Writing Quotes

18562 Writing quotes by 6643 unique authors

Writing good dialogue is art as well as craft. — Stephen King
There is no perfect time to write. There is only now. — Barbara Kingsolver
Read! Read! Read! And then read some more. When you find something that thrills you, take it apart paragraph by paragraph, line by line, word… — W. P. Kinsella
Stories open up new paths, sometimes send us back to old ones, and close off still others. Telling and listening to stories we too imaginatively… — Arthur Kleinman
We are storied folk. Stories are what we are; telling and listening to stories is what we do. — Arthur Kleinman
No one is able to enjoy such feast than the one who throws a party in his own mind. — Selma LagerlÃ¶f
Plot springs from character... I've always sort of believed that these people inside me- these characters- know who they are and what they're about and… — Anne Lamott
Many modern novels have a beginning, a muddle and an end. — Philip Larkin
Novels seem to me to be richer, broader, deeper, more enjoyable than poems. — Philip Larkin
If you're a writer, you want to get your soul out there, where people can look at it. — Jeremy Larner
I like to write when I feel spiteful; it's like having a good sneeze. — D. H. Lawrence
In conversation you can use timing, a look, an inflection. But on the page all you have is commas, dashes, the amount of syllables in… — Fran Lebowitz
Screenwriting is not an artform, it is a punishment from God. — Fran Lebowitz
Contrary to what many of you may imagine, a career in letters is not without its drawbacks - chief among them the unpleasant fact that… — Fran Lebowitz
Skill in writing frees you to write what you want to write. It may also show you what you want to write. Craft enables art. — Ursula K. Le Guin
Do remember, though, that unless you're a playwright, the result [dialogue] isn't what you want; it's only an element of what you want. Actors embody… — Ursula K. Le Guin
What's needed in this case is conscious and serious practice in hearing, and using, and being used by, other people's voices. — Ursula K. Le Guin
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
You sit down and you do it, and you do it, and you do it, until you have learned to do it. — Ursula K. Le Guin
Readers, after all, are making the world with you. You give them the materials, but it's the readers who build that world in their own… — Ursula K. Le Guin
Sure, it's simple, writing for kids... Just as simple as bringing them up. — Ursula K. Le Guin
And it does no harm to repeat, as often as you can, 'Without me the literary industry would not exist: the publishers, the agents, the… — Doris Lessing
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
It is impossible to discourage the real writers - they don't give a damn what you say, they're going to write. — Sinclair Lewis
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

Who Wrote These Writing Quotes

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