Writing Quotes

18562 Writing quotes by 6643 unique authors

I made up my mind long ago to follow one cardinal rule in all my writing-to be clear. I have given up all thought of… — Isaac Asimov
Congratulations on the new library, because it isn't just a library. It is a space ship that will take you to the farthest reaches of… — Isaac Asimov
Writing, I think, is not apart from living. Writing is a kind of double living. The writer experiences everything twice. Once in reality and once… — Catherine Drinker Bowen
What no wife of a writer can ever understand is that a writer is working when he's staring out of the window. — Burton Rascoe
For after all, what is there behind, except money? Money for the right kind of education, money for influential friends, money for leisure and peace… — George Orwell
I do not wish to comment on the work; if it does not speak for itself, it is a failure. — George Orwell
In certain kinds of writing, particularly in art criticism and literary criticism, it is normal to come across long passages which are almost completely lacking… — George Orwell
I do not think one can assess a writer's motives without knowing something of his early development. His subject matter will be determined by the… — George Orwell
Political writing in our time consists almost entirely of prefabricated phrases bolted together like the pieces of a child's Meccano set. It is the unavoidable… — George Orwell
All writers are vain, selfish and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives lies a mystery. — George Orwell
When I talk to anyone or read the writings of anyone who has any axe to grind, I feel that intellectual honesty and balanced judgement… — George Orwell
I've been writing since I was six. It is a compulsion, so I can't really say where the desire came from; I've always had it.… — Joanne Kathleen Rowling
Yes, it has made me happier. Finishing them has made me happier. Before I wrote the Potter books, I'd never finished a novel. I came… — Joanne Kathleen Rowling
I imagine them very clearly and then attempt to describe what I can see. Sometimes I draw them for my own amusement! (talking about her… — Joanne Kathleen Rowling
I can write anywhere. I made up the names of the characters on a sick bag while I was on an airplane. I told this… — Joanne Kathleen Rowling
During the first five years that I was writing the series, I made plans and wrote small pieces of all the books. I concentrate on… — Joanne Kathleen Rowling
I write nearly every day. Some days I write for ten or eleven hours. Other days I might only write for three hours. It really… — Joanne Kathleen Rowling
I've only suffered writer's block badly once, and that was during the writing of Chamber of Secrets. I had my first burst of publicity about… — Joanne Kathleen Rowling
I didn't write with a target audience in mind. What excited me was how much I would enjoy writing about Harry. I never thought about… — Joanne Kathleen Rowling
Read a lot. Reading really helps. Read anything you can get your hands on. — Joanne Kathleen Rowling
Every sentence must do one of two things-reveal character or advance the action. — Kurt Vonnegut
I'm not a drug salesman. I'm a writer. — Kurt Vonnegut
Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is… — Kurt Vonnegut
We will, of course, without hesitation use art to parody, ridicule, debunk, or criticize ideologies. — David Foster Wallace
One paradox of professional writing is that books written solely for money and/or acclaim will almost never be good enough to garner either. — David Foster Wallace

Who Wrote These Writing Quotes

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