Writing quotes
30.7K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
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"Francie was ten years old when she first found an outlet in writing. What she wrote was of little consequence. What was important was that the attempt to write stories kept her straight on the dividing line between truth and fiction. If she had not found this outlet in writing, she might have grown up to be a tremendous liar."
"When I was writing the Destiny's Child songs, it was a big thing to be that young and taking control. And the label at the time didn't know that we were going to be that successful, so they gave us all control. And I got used to it."
"When I hear a great new record, especially when it's by someone that I respect and admire, then a part of me is like, Why didn't I think of that? Why didn't I write that record? It makes you sick, but in a way it can be a great thing. It makes you want to go back to the lab and start writing again. Maybe it will inspire you to try a little harder."
"If you have a good script, that's what gets you involved. It's harder to write a good screenplay than to find something."
"With showrunning, the more successful you get, the more you're pulled away from the writing."
"The writing is what's most important to me."
"When you're on a staff, it's not your job to write what you think is funny. It's your job to write what the person who created the show thinks is funny."
"I was writing and developing software for alumnae to be able to connect and communicate."
"I'm curious about writing in the age of online publishing. Because nobody cares about good writing online."
"I think that's a really important role that people sometimes forget about, especially with all these newspaper shutting down and having trouble, where are all these stories going to go? I think you have something really great with all those stories waiting to be told, but I just don't know how it shapes up exactly. I don't think there are going to be a lot of newspaper reporters sitting around not writing."
"I got an idea: people like news why don't we write the news down on a piece of paper, and we'll gas them up and drive them to everyone's house. I mean, if you were going to say that now, it doesn't sound like a great idea, because there are other ways you can distribute the news."
"When you think about email or IMing, why aren't you writing back? I can see your avatar, I know you're online, why aren't you writing me back? But with Twitter, everybody sends their responses to Twitter, and Twitter then sends them out to everyone. So there's not this constant connection. You can be hyperconnected, then you can take a break for a couple days and it's fine."
"Vanity is so anchored in the heart of man that a soldier, a soldier's servant, a cook, a porter brags and wishes to have his admirers. Even philosophers wish for them. Those who write against vanity want to have the glory of having written well; and those who read it desire the glory of having read it. I who write this have perhaps this desire, and perhaps those who will read it."
"The last thing we decide in writing a book is what to put first."
"The funniest novel you've never read. . . . Afternoon Men is a revelation to sophisticated readers of every stripe, but especially to a certain kind of artist manqu on the brink of discovering that life is a more difficult business than he ever had reason to expect. . . . The subject matter is 'relatable,' as my students like to say. Better still, though, is what you can learn about the craft of writing from this marvelous book. . . . Indeed, if you're looking for a funny, nonportentous Hemingway, then the early Powell is your man."
"I didn't have an agent. I would just write down that I was with my brother's agency, and then the agency would get calls and say that they had no idea who I was."
"I write all day every day, so when I feel unproductive, it magnifies everything else."
"I don't think in time signatures, and when I do, what I write is generally 3/4 or 4/4, the most basic, straightforward stuff. I think that comes from just not being a super-schooled musician."
"I started writing songs after I heard Hank Williams."
"Just a reminder, if you tell anyone about what happened with Jonah last night, I'll destroy all of my writing and never play music again."
