Writing Process Quotes

If a writer starts worring about what he or she has left out or forgotten, they might not be able to write even a single line.

Discipline, not the Muse, results in productivity. If you write only when she beckons, your writing is not yours at all.

When I'm writing, I make words my b*tch. But when I'm editing, the words make me their b*tch. It all equals out in the end.

Writing is not a numbers game. You should focus more on reaching the hearts of readers and building fans more than publishing a plethora of books that no one may care about.

If your screen stays blank or your notepad empty, God cannot use your words.

Working on it.

Today’s tangents will become tomorrow’s arcs, and unforeseen connections will tie up your loose ends in a way that will make you want to slap your head and holler at your accidental brilliance.

When you hurt one of your characters and then type faster to finish a scene while saying, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!

It’s one of those times when the question is its own answer…. The writing is itself the solution to the inability to write!

When entering a library, I never forget to bow down!

A writer must be willing to leave oneself behind in order to explore new territories of the mind and unearth primordial truths that startle and frighten us.

I could never stand to be a writer. Not a real writer. It's entirely too awful, having thoughts that refuse to become sentences.

When you’re speaking in the truest, most intimate voice about your life, you are speaking with the universal voice.

When in doubt, go the scandalous route.

There's no rule for better writing. Make your own rules, and see what works best for you.

Develop the skill of writing to avoid errors but if you do make them, don’t be demotivated

My dear Keats go on, don't despair, collect incidents, study characters, read Shakespeare and trust in Providence.

I do not put in long hours at the keys - or very seldom. Instead, I snatch time. I write in the crannies of my life.

When we make time to write, we can do it anytime, anywhere.

Grab for time to write instead of wait for time.

You must write as if each word is a precious drop of blood, or a tear to be saved in a glass phial.

Now the thing is no longer a vision: it is paper.

Writing is easy. Writing a publishable book is hard.

A simple word or phrase on a blank sheet of paper gathers momentum as I wonder at what it could mean, where it could take place, why, and what if? . . . And then, I write.

Successful journals break the deadlock of introspective obsession

Writing to impress others is the surest path to pretentious mediocrity.

The nerve which controls the pen winds itself about every fibre of our being, threads the heart, pierces the liver.

Sometimes in fiction you had to mute reality in order to make it seem more believable.

Writing is easy. Saying something that would make a difference is the task.

The challenge of the writer is to transform—artistically and imaginatively—a unique personal experience into a universal, meaningful story.

There's nothing more intoxicating than creating something from nothing. Creating something from yourself." Professor Piper

The writer’s life requires courage, patience, empathy, openness. It requires the ability to be alone with oneself. Gentle with oneself. To be disciplined, and at the same time, take risks.

Writing takes a pen, a sheet of paper and, to start with, just the shadow of an idea.

I've discovered that sometimes writing badly can eventually lead to something better. Not writing at all leads to nothing.

Writing is like bungee jumping for the soul...you take a deep breath, plunge into the abyss and hope the rope tethering you to the real world doesn't snap.

Writing is like painting a painting. Layer over layer over layer.

Do not worry about what words to use. Worry about why this story needs to be told and the rest will take care of itself.

The novella will be called, I think, “The Messiah of Stockholm.” It takes place in Stockholm. I’d better say no more, or the Muse will wipe it out.

In this book, much is metaphorical, not as it seems. It’s written for writing’s sake, as if I were to say, “Let me tell you I’m dying.” Well of course I am. So are you.

A shrink and a patient switching places. Who is REALLY the boss?

Start with a word. A word leads to a sentence, which leads to a paragraph, which leads to a chapter, which leads to a manuscript, which leads to a book..... just start with a word!

No matter how much enthusiasm and effort you put into writing, if you totally lack literary talent you can forget about being a novelist.

Go APE: Author a great book, Publish it quickly, and Entrepreneur your way to success. Self-publishing isn’t easy, but it’s fun and sometimes even lucrative. Plus, your book could change the world.

Starting your book is only the first five miles of a twenty-six-mile marathon that’s one-third of a triathlon (authoring, publishing, and entrepreneuring).

For me, not knowing your theme until your finished is like using a scalpel to turn a kangaroo into Miss Universe – there will be a lot of deep cuts, and there’s a high chance it won’t work.

I was afraid I wrote neither well enough nor ill enough for success.

...writing with ferocity is a gift, provided that ferocity is a monomaniacal devotion to pursuing the truth ...

... my early writing was a silent fury - at what or whom, I had no idea - but I shut it in until it burned my bones and now, I've let it out...

A fiction writer weaves a fabric of lies in hopes of revealing deeper human truths.

For writers, handing a manuscript off to an editor is like walking into a parole hearing. You’ve done the time but wonder if it’s going to satisfy the judge.