Some writing quotes sound like common wisdom–but others sparkle and inspire. In this post, I want to share with you some of my favorite all time writing quotes–words of wisdom that can improve our writing, whether we’re writing essays at school, emails at work, letters to our penpals, or articles or novels for a living.
“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”
Jack London
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”
Anton Chekhov
“Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s.”
Stephen King
“Write what should not be forgotten.”
Isabel Allende
“Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.”
Mark Twain
“Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.”
Franz Kafka
“Words do not express thoughts very well. They always become a little different immediately after they are expressed, a little distorted, a little foolish.”
Hermann Hesse
“If you write one story, it may be bad; if you write a hundred, you have the odds in your favor.”
Edgar Rice Burroughs
“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”
W. Somerset Maugham
“There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly: sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.”
Ernest Hemingway
boy with a hat 
Oh yes!!! I love all these quotes, they make so much sense. I have to say my personal favourites are Chekhov, Kafka and Hesse. But it is only by a small margin. 🙂
Can I remind you of another from Ernest Hemingway, one upon which I have modeled my entire writing experience? ‘Write drunk and edit sober’. I find it works very well.
A very good one!