short quotes for essay writing

• Skip to main content

India’s Largest Career Transformation Portal

30 Best Quotes for Essay Writing

December 10, 2023 by Sandeep

The essay is an independent, educational, and scientific student research. In writing this paper, students master the methods and gain the ability to conduct research. In addition, essay writing helps form the student’s creative thinking, test the skills of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting literature, and formulate conclusions and suggestions.

Successful essay writing depends on strict adherence to the basic requirements. These requirements relate primarily to the scientific level of the work, its content, structure, form of presentation of the material, and design. The teacher may not accept works in violation of state standards and established requirements. Inconsistencies in the design can significantly affect the final evaluation of the work. The student’s compliance with all the requirements for writing and design of the essay instills certain skills in conducting research, which will be useful in creating other types of papers.

All of the above points are important to gain the ability to complete an essay. However, this is not an as simple type of student paper as it may seem at first glance. Students often have difficulty in both essay writing and designing. Fortunately, today everyone can find someone to write a paper online. It is only necessary to pay the set price. The best writers work for an online company DoMyEssay. To get their help, you should visit the site and request, “Please, do an essay for me.” The high quality and reliability of writing services are guaranteed for everyone.

Requirements for Quotes & References in Essay Writing

A compulsory component of any scientific work is a scientific citation. It is essential to cite the source from which the materials or individual results are borrowed or the ideas and conclusions based on which the problems, tasks, issues to which the work is devoted are developed. Such links make it possible to find relevant sources, check the accuracy of citations, obtain the necessary information about these sources.

The use of references in essays is mandatory and is used in the following cases:

• When quoting fragments of text, formulas, tables, illustrations;
• When paraphrasing, non-verbal reproduction of a fragment of another’s text;
• When analyzing the content of other publications in the text;
• When referring to other publications where the material to be discussed is more complete.

The absence of a link is a copyright infringement, and an incorrect link is considered a serious error. All sources cited in the list of references must be indicated in the text of the paper.

Importance of Correct Citation in Student Papers

The importance of citation is in the need to demonstrate the breadth of research and interest in the publications of other authors, to confirm own arguments with statements from other sources. Text borrowed from other sources is used for this purpose.

Here are three main functions that quotes perform in essay writing :

• Places your work in context, creates dialogue;
• Pay tribute to the previous work that formed the basis of your research;
• Maintains the authenticity and accuracy of scientific literature.

List of Helpful Quotes You Can Use in Your Essay Writing

Below is a list of 30 quotes you can use in your essay writing:

• The simplest example is more convincing than the most eloquent sermon (Lucius Annec Seneca);
• It is not people who need rules, but rules need people (S. Dube);
• The one who is no longer able to serve as anything serves as a good example (Andre Siegfried);
• Take an example from your elders, while they behave approximately (Jerzy Leszczynski);
• The need to set a good example for your children robs middle-aged people of all pleasure (William Feder);
• Remember: sooner or later, your son will follow your example and not your advice (Pierre Corneille);
• An example is stronger than a threat (Pierre Corneille);
• Bad examples are stronger than good rules (Joey Locke);
• You only have one life. You have to live it as fully as possible (Jojo Moyes);
• When life is good, there is no need to argue about it (Ray Bradbury);
• There are moments in life that change us once and for all (Jeffrey Deaver);
• The reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The person who never reads experiences only one (George Martin);
• On our path in life, we will meet everyone who is destined to meet us (Charles Dickens);
• What is the sense of life? Serve others and do good (Aristotle);
• Those who illuminate the lives of others will not be left without light themselves (James Matthew Barry);
• In general, I live without hesitation, so I always have fun (Francis Scott Fitzgerald);
• An example is always more powerful than a sermon (Samuel Johnson);
• When it comes to budget, everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die (Jean Chrétien);
• Violating our duty, thereby we violate our rights (Jean-Jacques Rousseau);
• You cannot talk about the budget without knowing approximately the figures of its income and expenses (Theodor Herzl);
• Civilization road paved with tax receipts (Andrew McKenzie);
• If you know how to spend less than you get, then you have the Philosopher’s Stone (Benjamin Franklin);
• Only two incentives make people work: the thirst for wages and the fear of losing them (Henry Ford);
• There is no perfection in the world (Antoine de Saint-Exupery);
• You are forever responsible for the one you tamed (Antoine de Saint-Exupery);
• It’s good where we are not (Antoine de Saint-Exupery);
• All adults were children at first, only a few of them remember this (Antoine de Saint-Exupery);
• Live and learn (Lucius Annec Seneca);
• The end justifies the means (Ignatius de Loyola);
• Truth is in wine (Pliny the Elder).

65 Motivational Writing Quotes to Ignite Your Creative Spark

| Candace Osmond

Candace Osmond

Candace Osmond studied Advanced Writing & Editing Essentials at MHC. She’s been an International and USA TODAY Bestselling Author for over a decade. And she’s worked as an Editor for several mid-sized publications. Candace has a keen eye for content editing and a high degree of expertise in Fiction.

Quotes about writing have always been powerful tools to inspire and motivate writers, helping us work through the ups and downs of our creative journeys.

We’ve pooled together an amazing list of famous quotes about writing, penned by some of the greatest authors and thinkers, to give you some guidance, insight, and maybe even a gentle nudge to keep going when the going gets tough. We’ve all been there, and sometimes, a relatable quote can help put things back into perspective.

In this article, I’ll roll out a curated collection of inspirational quotes about writing, which I’ve also categorized by themes like motivation, challenges, process, and craft. Ready to be inspired and get that kick in the britches to keep writing?

Then read on and let these motivational writing quotes ignite that spark!

What Are the Best Motivational Quotes for Writers?

The best motivational quotes for writers are the ones that resonate deeply within us. The words offer comfort, encouragement, or a fresh perspective on the carnival ride that is the writing journey. These are some of my favorite quotes from famous authors, screenwriters, poets, and even unexpected sources.

So, whether you’re losing a battle with writer’s block or looking for a fresh burst of creativity to kickstart a new freelance writing project, these quotes are here to remind you that every writer faces challenges—and every writer has the power to overcome them.

Inspirational Quotes on Writing: Motivation

Motivation is the fuel that keeps the writing engine running, and sometimes, all we need is a few powerful words to jumpstart our creativity.

These inspirational quotes about writing are perfect for pulling out during those moments when you feel absolutely stuck or just in need of a boost. They remind us that writing is a chaotic process that demands perseverance, courage, and maybe even a little bit of faith.

So, soak up these words from literary greats like Terry Pratchett, Jodi Picoult, and Ernest Hemingway, and remember the importance of telling your story.

“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” – Terry Pratchett

“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” – Louis L’Amour

“You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” – Jodi Picoult

“You fail only if you stop writing.” – Ray Bradbury

“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” – Toni Morrison

“Write hard and clear about what hurts.” – Ernest Hemingway

“A word after a word after a word is power.” – Margaret Atwood

“I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.” – Anne Frank

“Writing is its own reward.” – Henry Miller

“Write what you know. That should leave you with a lot of free time.” – Howard Nemerov

“To survive, you must tell stories.” – Umberto Eco

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” – Anaïs Nin

“If a story is in you, it has to come out.” – William Faulkner

“The secret of it all is to write… without waiting for a fit time or place.” – Walt Whitman

“Write a page a day. Only 300 words. And in a year, you have written a book.” – Stephen King

“To write well, express yourself like the common people, but think like a wise man.” – Aristotle

“Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader—not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.” – E.L. Doctorow

Inspirational Quotes on Writing: Challenges

Writing isn’t always easy; in fact, it’s almost never easy, otherwise, everyone would do it. Writing sometimes feels like an uphill battle with no end in sight. But facing challenges head-on is all part of the writing journey, whether you want to admit it or not.

This next list of writing quotes brings together ideas that speak to the struggles every writer faces—from self-doubt to writer’s block and the fear of putting your thoughts on paper for an essay . These famous quotes about writing acknowledge the difficulties of the craft, offering both empathy and encouragement.

“The scariest moment is always just before you start.” – Stephen King

“Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere.” – Anne Lamott

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” – Maya Angelou

“Every writer I know has trouble writing.” – Joseph Heller

“Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.” – Natalie Goldberg

“You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.” – Saul Bellow

“Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.” – E.L. Doctorow

“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.” – Ernest Hemingway

“Writing is the art of disappointment.” – Dan Abnett

“The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.” – Philip Roth

“The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.” – Vladimir Nabokov

“Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.” – Mark Twain

“Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards.” – Robert A. Heinlein

“First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him.” – Ray Bradbury

“The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes.” – Agatha Christie

Inspirational Quotes on Writing: Process

The writing process is different for every single writer. Some are pantsers, and others are deep plotters. I’ve even met some who are a mix of both. Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, you’ll relate to this next list of motivational writing quotes.

It gets into the nuts and bolts of writing—the habits, the routines, the rituals that help writers put words on the page. These quotes emphasize the importance of persistence, imagination, and the willingness to embrace the messiness of the ever-personal creative process.

“The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book.” – Samuel Johnson

“The role of a writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say.” – Anaïs Nin

“You don’t write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” – Richard Bach

“Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.” – Stephen King

“A good writer possesses not only his own spirit but also the spirit of his friends.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

“Write drunk, edit sober.” – Ernest Hemingway

“The best stories are the ones that make you feel something.” – Neil Gaiman

“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” – Mark Twain

“Write without pay until somebody offers to pay.” – Mark Twain

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” – Ernest Hemingway

“To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it’s about, but the inner music that words make.” – Truman Capote

“Writing is thinking on paper.” – William Zinsser

“A book is simply the container of an idea—like a bottle; what is inside the book is what matters.” – Angela Carter

“Imagination is like a muscle. I found out that the more I wrote, the bigger it got.” – Philip José Farmer

“The task of a writer is not to solve the problem but to state the problem correctly.” – Anton Chekhov

“The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” – Albert Camus

“The writer must write what he has to say, not speak it.” – Ernest Hemingway

“The true alchemists do not change lead into gold; they change the world into words.” – William H. Gass

“The writer is an explorer. Every step is an advance into a new land.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Inspirational Quotes on Writing: Craft

Writing is an art form. There’s no doubt about it. And mastering your craft means dedication, practice, and a deep understanding of language and storytelling. Next up, we’ve gathered quotes that focus on the finer points of writing—the style, the technique, the unique voice every writer strives to develop.

I hope they encourage you to experiment, to play with language, and to express yourself fully and authentically. From the poetic wisdom of Anton Chekhov to the sharp insights of E.L. Doctorow, these quotes will inspire you to hone your craft and find your unique style.

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” – Anton Chekhov

“The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.” – Thomas Jefferson

“There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story.” – Frank Herbert

“The only end of writing is to enable the reader better to enjoy life or better to endure it.” – Samuel Johnson

“Writers live twice.” – Natalie Goldberg

“Let the world burn through you. Throw the prism light, white hot, on paper.” – Ray Bradbury

“A blank piece of paper is God’s way of telling us how hard it is to be God.” – Sidney Sheldon

“The pen is the tongue of the mind.” – Horace

“The purpose of literature is to turn blood into ink.” – T.S. Eliot

“A writer should write with his eyes and a painter paint with his ears.” – Gertrude Stein

“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” – William Wordsworth

“Style is to forget all styles.” – Jules Renard

How Can Motivational Quotes Inspire Writers?

Motivational quotes can be a helpful tool for writers, offering psychological benefits that combat self-doubt and encourage us to keep going. Reading a quote from a beloved author can remind a writer of their shared struggles, creating a sense of community and shared experience.

For example, knowing that even the great and all-mighty Stephen King finds the start of a first draft to be daunting can make it easier to face your own blank page.

Also, consider how motivational quotes give us daily reminders of why writing is worth the effort. Because it is. Writing isn’t just a hobby–it’s a cathartic release, a sort of therapy. It’s everything that dwells within a writer.

One of my favorite quotes that has always stuck with me is Ernest Hemingway’s advice to “write drunk, edit sober” because it reminds me to just give in and embrace the raw, unfiltered creativity in my initial drafts, knowing I can always refine it later.

Then there are Anne Lamott’s words on the necessity of “terrible first efforts,” which encourages writers to JUST START WRITING, despite the fear of imperfection. I’m a firm believer in the idea that a crappy first draft is a hundred times better than a blank page.

Do These Quotes Get You Motivated to Write?

Motivational writing quotes are more than just silly words—they’re daily reminders to look for the joy in what you love, to embrace the challenge it demands, and to relish the triumph of the writing process.

We covered quotes that speak to the writing process, motivation, challenges, and craft. Save them or bookmark this page to come back time and time again whenever you need a little pick-me-up to keep those words flowing. Which quote resonates the most with you?

Grammarist is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. When you buy via the links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you.

2024 © Grammarist, a Found First Marketing company. All rights reserved.

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

Don't Forget to Enter Today's Very Merry Giveaway!🎁

100 Quotes About Writing To Inspire Your Students

Wise words from authors, poets, historical figures and more.

Many students say the hardest part of school is writing. That’s one of the reasons inspiring students to write can be a challenge. As you look through this list of quotes about writing, you’ll discover many of the great authors actually feel the same way. If you’re looking for a way to encourage your class to put pen to paper, check out this list of 100 relatable quotes about writing from authors, poets, and other influential figures.

Quotes About Writing by Historical Figures

“either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” – benjamin franklin.

“I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.” – Anne Frank

“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.” – Henry David Thoreau

“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” – Winston S. Churchill

“If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.” – Martin Luther 

“The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write about it.” – Benjamin Disraeli

Quotes About Writing by Authors

“i kept always two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in.” – robert louis stevenson.

“You can make anything by writing.” – C.S. Lewis

“To survive, you must tell stories.” – Umberto Eco, The Island of the Day Before

“As a writer, you should not judge, you should understand.” – Ernest Hemingway

“Writers live twice.” – Natalie Goldberg

“Words are a lens to focus one’s mind.” – Ayn Rand

“If a nation loses its storytellers, it loses its childhood.” – Peter Handke

“Write. Rewrite. When not writing or rewriting, read. I know of no shortcuts.” – Larry L. King

“The first sentence can’t be written until the final sentence is written.” – Joyce Carol Oates

“A book is simply the container of an idea—like a bottle; what is inside the book is what matters.” – Angela Carter

 “There is no greater power on this earth than story.” – Libba Bray, The Diviners

“Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader — not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.” – E.L. Doctorow

“In good writing, words become one with things.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way.” – Ray Bradbury 

“The real story is not the plot but how the characters unfold by it.” – Vanna Bonta

“What I’ve learned about writing is that sometimes less is more, while often more is grander. And both are true.” – Richelle E. Goodrich

“Character is plot, plot is character.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

“You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” – Jodi Picoult

“If there’s a book that you want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” – Toni Morrison

“I’m writing a first draft and reminding myself that I’m simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.” – Shannon Hale

“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 writing to me and get on with it.” – Ruth Rendell

“The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading in order to write. A man will turn over half a library to make a book.” – Samuel Johnson

“Tell the readers a story! Because without a story, you are merely using words to prove you can string them together in logical sentences.” – Anne McCaffrey

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” – Stephen King

“If the book is true, it will find an audience that is meant to read it.” – Wally Lamb

“Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic.” – J.K. Rowling

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” – Anais Nin

“Read, read, read. Read everything—trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it’s good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out of the window.” – William Faulkner

“You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.” – Saul Bellow

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter. ’Tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” – Mark Twain

“Fiction is the truth inside the lie.” – Stephen King

“The scariest moment is always just before you start.” – Stephen King

“There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story.” – Frank Herbert

“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” – Louis L’Amour

“After nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” – Philip Pullman

“All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” – Ernest Hemingway

“There is something delicious about writing the first words of a story. You never quite know where they’ll take you.” – Beatrix Potter

“This is how you do it: You sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until it’s done. It’s that easy, and that hard.” – Neil Gaiman

“You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write.” – Annie Proulx

“A well-composed book is a magic carpet on which we are wafted to a world that we cannot enter in any other way.” – Caroline Gordon

“Imagination is like a muscle. I found out that the more I wrote, the bigger it got.” – Philip José Farmer

“The role of a writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say.” – Anais Nin

“Write the kind of story you would like to read. People will give you all sorts of advice about writing, but if you are not writing something you like, no one else will like it either.” – Meg Cabot

“Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.” – Stephen King

“Closed in a room, my imagination becomes the universe, and the rest of the world is missing out.” – Criss Jami

“A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author.” – G.K. Chesterton

“There comes a time in your life when you have to choose to turn the page, write another book or simply close it.” – Shannon L. Alder

“My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way.” – Ernest Hemingway

“Writing is a way of talking without being interrupted.” – Jules Renard

“So long as you write what you wish to write, that is all that matters; and whether it matters for ages or only for hours, nobody can say.” – Virginia Woolf

“All that I hope to say in books, all that I ever hope to say, is that I love the world.” – E.B. White

“You can fix anything but a blank page.” – Nora Roberts

“The hard part about writing a novel is finishing it.” – Ernest Hemingway

“Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely essential.” – Jessamyn West

“Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.” – Natalie Goldberg

“It’s none of their business that you have to learn how to write. Let them think you were born that way.” – Ernest Hemingway

“There is creative reading as well as creative writing.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Ideas aren’t magical; the only tricky part is holding on to one long enough to get it written down.” – Lynn Abbey

“Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river.” – Lisa See

“Write about the emotions you fear the most.” – Laurie Halse Anderson

“Writing is a job, a talent, but it’s also the place to go in your head. It is the imaginary friend you drink your tea with in the afternoon.” – Ann Patchett

“If you want to be a writer, stop talking about it and sit down and write!” – Jackie Collins

“A story has no beginning or end: Arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead.” – Graham Greene

“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” – Richard Bach

“With writing, we have second chances.” – Jonathan Safran Foer

“Written words can also sing.” – Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o

“You cannot hope to sweep someone else away by the force of your writing until it has been done to you.” – Stephen King

“A good story is always more dazzling than a broken piece of truth.” – Diane Setterfield

“A successful book is not made of what is in it, but what is left out of it.” – Mark Twain

“We photograph things in order to drive them out of our minds. My stories are a way of shutting my eyes.” – Franz Kafka

“the first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” – terry pratchett.

“You can’t blame a writer for what the characters say.” – Truman Capote

“Personally I think that grammar is a way to attain beauty.” – Muriel Barbery

“Don’t classify me, read me. I’m a writer, not a genre.” – Carlos Fuentes

“Writing is the only thing that when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.” – Gloria Steinem

Quotes About Writing by Poets

“i have never started a poem yet whose end i knew. writing a poem is discovering.” – robert frost.

“A synonym is a word you use when you can’t spell the other one.” – Baltasar Gracián

“If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.” – Margaret Atwood

“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” – William Wordsworth

“A word after a word after a word is power.” – Margaret Atwood

“I hate writing, I love having written.” – Dorothy Parker

“Some moments are nice, some are nicer, some are even worth writing about.” – Charles Bukowski

Quotes About Writing by Philosophers

“the purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” – albert camus.

“A good writer possesses not only his own spirit but also the spirit of his friends.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

“All I need is a sheet of paper and something to write with, and then I can turn the world upside down.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

“To write well, express yourself like the common people, but think like a wise man.” – Aristotle

“It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

More Quotes About Writing

“write your first draft with your heart. rewrite with your head.” – mike rich.

“I write to give myself strength. I write to be the characters that I am not. I write to explore all the things I’m afraid of.” – Joss Whedon

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” – Pablo Picasso

“Everybody is talented because everybody who is human has something to express.” – Brenda Ueland

“You are what you write.” – Helvy Tiana Rosa

Did you like these 100 quotes about writing? Check out our   80+ Motivational Quotes for Students of All Ages to further inspire your students!

Come share your favorite quotes about writing in the weareteachers helpline group on facebook .

You Might Also Like

Free Printables! Best Books for Grades 2-6 Classrooms

We want ALL the books! Continue Reading

Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. 5335 Gate Parkway, Jacksonville, FL 32256

Barnes&Noble Press Blog

• Author Posts & Interviews
• Self Publishing Tips & Resources
• Special Collections
• Shop the B&N Press Store
• Industry Tips & Tricks

50 Inspirational Quotes on Writing

By barnes & noble press /, january 4, 2021 at 3:00 pm.

It’s a new year and, therefore, we want to help kick it off right with a collection of our favorite inspirational quotes on writing! We always start a new year with resolutions, but often it’s hard to stick with our goals. Certainly, that’s where we can come in 🙂

Above all, we hope these 50 Inspirational Quotes on Writing will keep you motivated and energized throughout 2021.

Inspirational Quotes on Writing: Imagination

2. “Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” –  William Wordsworth

3. “The writer is an explorer. Every step is an advance into a new land.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

4. “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see, and what it means. What I want and what I fear.” –  Joan Didion

5. “They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream by night.” – Edgar Allan Poe

6. “The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.” –  Gustav Flaubert

7. “I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and look at it, until it shines.” –  Emily Dickinson

8. “That’s what you’re looking for as a writer when you’re working. You’re looking for your own freedom.” –  Philip Roth

9. “Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.” –  George Bernard Shaw

10. “Creativity is a combination of discipline and childlike spirit.” –  Robert Greene

11. “Writing is the painting of the voice.” –  Voltaire

12. “It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” –  Paulo Coelho

13. “I have fallen in love with the imagination. And if you fall in love with the imagination, you understand that it is a free spirit. It will go anywhere and it can do anything.” –  Alice Walker

Inspirational Quotes on Writing: Motivation

14. “Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself… it’s a self-exploratory operation that is endless.” – Harper Lee

15. “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.” –  Henry David Thoreau

16. “There are significant moments in everyone’s day that can make literature. That’s what you ought to write about.” –  Raymond Carver

17. “Keep asking questions because people will always want to know the answer. Open with a question and don’t answer it until the end.” –  Lee Child

18. “But when people say, did you always want to be a writer? I have to say no! I always was a write.” –  Ursula K. Le Guin

19. “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” –  Maya Angelou

20. “If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.” –  Margaret Atwood

21. “You should write stories because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page.” –  Annie Proulx

23. “If you do not hear music in your words, you have put too much thought into your writing and not enough heart.” –  Terry Brooks

24. “If you are in difficulties with a book, try the element of surprise: attack it at an hour when it isn’t expecting it.” –  H.G. Wells

25. “Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.” –  Tom Stoppard

26. “The secret of it all is to write… without waiting for a fit time or place.” –  Walt Whitman

27. “No one else sees the world the way you do, so no one else can tell the stories that you have to tell.” –  Charles de Lint

28. “Successful writing is one part inspiration and two parts sheer stubbornness.” –  Gillian Flynn

30. “As a writer, you should not judge. You should understand.” –  Ernest Hemingway

31. “If you don’t see the book you want on the shelf, write it.” – Beverly Cleary

32. “When all else fails, write what your heart tells you. You can’t depend on your eyes, when your imagination is out of focus.”  Mark Twain

33. “Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark. Begin at the beginning. Make some light.” –  Kate DiCamillo

Inspirational Quotes on Writing: Process

34. “A writer is a writer not because she writes well and easily, because she has amazing talent, because everything she does is golden. In my view a writer is a writer because even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyway.” –  Junot Diaz

35. “The first draft is you just telling yourself the story.” –  Terry Pratchett

36. “Write a page a day. Only 300 words and in a year you have written a novel.” –  Stephen King

37. “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” –  Agatha Christie

38. “The job of the novelist is to invent: to embroider, to color, to embellish, to make things up.” –  Donna Tart

39. “Writing is an act of faith, not a grammar trick.” –  E.B. White

40. “Good stories are not written. They are rewritten.” –  Phyllis Whitney

41. “The first draft is a skeleton. Just bare bones. The rest of the story comes later with revising.” –  Judy Bloom

42. “When you are describing a shape, or sound, or tint, don’t state the matter plainly, but put it in a hint. And learn to look at all things with a sort of mental squint.” –  Lewis Carroll

43. “You may not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” – Jodi Picoult

44. “Perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.” –  Antoine de Saint-Exupery

45. “The secret to editing your work is simple: You need to become its reader instead of its writer.” –  Zadie Smith

46. “I’m writing a first draft and reminding myself that I’m simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.” –  Shannon Hale

47. “Don’t labor over a little cameo work in which every word is to be perfect. Technique holds a reader from sentence to sentence, but only content will stay in his mind.” –  Joyce Carol Oates

48. “If you fall in love with the vision and not your words, the rewriting will become easier.” –  Nora DeLoach

49. “Be willing and unafraid to write badly, because often the bad stuff clears the way for good, or forms a base on which to build something better.” –  Jennifer Egan

50. “Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations.” –  Ray Bradbury

To sum up, write it all down this year. After that, visit BNPress.com to become a published author! Importantly, we have plenty of tools to help new authors. From trusted partners to assist with editing, formatting, or design, to marketing and promotions. Each step of the way, we will be there to help.

And check out more from the B&N Press Blog:

• Author Guest Posts & Interviews
• Special Collections & Promotions

Comments are closed.

More in Industry Tips & Tricks

• Artist Spotlight
• Best New Music
• Short Film Selection
• Thoughts on Film
• MBFW Russia
• Sustainable Fashion
• Watch Spotlight
• Art & Photography

Watch Hozier Cover the Pogues’ ‘Fairytale of New York’ on ‘Saturday Night Live’

Barack obama’s favorite music of 2024 includes waxahatchee & mj lenderman, moses sumney, fontaines d.c., and more, more eaze and claire rousay announce new album, share new single ‘limelight, illegally’, coheed and cambria’s claudio sanchez shares cover of taylor swift’s ‘welcome to new york’, 12 great quotes from gladiator (2000), best storylines from 90 day fiancé, is bluey a girl or boy the show’s character explained, bo cruz: the real nba player & story, prada just made a spacesuit for a 2026 moon mission – here’s how the brand has evolved their eyewear, footwear, and more, a look at the fashion work of minrisot, mr jones watches unveil ladies version of ‘a perfectly useless afternoon’, best running shoes for shin splints, the 8 best games of 2024, review: turmoil, snufkin: melody of moominvalley comes to xbox, the best books of 2024, author spotlight: julia kornberg & jack rockwell, ‘berlin atomized’, book review: svetlana sterlin’s ‘if movement was a language’, john hansard gallery unveils stasis field, an exhibition by kathy prendergast, charles gaines unveils new ‘numbers and trees’ series at hauser & wirth, christmas art exhibition: “glory, homeland, and the future: a christmas celebration” opens in london, 25 quotes for essay writing.

Creating academic essays isn’t easy, and that’s why each assignment requires more than rigor and diligence. You’ll need some support while doing your best to generate and describe the idea. Such help can come in the form of sayings by the authors from the UK, the USA, and all over the world. Writing a good essay requires inspiration, non-standard thinking, focus, sustained motivation, and a critical perspective at the ready text. Below, you’ll find 25 quotes grouped according to these characteristics that can hopefully make your literary papers more pleasant to create.

5 Quotes to Get Inspired

These are for the very beginning of the process. It’s a commonly known fact that inspiration never comes cheap, but you’ll need it most while crafting the best custom essay possible. 

• “I write to discover what I know.” (Flannery O’Connor). It’s important to choose unusual perspectives and show them in your text, reinterpreting what you’ve learned.
• “I don’t need to know everything, I just need to know where to find it.” (Unknown). This truth is fundamental—students have to test all their assumptions to get everything right, so curiosity is essential.
• “Accessible knowledge is the best kind.” (Malebo Sephodi). You can interpret this one as a call to write simply and know that the readers will enjoy your research without complicated wording.
• “There is no subject so old that something new cannot be said about it.” (Fyodor Dostoevsky). You should remember these words every time you lack confidence and free your thoughts to achieve the goal.
• “The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.” (Gustave Flaubert). Like our online posts, essays are communicative acts, so they will boost your self-discovery. 

5 Quotes to Start Thinking Like a Great Writer

The right mindset is no less important for a writer than a good command of English or professional approach. That’s why these quotes are essential.

• “Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.” (John Steinbeck). Moreover, thoughts might be difficult to organize, but productivity doesn’t come with perfect order.
• “A good style must first be clear.” (Aristotle). Remember this when you’re making the text personalized to suit your mood and character. 
• “Creativity and originality lie not in the avoidance of established forms but in the imaginative use of them.” (Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein). You’ll have to follow this advice to get a perfect review from your college professor!
• “The writer has to force himself to work.” (Roald Dahl). It’s okay if your writing sometimes feels like a chore, this great author assures.
• “There is no logical A-to-B-to-C way to become a good writer.” (Natalie Goldberg). As true as it is, you need to remember about logic while structuring your text.

5 Quotes Related to Focus

Sometimes, it’s much easier to work with a template than to create all the sections on your own. Online assistance from professional essay writing services like AdvancedWriters can provide you with a perfect example to follow, but what do the greats say?

• “Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.” (Isaac Asimov). An expert from any big company would probably agree since modernity demands jotting the ideas down as fast as possible.
• “As a writer, you should not judge, you should understand.” (Ernest Hemingway). You’ll have to view your essay as a service that seeks to please every customer, not wage war with those who disagree.
• “A word after a word after a word is power.” (Margaret Atwood). Working slowly but surely is also a good strategy.
• “Words are a lens to focus one’s mind.” (Ayn Rand). Indeed, saying what you believe is easy once you find the right expressions. 
• “To gain your own voice, you have to forget about having it heard.” (Allen Ginsberg). There’s no reason to be anxious about public opinion once you learn to write cautiously and respectfully.

5 Quotes to Support Your Motivation

These might be useful when you make a pause. The quotes selected as assistance for you to remain ready to work while taking your mind off the essay itself.

• “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” (Toni Morrison). Naturally, we can say the same about original papers and research.
• “I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.” (Anne Frank). Most companies are desperate to employ the people who feel that way about their studies, too.
• “A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” (Thomas Mann). These worlds may seem paradoxical, but they are true since the more you try, the harder it seems.
• “You can make anything by writing.” (C. S. Lewis). Powerful words can change your status or community’s views.
• “You fail only if you stop writing.” (Ray Bradbury). Perseverance is crucial for everyone.

5 Quotes to Get Critical

It’s vital to look at your complete essay as critically as possible to notice the flaws before submitting it. No spell-checking services will help you edit it as well as your creative vision, and the greats agree with it.

• “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” (Stephen King). In other words, good editing should be informed by experience with similar texts.
• “Writing comes as a result of a very strong impulse.” (C. S. Lewis). That’s what you need to look for while reviewing your paper. 
• “Write. Rewrite. When not writing or rewriting, read. I know of no shortcuts.” (Larry L. King). It’s about constantly training your eyes, looking at the things done right and analyzing them before working on your own essays.
• “It is perfectly okay to write garbage—as long as you edit brilliantly.” (C. J. Cherryh). That’s why the AI-based website won’t really help you with anything but removing typos.
• “You can’t edit a blank page.” (Jodi Picoult). If the previous quote intimidated you, this one’s sure to cheer you up. 

Bottom Line

Hopefully, these quotes will help you craft your greatest literature essay and receive perfect reviews from the professors. The general message that all writers share is that it’s impossible to buy talent or popularity since only hard work will grant you success. No matter what kind of written task you’re completing, following this principle is sure to get you to the top. However challenging it might seem to create a quality text from scratch, remembering that there’s only one way to do it might give you the strength to overcome all the hardships associated with this process.

How AI Revolutionizes Online Casinos: From Personalized Gaming to Fraud Detection

How creative entrepreneurs can leverage print reselling for business development, the art of balance: creating a wellness routine that works for you, the best art galleries to visit in london, must-have transformers combiners for new year’s resolutions, arts in one place..

All our content is free to read; if you want to subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date, click the button below.

People are Reading

Sza releases ben stiller-starring video for new single ‘drive’, sza releases new album ‘sos deluxe: lana’, the replacements guitarist slim dunlap dead at 73.

🌙 new Limited batch: lunar alpha with backlight

• Desk Friends
• Freewrite Plus
• Find Your Freewrite Quiz
• Learn To Freewrite
• Written On Freewrite Gallery
• Writing Time Friday (WTF)
• For Creative Writers
• For Screenwriters
• For Education
• For Journaling

Your Cart is Empty

• $0.00 Subtotal

Taxes and shipping calculated at checkout

Smart Typewriter

Best for travelers. Light & Portable with an e-ink screen

Alpha Raven Black

Special edition

Hemingwrite

SPECIAL EDITION

Out of this world focus.

LIMITED BATCH

55 Motivational Writing Quotes from Famous Authors

Sometimes, the hardest part of writing is simply getting started. Whether you’re taking your first dip in the storytelling pool, or you’re opening a fresh, blank document after finishing your last project, that empty page can be a little daunting.

So, to help combat those moments of doubt, here are some quotes from professional authors and artists who have been right where you are now, and who know exactly how you feel.

First, you just have to start.

1. "Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on."

-  Louis L’Amour

2. "Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it's the only way you can do anything really good."

-  William Faulkner

3. "The first draft is just you telling yourself the story."

-  Terry Pratchett

4. "You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it."

- Octavia E. Butler

5. "Start before you’re ready."

-  Steven Pressfield

6. "You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page"

-  Jodi Picoult

7. "You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club."

-  Jack London

8. "I have never started a poem yet whose end I knew. Writing a poem is discovering."

-  Robert Frost

9. "If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."

-  Toni Morrison

10. "I'm writing a first draft and reminding myself that I'm simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles." 

- Shannon Hale

11. "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 writing to me and get on with it."

-  Ruth Rendell

Then, keep going!

12. "First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!"

- Ray Bradbury

13. "The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading, in order to write. A man will turn over half a library to make a book."

-  Samuel Johnson

14. "Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."

-   E. L. Doctorow

15. "To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme."

-  Herman Melville

16. "Tell the readers a story! Because without a story, you are merely using words to prove you can string them together in logical sentences." 

- Anne McCaffrey

17. "Description begins in the writer’s imagination but should finish in the reader’s."

-  Stephen King

18. "No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader."

19. "If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot."

- Stephen King

20. "Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer."

- Barbara Kingsolver

21. "Never write anything that does not give you great pleasure. Emotion is easily transferred from the writer to the reader."

-  Joseph Joubert

Editing is vital.

22. "My own experience is that once a story has been written, one has to cross out the beginning and the end. It is there that we authors do most of our lying."

- Anton Chekhov

23. "The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do. "

- Thomas Jefferson

24. "When your story is ready for rewrite, cut it to the bone. Get rid of every ounce of excess fat. This is going to hurt; revising a story down to the bare essentials is always a little like murdering children, but it must be done." 

25. "It is perfectly okay to write garbage as long as you edit brilliantly."

-  C. J. Cherryh

26. "Half my life is an act of revision."

-  John Irving

27. "Writing without revising is the literary equivalent of waltzing gaily out of the house in your underwear."

-  Patricia Fuller

28. "Write your first draft with your heart. Rewrite with your head."

-  Mike Rich

29. "So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads."

-  Dr. Seuss

30. "You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what's burning inside you, and we edit to let the fire show through the smoke."

-  Arthur Plotnik

31. "Anyone and everyone taking a writing class knows that the secret of good writing is to cut it back, pare it down, winnow, chop, hack, prune, and trim, remove every superfluous word, compress, compress, compress..."

-  Nick Hornby

32. "When you write a book, you spend day after day scanning and identifying the trees. When you’re done, you have to step back and look at the forest." 

Don’t lose your sense of humor.

33. "It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous. "

-  Robert Benchley

34. "There’s no such thing as writer’s block. That was invented by people in California who couldn’t write."

- Terry Pratchett

35. "Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read."

-  Groucho Marx

36. "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

- Douglas Adams

37. "If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster."

- Isaac Asimov

Believe in yourself.

38. "If you have no critics, you’ll likely have no success."

-  Malcolm X

39. "If you can tell stories, create characters, devise incidents, and have sincerity and passion, it doesn’t matter a damn how you write."

-  Somerset Maugham

40. "And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt."

-  Sylvia Plath

41. "If the book is true, it will find an audience that is meant to read it."

-  Wally Lamb

42. "I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged."

-  Erica Jong

43. "Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy."

-  Norman Vincent Peale

44. "If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word."

-  Margaret Atwood

45. "Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them. "

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

46. "Difficulties mastered are opportunities won."

-  Winston Churchill

47. "Ignore all hatred and criticism. Live for what you create, and die protecting it."

-  Lady Gaga

Remember, being a writer is awesome.

48. "You can make anything by writing."

-  C.S. Lewis

49. "The true alchemists do not change lead into gold; they change the world into words."

-  William H. Gass

50. "Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions."

-  Albert Einstein

51. "Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic."

-  J. K. Rowling

52. "A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer; it sings because it has a song."

- Maya Angelou

53. "I must write it all out, at any cost. Writing is thinking. It is more than living, for it is being conscious of living."

-  Anne Morrow Lindbergh

54. "I write to give myself strength. I write to be the characters that I am not. I write to explore all the things I’m afraid of."

-  Joss Whedon

55. "I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn."

-  Anne Frank

Now that you've been inspired, the next step is writing consistently! Writers who use our Freewrite distraction-free writing tools have seen their word counts double.  Could be a Freewrite be right for you!?

Learn more about the "Draft First, Edit Later" Freewrite philosophy that drives prolific output. And, check out the Freewrite Alpha for an on-the-go writing partner.

Claire Wilkins is a freelance copywriter and editor from New Zealand. After a career in financial services spanning almost three decades, Claire left the corporate world behind to start Unmistakable - her writing and editing business. She creates website copy, blogs, and newsletters for creative agencies and small businesses, and specializes in polishing existing content until it shines. In her spare time, Claire enjoys cloud-spotting, singing in the car and editing video.

Recommended articles

More recommended articles for you.

If you ask a writer what they want for the holidays, their honest answer would likely be: “More hours in a day.” However, as we are not time benders, we’ve rounded up a list of some more practical gifts for the writer in your life.

For their dedicated writing station 

Freewrite Smart Typewriter

Nothing says “this is my writing space” like a Freewrite Smart Typewriter perched on a desk. The typewriter-for-the-21st-century merges the nostalgic feeling of pressing down keys with the modern features of a frontlight and automatic cloud data storage. When inspiration strikes, your writer will be grateful they have a designated device for diving into their creative world.

Wooden Pen Tray

How many of us know a writer whose pens are housed in a should-be-discarded mug? Take their pen display to the next level with a solid walnut or maple pen tray from Studio Neat, available in our Desk Friends collection .

Author Clock

What if checking the time could be a literary experience? That’s what Author Clock aims to achieve. Every minute of the day, a literary quote that correlates with that exact time will pop up on the screen. You can’t go wrong with entertaining and informative.

For their adventures beyond the desk

Freewrite Traveler

Free-roaming writers don’t always want to lug around their laptop. For a lighter option that streamlines the drafting process, get them the Freewriter Traveler .

Traveler’s long battery life means your writer’s wordsmithing session won’t be cut short due to a plug-in ultimatum. Whether they’re at a coffee shop or lounging in a park, your scribe will be able to comfortably read their words on the 135-degree adjustable screen.

You know how difficult it is to find a pen out in the wild. The Pen Type-C from CW&T alleviates this issue by easily clipping onto whatever you have handy — whether that’s a notepad, book, or even your wallet.

For their current read

Perch Bookmark

Any reader knows that not all bookmarks are created equal. The flimsy paper ones can easily fall out, while the bulky novelty ones can actually bend your book (the horror!) For a sleek bookmark that oozes class, get your writer the Perch Bookmark from Craighill.

Cal Bookend

We’d wager that your writer has a love of print books. If there’s a book that really knocked their socks off, they probably want it in their physical library. To help that library look its best, get them Craighill's stunning  Cal Bookends .

For those unfocused days

Freewrite Alpha Cosmic Edition

Every day, we’re bombarded with hundreds of distractions — many of them connected to the Internet. If you know a writer who often laments about not being able to focus on their work, gift them the Freewrite Alpha Cosmic Edition . Not only will they be freed from notifications on their screen, but when they do need a break, you can bet they’ll crack a smile as they admire the celestial theme of their new gadget.

Analog Starter Kit

Sometimes it’s best to go old school to prioritize your tasks and goals. Rather than give your writer a pack of sticky notes, though, offer them a more elevated option: the Ugmonk  Analog Starter Kit .

Part of our Desk Friends collection, writers love the three categories of cards — Today, Next Day, Someday — to help bring focus to their work.

For notes and jotting things down

Some writers do their best work the old fashioned way: handwriting their content. For a fine writing instrument, you can’t go wrong with the Kepler Pen from Craighill, available in our Desk Friends collection . Clocking in at the perfect weight, choose gold, silver, or black to best accent your writer’s style.

Finally, what is a pen without paper? Surprise the writer in your life with the Studio Neat's  Keepbook . This layflat design means your writer can type away with their sleek notebook staying open beside them. Blank, ruled, or with a dot grid, any analog lover will appreciate the thought that went into this present.

Scientists, academics, and researchers write constantly for work and study. Writing is essential to recording work and sharing new finds with the broader world.

So why would a scientist take even more time out of their day to do a different kind of writing?

Every 40 days, another one dies — becoming extinct forever.

By the year 2100, that will be 3,500 lost.

We’re not talking about a species of animal, or variety of plant. We’re talking about languages — the foundation of human communication as we know it.

25 Inspirational Quotes to Energize Your Writing Life

Writers tend to be a self-motivated bunch. We write because we’re moved to, we need to. But occasionally, we find ourselves tired, uninspired, and in need of creative nourishment . On days like this, having a collection of inspirational writing quotes at the ready means in the space of just a few seconds, we can read something to fuel us again—words from another writer who has been where we are, staring down the page, finding the courage to begin.

Tack one above your desk. Write it on a post-it and stick it on a mirror, or the dashboard of your car. Copy it into a journal. Save it on Pinterest. Whatever your preferred method of capturing ideas is, save them for a rainy day. Or, in this case, a gloomy writing day when you’re in need of a little extra encouragement.

25 Inspirational Writing Quotes

“If a story is in you, it has to come out.” —William Faulkner

“I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.” —James Michener

“Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way.” —Ray Bradbury

“A writer, I think, is someone who pays attention to the world.” —Susan Sontag

“The scariest moment is always just before you start.” —Stephen King

“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” —William Wordsworth

“That's the thing about books, they let you travel without moving your feet.” —Jhumpa Lahiri

“And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good.” —John Steinbeck

“I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.” —Pearl S. Buck

“No need to force yourself to do something the “right way” if it’s not your right way. Your job is to honor your process.” —Andi Cumbo

“Writing is a calling, not a choice.” —Isabel Allende

“For your born writer, nothing is so healing as the realization that he has come upon the right word.” —Catherine Drinker Bowen

“Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” ―Mary Oliver

“When I write, I give people access to their own emotions.” —Gord Downie

Getting it Right

“Lying in front of the house all afternoon, trying to write a poem. Falling asleep. Waking up under the stars.”

—Jack Gilbert

“Give me books, fruit, French wine, fine weather and a little music.” —John Keats

“The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart.” —Maya Angelou

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” ―Anaïs Nin

“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” ―Louis L'Amour

“There is something delicious about writing the first words of a story. You never quite know where they'll take you.” ―Beatrix Potter

“A word after a word after a word is power.” ―Margaret Atwood

“The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” ―Albert Camus

“My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way.” ―Ernest Hemingway

“A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. A good poem helps to change the shape of the universe, helps to extend everyone's knowledge of himself and the world around him.” ―Dylan Thomas

“If something inside of you is real, we will probably find it interesting, and it will probably be universal. So you must risk placing real emotion at the center of your work. Write straight into the emotional center of things.” —Anne Lamott

Stuck in a Creative Rut? Try 3 Easy Ideas to Loosen Your Knots

Your 5 biggest writing fears (and supportive ways overcome them).

ThinkWritten

Writing Quotes: 101 Quotes for Writers to Inspire You

Need a little motivation to write? These 101 Quotes for Writers from best selling authors are sure to inspire you!

We may receive a commission when you make a purchase from one of our links for products and services we recommend. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for support!

Sharing is caring!

Today I wanted to share a great round-up of my favorite writing quotes for writers, because sometimes it can be just that little bit of motivational inspiration you need to keep going.

An encouraging word from a published author is always reassurance that the madness of sitting at your laptop typing words for hours is worth the sacrifice!

We can also learn a lot about how to write from these famous author quotes included in this list of quotes about writing! Many of these quotes come from well known authors who share their best tips, advice, and secrets to learn all about writing.

While these quotes are no substitute for taking an online writing class, you’ll definitely find some inspiration here!

From tips for staying motivated to inspiring ideas for how to develop great characters in your writing, you are sure to find a lot of great writing advice to be found in these words of wisdom from successful authors!

Here are 101 Writing Quotes for Writers

“Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere.” – Anne Lamott

“Words are a lens to focus one’s mind.” – Ayn Rand

“Some writers confuse authenticity, which they ought always to aim at, with originality, which they should never bother about.” – W.H. Auden

“There are reasons people seek escape in books, and one of those reasons is that the boundary of what can happen is beyond what we do – or would want to see in real life.” – James Patterson

“All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

“The true alchemists do not change lead into gold; they change the world into words.” –  William H. Gass

“Everywhere I go I’m asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don’t stifle enough of them. There’s many a best-seller that could have been prevented by a good teacher.” – Flannery O’Connor

Writing Advice Quotes: Tips to Write Better from Writers

“Always be a poet, even in prose.” – Charles Baudelaire

“There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story.” – Frank Herbert

“I almost always urge people to write in the first person. … Writing is an act of ego and you might as well admit it.” – William Zinsser

“First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!” –  Ray Bradbury

“There is only one plot — things are not what they seem.” – Jim Thompson

“Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.” – Stephen King

“You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying in the road.” – Richard Price

“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” – Robert Frost

“You always get more respect when you don’t have a happy ending.” – Julia Quinn

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” – Anton Chekhov

“The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.” – Thomas Jefferson

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” – Maya Angelou

“The secret of good writing is telling the truth.” – Gordon Lish

“Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.” – Jane Yolen

“So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.” –  Dr. Seuss

Quotes About Creativity and Finding Inspiration as a Writer

“There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before.” – Willa Cather

“Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way.” – Ray Bradbury

“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” – Sylvia Plath

“I start with a question. Then try to answer it.” – Mary Lee Settle

“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” – Toni Morrison

“When I sit down to write a book, I do not say to myself, ‘I am going to produce a work of art.’ I write it because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing.” – George Orwell

Hobbes: Do you have an idea for your story yet? Calvin: No, I’m waiting for inspiration. You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood. Hobbes: What mood is that? Calvin: Last-minute panic. – Bill Watterson

“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” –  William Wadsworth

“Love is the only energy I’ve ever used as a writer. I’ve never written out of anger, although anger has informed love.” – Athol Fugard

“It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.” – Ernest Hemingway

“Each writer is born with a repertory company in his head. Shakespeare has perhaps 20 players. … I have 10 or so, and that’s a lot. As you get older, you become more skillful at casting them.” – Gore Vidal

“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” – Oscar Wilde

“Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any.” – Orson Scott Card

“If you want to write, if you want to create, you must be the most sublime fool that God ever turned out and sent rambling. You must write every single day of your life. You must read dreadful dumb books and glorious books, and let them wrestle in beautiful fights inside your head, vulgar one moment, brilliant the next. You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads.” – Ray Bradbury

“Most of the basic material a writer works with is acquired before the age of fifteen.” – Willa Cather

Quotes On Writing for Children

“Let children read whatever they want and then talk about it with them. If parents and kids can talk together, we won’t have as much censorship because we won’t have as much fear.” – Judy Blume

“I don’t believe that there’s a demarcation. ‘Oh, you mustn’t tell them that. You mustn’t tell them that.’ You tell them anything you want. Just tell them if it’s true. If it’s true, you tell them.” – Maurice Sendak

“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” – Madeleine L’Engle

“It is the writer who might catch the imagination of young people, and plant a seed that will flower and come to fruition.” – Isaac Asimov

“Many adults feel that every children’s book has to teach them something…. My theory is a children’s book… can be just for fun.” – R.L. Stine

“In this modern world where activity is stressed almost to the point of mania, quietness as a childhood need is too often overlooked. Yet a child’s need for quietness is the same today as it has always been—it may even be greater—for quietness is an essential part of all awareness. In quiet times and sleepy times a child can dwell in thoughts of his own, and in songs and stories of his own.” – Margaret Wise Brown

“I know what I liked as a child, and I don’t do any book that I, as a child, wouldn’t have liked.” – H. A. Rey

“I’m very lucky to write for children, because I don’t have to deal with popular culture. I can just deal with core fundamental issues: jealousy, love, hatred, sadness, joy, wanting to drive a bus.” – Mo Willems

“I’ve always been into ‘fast-paced, don’t bore ’em, keep it moving along, stick with the story.’ You know: tell a story the way I want to hear a story. I find it more rewarding to write for kids, but I also find it a little easier, because you can just let loose a little bit more in terms of fantasy and stuff.” – James Patterson

Quotes from Writers About Reading and Books

You’ll probably notice a common theme about all of these next quotes from writers – if you wish to write a book, you better get reading! Here are some of our favorite quotes about reading and books from a variety of authors.

“Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it’s good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out of the window.” – William Faulkner

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” – Stephen King

“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though.” – J.D. Salinger

“You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write.” – Annie Proulx

“I kept always two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

“One sure window into a person’s soul is his reading list.” – Mary B. W. Tabor

“The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book.” – Samuel Johnson

Motivational Quotes for Writers

“The most important thing in life is to stop saying ‘I wish’ and start saying ‘I will.’ Consider nothing impossible, then treat possibilities as probabilities.” – Charles Dickens

“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” – Louis L’Amour

“This is how you do it: you sit down at the keyboard and you put one word after another until its done. It’s that easy, and that hard.” – Neil Gaiman

“Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.” – Franz Kafka

“That’s what fiction is for. It’s for getting at the truth when the truth isn’t sufficient for the truth.” – Tim O’Brien

“You can make anything by writing.” – C.S. Lewis

“You can fix anything but a blank page.” – Nora Roberts

“Keep a small can of WD-40 on your desk—away from any open flames—to remind yourself that if you don’t write daily, you will get rusty.” – George Singleton

“If you write one story, it may be bad; if you write a hundred, you have the odds in your favor.” –  Edgar Rice Burroughs

“The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it’s definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it ­honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.” –  Neil Gaiman

Writing Quotes About Not Giving Up

These writing quotes about not giving up are a good thing to remember when you start submitting your manuscript to publishers ! It’s easy to want to give up, but it is worth the trials and tribulations to keep working at becoming a successful published author.

“Focus more on your desire than on your doubt, and the dream will take care of itself.” – Mark Twain

“If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn’t brood. I’d type a little faster.” – Isaac Asimov

“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” – Richard Bach

“What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.” – Oscar Wilde

“The hard part about writing a novel is finishing it.” – Ernest Hemingway

“Serious writers write, inspired or not. Over time they discover that routine is a better friend than inspiration.” – Ralph Keyes

Writing Quotes About Editing and Revising

“Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.” – Mark Twain

“Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.”  – F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.”  – Stephen King

“Half my life is an act of revision.” –  John Irving

“Not a wasted word. This has been a main point to my literary thinking all my life.” – Hunter S. Thompson

“Good writing is rewriting.” – Truman Capote

“Rejection slips, or form letters, however tactfully phrased, are lacerations of the soul, if not quite inventions of the devil—but there is no way around them.” –  Isaac Asimov

“It is perfectly okay to write garbage—as long as you edit brilliantly.” – C. J. Cherryh

“Most editors are failed writers – but so are most writers.” – T.S. Eliot

“My own experience is that once a story has been written, one has to cross out the beginning and the end. It is there that we authors do most of our lying.” – Anton Chekhov

More Great Quotes for Writers

“Writing is something you do alone. Its a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don’t want to make eye contact while doing it.” – John Green

“I write for the same reason I breathe – because if I didn’t, I would die.” – Isaac Asimov

“A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul, and that, I am sure, is why he does it.” – Roald Dahl

“Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people, citizens of distant epochs, who never knew one another. Books break the shackles of time ― proof that humans can work magic.” – Carl Sagan

“A short story is a love affair, a novel is a marriage. A short story is a photograph; a novel is a film.” – Lorrie Moore

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” – Anaïs Nin

“The reason that fiction is more interesting than any other form of literature, to those who really like to study people, is that in fiction the author can really tell the truth without humiliating himself.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“A person who can write a long letter with ease, cannot write ill.” – Jane Austen

“Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It’s about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy.” – Stephen King

“Some things are hard to write about. After something happens to you, you go to write it down, and either you over dramatize it, or underplay it, exaggerate the wrong parts or ignore the important ones. At any rate, you never write it quite the way you want to.” – Sylvia Plath

“Stop aspiring and start writing. If you’re writing, you’re a writer. Write like you’re a goddamn death row inmate and the governor is out of the country and there’s no chance for a pardon. Write like you’re clinging to the edge of a cliff, white knuckles, on your last breath, and you’ve got just one last thing to say, like you’re a bird flying over us and you can see everything, and please, for God’s sake, tell us something that will save us from ourselves.” – Alan W. Watts

“I don’t think of literature as an end in itself. It’s just a way of communicating something.” –   Isabel Allende

“I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter.” – Blaise Pascal

“A writer can do nothing for men more necessary, satisfying, than just simply to reveal to them the infinite possibilities of their own souls.” – Walt Whitman

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” – Benjamin Franklin

“All that I hope to say in books, all that I ever hope to say, is that I love the world.” – E.B. White

“It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous.” – Robert Benchley

“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.” – Ernest Hemingway

“There is no such thing as fantasy unrelated to reality.” – Maurice Sendak

“A blank piece of paper is God’s way of telling us how hard it to be God.” – Sidney Sheldon

“Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly — they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.” – Aldous Huxley

“I’m very lucky in that I don’t understand the world yet. If I understood the world, it would be harder for me to write these books.” — Mo Willems

“I don’t care if a reader hates one of my stories, just as long as he finishes the book.” – Roald Dahl

What are your favorite writing quotes?

After reading these writing quotes, do you have a favorite? Which ones inspire you to start writing? Are there any quotes that offer writing tips you find useful? Are there any writing quotes you like that we may not have included on this list?

Your thoughts, comments, suggestions and ideas are always welcome in the comments section below!

Chelle Stein wrote her first embarrassingly bad novel at the age of 14 and hasn't stopped writing since. As the founder of ThinkWritten, she enjoys encouraging writers and creatives of all types.

Similar Posts

How Long Does It Take To Write a Book?

How to Overcome Loneliness as a Writer

How to Build Your Own Writer’s Studio + 5 Beautiful Shed Kits You Will Love

10 Reasons to Join a Writing Group

How to Make Time for Writing: 5 Ways to Find Time to Write Now

How I Write Over 2,500+ Words a Day

My favorite is probably “Writing is something you do alone. Its a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don’t want to make eye contact while doing it” because it’s so true. I love writing. I’ve wanted to be a writer for, like, ten years, since I was five, but it’s taken me this long to really be serious about it. I’m very introverted. I will read, write, play with my cats, listen to music, and text my friends while sitting at a table or lying in bed all day, but ask me to go out to eat, or go shopping … No, thanks. I actually took an online test to see if I was introverted or extravereted (I obviously already knew the answer, but I LOVE online tests) and I got 97% introverted, 3% percent extraverted so if that tells you anything … Anyway. I also liked the quote about exclamation points. I can’t STAND exclamation points. Ask my mom or any of my friends … Well, I really don’t know why I wrote all this when I could’ve been working on my book and nobody’s probably going to read this anyway and if you do, you probably won’t care, or get this far. Imma go now. Bye…

My mother said, “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly until you can do it well.” That works with writing and so much more.

Great advice Diana, thank you!

“If you write, you’re a writer.” I encourage myself with that concept. I’m retired from the real world, and when people ask me what I do now, I say, “I’m a writer and look forward to the day I’m an author.” Thank you for these quotes on writing.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

25 Inspiring Quotes about Writing

Writing may be one of the most rewarding – and most frustrating – activities in the history of mankind. Few other callings result in as much crumpled paper, snapped pencils, frayed nerves and all-nighters. Writing has also given us some of the most inspirational quotes imaginable. Here, we’ve collected 25 quotes to give you the motivation and inspiration you need to finish your project, even if it takes all night.

Getting Started

Every writer has dealt with writer’s block and new writers can find the process of simply starting to be difficult. Since beginning can be difficult for even seasoned writers, much advice has been given on how to take the plunge and begin telling your story.

• “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” (Ernest Hemingway)
• “The scariest moment is always just before you start.” (Stephen King)
• “The first draft of anything is shit.” (Ernest Hemingway)
• “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” (Mark Twain)
• “Begin at the beginning,” the King said gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” (Lewis Carroll)
• “You don’t have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.” (Les Brown)

As we can see, the best authors in the world understand that beginning to write is as simple as it is difficult – one must simply begin.

Choosing the Right Words

Another common theme in writing is the eternal struggle to find just the right words and phrases. Many times writers throw around a number of words, searching for the one that fits like a missing puzzle piece. Rough drafts were made to be reworked and this is where a writer’s vocabulary and talent really come into play. Writing a scene requires the same dexterity and skilled hand as paining a picture, creating a sculpture or any other creative endeavor.

• “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” (Mark Twain)
• “One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.” (Jack Kerouac)
• “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” (Anton Chekhov)
• “Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly — they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.” (Aldous Huxley)
• “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can’t allow what we learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative.” (Elmore Leonard)
• “There is no great writing, only great rewriting.” (Justice Brandeis)

On Inspiration

Creative inspiration is perhaps one of the most ephemeral things in the world. Inspiration can come from anywhere and creativity is, at best, a fickle mistress. This interest in creativity and the creative process has been with man since the earliest times. The ancient Greeks had dozens of Muses dedicated to various forms of the arts and science. The Muses are goddesses representing different arts and sciences in Greek mythology. They are the daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus.

• Kalliope – the muse of epic poetry
• Euterpe – the muse of music and lyric poetry
• Erato – the muse of lyric/love poetry
• Melpomene – the muse of tragedy
• Thalia – the muse of comedy

Although established Muses of the past are rarely referred to now, their spirit lives on. Today, the creative process may be seen differently, but the inspiration and frustration remain the same.

• “You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.” (Saul Bellow)
• “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” (Scott Adams)
• “Inspiration is a guest that does not willingly visit the lazy.” (Pyotr Tchaikovsky)
• “Creativity is knowing how to hide your sources” (Albert Einstein)
• “Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time.” (Leonard Bernstein)
• “Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” (William Wordsworth)
• “Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way.” (Ray Bradbury)
• “I don’t know where my ideas come from, but I know where they come to. They come to my desk, and if I’m not there, they go away again.” (Philip Pullman)

On the Writing Life

It’s often said that artists are a special breed, and writers are no different. The writing life isn’t for everyone and, for those who feel the calling, taking the journey is sometimes difficult. Writers have discussed their methods, their inspirations and their styles, but here we get a glimpse into what truly drives them to follow the writer’s life.

• “You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” (Ray Bradbury)
• “I know some people might think it odd – unworthy even – for me to have written a cookbook, but I make no apologies. The U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins thought I had demeaned myself by writing poetry for Hallmark Cards, but I am the people’s poet so I write for the people.” (Maya Angelou)
• “We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.” (Ernest Hemingway)
• “I write for the same reason I breathe – because if I didn’t, I would die.” (Isaac Asimov)
• “You fail only if you stop writing.” (Ray Bradbury)

Related posts