Writing quotes
30.7K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Explore further
Browse quotes that often appear alongside writing — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
Quote collection
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"There is probably some long-standing "rule" among writers, journalists, and other word-mongers that says: "When you start stealing from your own work you're in bad trouble." And it may be true."
"Fiction is based on reality unless you're a fairytale artist."
"To observe the world carefully, to write a lot and often, on a schedule if necessary, to use the dictionary a lot, to look up word origins, to analyze closely the work of writers you admire, to read not only contemporaries but writers of the past, to learn at least one foreign language, to live an interesting life outside of writing."
"I think the close work I do as a translator pays off in my writing - I'm always searching for multiple ways to say things."
"Im a writer, so whatever gymnastics jump through my head, I write about it."
"When you give up a bit of work don't (unless it is hopelessly bad) throw it away. Put it in a drawer. It may come in useful later. Much of my best work, or what I think my best, is the re-writing of things begun and abandoned years earlier."
"Writing is like a 'lust,' or like 'scratching when you itch.' Writing comes as a result of a very strong impulse, and when it does come, I for one must get it out."
"Chance has something to say, even how to write a good letter."
"Maybe you could be a great writer - maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper - but you might not know it until you write that English paper - that English class paper that's assigned to you."
"Basically, I am a night owl. My wife is an early bird, so she goes to bed around 9:30, and my kids are in bed about 8. So, if I am home, I will usually start writing about 9:30 and go till about 12:30 or 1:30, depending on what my energy level is."
"I'm only 49 years old. I'm still in the middle of this whole thing. I don't feel like it's finished at all. I'm still planning to write better songs."
"Sometimes you write a song in a certain era and it's got a certain kind of significance."
"People are reading more and writing more because of the internet. So the virtual world is a way for me to listen to my readers and interact with my readers. It is a way that they can voice their opinion."
"I've been accused over the years of being close to players, but if something needs to be written, I've tried my best to write it and write it in a way that is fair to whoever I'm writing about and is fair to all of my readers."
"I turn sentences around. That's my life. I write a sentence and then I turn it around. Then I look at it and turn it around again."
"Each book starts from ashes."
"Normal, day-to-day things inspire you to write. I try to travel and chill, and go out and enjoy the outdoors. That makes you see the real world. Not just in the studio or at concerts. I live it up as normal as I can."
"Although I was able to study music with teachers, I never studied lyric writing. I read poetry, and I read other lyricists. But they were never writing in the style or the form that I was interested in."
"Writing the songs at the cabin, I couldn't help but be drawn to the boom-chicka rhythms as much as I tried to fight it. But when I fought it, the creative process was interrupted, so I ended up going with it. If I'm ever accused of being derivative of my heroes then I would take that as a compliment. I like staying close to the roots of my influences."
"When you're writing, you are robbed of your delivery."
