Writing Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old writing quotes, writing sayings, and writing proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

When writing a novel a writer should create living people people not characters. A character is a caricature. Ernest Hemingway
Reading maketh a full man conference a ready man and writing an exact man. Francis Bacon
Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead. Gene Fowler
The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe. Gustave Flaubert
Being a writer means taking the leap from listening to saying listen to me. Jhumpa Lahiri
Never write anything that does not give you great pleasure. Emotion is easily transferred from the writer to the reader. Joseph Joubert
Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college. Kurt Vonnegut
You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. Maya Angelou
Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money. Moliere
Reduce your plan to writing. The moment you complete this, you will have definitely given concrete form to the intangible desire. Napoleon Hill
The muscles of writing are not so visible, but they are just as powerful: determination, attention, curiosity, a passionate heart. Natalie Goldberg
Easy reading is damn hard writing. Nathaniel Hawthorne
Inspiration is a guest that does not willingly visit the lazy. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way. Ray Bradbury
A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit. Richard Bach
I have never started a poem yet whose end I knew. Writing a poem is discovering. Robert Frost
The heart and soul of good writing is research; you should write not what you know but what you can find out about. Robert J. Sawyer
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
Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. Scott Adams
A piece of creative writing, like a day-dream, is a continuation of, and a substitute for, what was once the play of childhood. Sigmund Freud
If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write. Stephen King
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
The artist doesn't have time to listen to the critics. The ones who want to be writers read the reviews, the ones who want to write don't have the time to read reviews. William Faulkner