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 DownieGetting 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
