Treasure Chest of Quotes for Writers

Quite a few gems, in here. All these quotes are short enough to be tweeted. In fact, many come from people I follow on Twitter. So go ahead, copy them, tweet them, steal them, spread them, or just simply enjoy reading them. That's what quotes are for.  They're meant to be shared.

Which one is your favorite?

Quotes About Writing in General

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." ~ Jack London

"We don't write what we know. We write what we wonder about." ~ Richard Peck

"Manuscript: something submitted in haste and returned at leisure." ~ Oliver Herford

"If a book comes from the heart, it will continue to reach other hearts." ~ Thomas Carlyle

"Writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions." ~ James Michener

"A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit." ~ Richard Bach

"For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can." ~ Ernest Hemingway

"A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party, a company by the way, a counselor, a multitude of counselors." ~ Henry Ward Beecher

"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self." ~ Unknown

"Of course it's happening inside your head, Harry. Doesn't mean it isn't real." ~ Dumbledore

"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug." ~ Mark Twain

"It is perfectly okay to write garbage--as long as you edit brilliantly." ~ C.J. Cherryh

"Write what you like; there is no other rule." ~ O. Henry

"The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business." ~ John Steinbeck

"What is the ultimate insult? Getting a paper cut from a rejection letter!" ~ Amy McQuade

"Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass." ~ Anton Chekhov 

"Correct my spelling if you want to. My love for u is unkondeeshiannnel! ?;^P" ~ Jim Carrey (on twitter)

"Sometimes if there's a book you really want to read, you have to write it yourself." ~ Ann Patchett

"I try to leave out the parts that people skip." ~ Elmore Leonard

"Metaphors have a way of holding the most truth in the least space." ~ Orson Scott Card

"To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music the words make." ~ Truman Capote

"The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense." ~ Tom Clancy

“Writer’s block: when your imaginary friends won’t talk to you.” ~ Anonymous

"Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia." ~ E.L. Doctorow

"Don't say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream." ~ Mark Twain

"Don't shy away from emotions, good or bad. They are a writer's engine." ~ Kurt Chambers

"First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!" ~ Ray Bradbury

"Every word written is a victory against death." ~ Michel Butor

"If you have to find the time to write, don't bother - it's not a passion - do you have to find the time to breathe?" ~ John Geddes

"Verbing weirds language." ~ Calvin (in Calvin and Hobbes, by Bill Watterson)

"The pen is mightier than the sword. And considerably easier to write with." ~ Marty Feldman

"Don't just write what you know. Write to discover what you need to know." ~ James Scott Bell

"Writing a novel is a terrible experience, during which the hair often falls out and the teeth decay." ~ Flannery O'Connor

"There's a word for a writer who never gives up: published." ~ Joe Konrath

"A large portion of what makes writing so wonderful comes from encountering the unexpected." ~ Terry Brooks

"The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair." ~ Mary Heaton Vorse

"The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon."~ Cormier

"In reality, you are the main character in the adventure of your life." ~ Kurt Chambers



Quotes About Writing for Children

"You know how it is in the kid's book world: It's just bunny eat bunny." ~ anonymous

"The best children's book writers are not people who have kids, but people who write from the child within themselves." ~Andrea Brown

"You must write for children in the same way as you do for adults, only better." ~ Maxim Gorky

“Adults are only obsolete children.” ~ Dr. Seuss

"When you write for children, don't write for children. Write from the child in you." ~ Charles Ghigna

"Somewhere, a child is peeking into a wardrobe, certain of a world beyond the winter coats. This is why we write." @noveldoctor

"It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading." ~ Katherine Patterson


Quotes About Reading

"The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." ~ Mark Twain

“To read a writer is for me not merely to get an idea of what he says, but to go off with him and travel in his company.” ~ Andre Gide

“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.” ~ Groucho Marx

“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.” ~ Lemony Snicket

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.” ~ Charles William Eliot

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” ~ Stephen King

“To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.” ~ W. Somerset Maugham

“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” ~ Emilie Buchwald

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one." ~ George R. R. Martin

“A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.” ~ George R. R. Martin

 

Motivational Quotes

"Just getting started generates an energy and excitement that helps push you forward!" ~Wayne Dyer

"Give a man a fish and he has food for a day; teach him how to fish and you can get rid of him for the entire weekend."  ~Zenna Scha (And then you can write. ;-))

"How to determine social media value: Multiply your Klout score by zero, add 100. If you score 100, you matter." ~ @NovelDoctor

“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” ~Rumi

"If life has robbed you of your love and passion ... steal it back!" ~ Rock Christopher

"The one who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. Those who walk alone are likely to find themselves in places no one has ever been before." ~ Albert Einstein (This quote is too long for a tweet, but too beautiful to leave out.)

"You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it." ~ Charles Buxton

"If you want to fly, you have to give up the things that weigh you down." ~ @iamdiddy

"Surrender your need to focus on limitations, and open yourself to the finest possibilities." ~ Whitney Holcombe