#writ

You learn to write by writing, and by reading and thinking about how writers have created their characters and invented their stories. If you are not a reader, don't even think about being a writer. ↗

— Jean M. Auel

#writing #inspirational

Nature will forgive humankind just about anything, and what it won’t forgive I hope never to witness. ↗

— Paul Doiron

#forgiveness

People keep asking me, "Where do you get the ideas for your books?" From the worst moments in my life. I call that "literature through disaster." I got the whole Tales from Earth's End Saga that way, as well as Numenon. Don't be afraid of the hard times. ↗

— Sandy Nathan

#inspirational #sandy-nathan #tales-from-earth-s-end #using-hard-timesideas-for-books #where-to-get-inspiration

Fear and self-doubt are the deadly enemies of creativity. Don’t invite either into your mind. ↗

— Don Roff

#fear #inspirational #mind #self-doubt #writing

Writing is like a lump of coal. Put it under enough pressure and polish it enough and you might just end up with a diamond. Otherwise, you can burn it to keep warm. ↗

— A.J. Dalton

#inspirational #writing-advice #inspirational

Writing means not just staring ugliness in the face, but finding a way to embrace it. ↗

— Veronica Roth

#writing #inspirational

I wrote a book. It sucked. I wrote nine more books. They sucked, too. Meanwhile, I read every single thing I could find on publishing and writing, went to conferences, joined professional organizations, hooked up with fellow writers in critique groups, and didn’t give up. Then I wrote one more book. ↗

— Beth Revis

#debut-author #first-drafts #inspiration #persistence #publishing

I don't trust men everybody likes. Being nice isn't the same as being good. ↗

— Sarah Rees Brennan

#wisdom #writing #inspirational

If a man comes to the door of poetry untouched by the madness of the Muses, believing that technique alone will make him a good poet, he and his sane compositions never reach perfection, but are utterly eclipsed by the performances of the inspired madman. ↗

— Socrates

#mental-illness #writing #writing-life #inspirational

If you want to concentrate deeply on some problem, and especially some piece of writing or paper-work, you should acquire a cat. Alone with the cat in the room where you work ... the cat will invariably get up on your desk and settle placidly under the desk lamp ... The cat will settle down and be serene, with a serenity that passes all understanding. And the tranquility of the cat will gradually come to affect you, sitting there at your desk, so that all the excitable qualities that impede your concentration compose themselves and give your mind back the self-command it has lost. You need not watch the cat all the time. Its presence alone is enough. The effect of a cat on your concentration is remarkable, very mysterious. ↗

— Muriel Spark

#composition #concentration #focus #inspiration #writing