Writing Quotes

18562 Writing quotes by 6643 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
I would never write about anyone who is not at the end of his rope. — Stanley Elkin
I refuse to write the same story twice. I keep experimenting. I keep learning how to work. I've been at it pretty much 50 years,… — Harlan Ellison
Let the reader find that he cannot afford to omit any line of your writing because you you have omitted every word that he can… — Ralph Waldo Emerson
In good writing, words become one with things. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
The language of the street is always strong. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
I believe that good questions are more important than answers, and the best children's books ask questions, and make the readers ask questions. And every… — Madeleine L'Engle
There are two kinds of writers; the great ones who can give you truths, and the lessor ones, who can only give you themselves. — Clifton Fadiman
At one time I thought the most important thing was talent. I think now that the young man must possess or teach himself, training himself,… — William Faulkner
Often I think writing is a sheer paring away of oneself leaving always something thinner, barer, more meagre. — F. Scott Fitzgerald
You've got to sell your heart, your strongest reactions, not the little minor things that only touch you lightly, the little experiences that you might… — F. Scott Fitzgerald
It's a delicious thing to write. To be no longer yourself but to move in an entire universe of your own creating. — Gustave Flaubert
The purpose of paragraphing is to give the reader a rest. The writer is saying . . . : Have you got that? If so,… — Henry Watson Fowler
On the whole, dialogue is the most difficult thing, without any doubt. It's very difficult, unfortunately. You have to detach yourself from the notion of… — John Fowles
A simple style is like white light. Although complex, it does not appear to be so. — Anatole France
I like to use as few commas as possible so that sentences will go down in one swallow without touching the sides. — Unknown Author
Writers write for fame, wealth, power and the love of women. — Sigmund Freud
All the fun is in how you say a thing. — Robert Frost
Writing only leads to more writing. — Sidonie Gabrielle Colette
There are days when the result is so bad that no fewer than five revisions are required. In contrast, when I'm greatly inspired, only four… — John Kenneth Galbraith
Rule one of reading other people's stories is that whenever you say 'well that's not convincing' the author tells you that's the bit that wasn't… — Neil Gaiman
You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written that… — Neil Gaiman
The ideas aren't that important. Really they aren't. Everyone's got an idea for a book, a movie, a story, a TV series. — Neil Gaiman
The Six Golden Rules of Writing: Read, read, read, and write, write, write. — Ernest Gaines

Who Wrote These Writing Quotes

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