secret of play-writing can be given in two maxims: stick to the point, and, whenever you can, cut. — W. Somerset Maugham
The shorter and the plainer the better. — Beatrix Potter
One should aim not at being possible to understand, but at being impossible to misunderstand. — Quintilian
It behooves us to avoid archaisms. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do. — William Safire
Anybody can have ideas-the difficulty is to express them without squandering a quire of paper on an idea that ought to be reduced to one… — Mark Twain
I never write "metropolis" for seven cents when I can write "city" and get paid the same. — Mark Twain
No compulsion in the world is stronger than the urge to edit someone else's document. — H.G. Wells
Use the smallest word that does the job. — Elwyn Brooks White
Be grateful for every word you can cut. — William Zinsser
Writing improves in direct ratio to the things we can keep out of it that shouldn't be there. — William Zinsser
He that uses many words for explaining any subject, doth, like the cuttlefish, hide himself for the most part in his own ink. — John Ray
Whether or not you write well, write bravely. — Bill Stout
Writing well means never having to say, 'I guess you had to be there.' — Jef Mallett
Sometimes a flat-footed sentence is what serves, so you don't get all writerly: 'He opened the door.' There, it's open. — Amy Hempel
Write about what you know and care deeply about. When one puts one's self on paper - that is what is called good writing. — Joel Chandler Harris
Start early and work hard. A writer's apprenticeship usually involves writing a million words (which are then discarded) before he's almost ready to begin. That… — David Eddings
We writers dream of a future where actors are mostly computer generated and their performances can be adjusted, by us, on a laptop, alone. — Tina Fey
Books in your head help no one. — Sam Horn
Don't be too precious or attached to anything you write. Let things be malleable. — Tina Fey
Good writers define reality; bad ones merely restate it. — Edward Albee
Writing calls on unused muscles and involves solitude and immobility. — Dorothea Brande
The good writing of any age has always been the product of someone's neurosis. — William Styron
Do not write merely to be understood. Write so you cannot possibly be misunderstood. — Robert Louis Stevenson
If you can't write your idea on the back of my calling card, you don't have a clear idea. — David Belasco

Who Wrote These Writing Quotes

6,643 authors contributed a total of 18,562 Writing Quotes, led by these top contributors: