WRITING QUOTES TO INSPIRE

/ D.L. Finn, Author

Hi SEers! Denise here on the cusp of spring. This is an inspiring time of year when the landscape blooms and reaches new heights. Words can also bloom and take us to new heights like a good writing quote. When I’ve sat down to write and things don’t go as planned, it’s time to look for inspiration. Quotes are one place to find it.

This time last year, I shared my favorite quotes and a quiz here. Today, I’m offering some writing quotes, including the one that nudged me to explore my writing dreams.

“Embrace your inner child…”

The inner child is not a new idea and has been used in therapy and self-help books. It mirrors my outlook on life and writing.

Do you remember when you were a small child when everything was new and full of possibilities? You could spend hours watching the clouds float by and imagine seeing shapes in them—or witness snow gracefully floating down for the first time? Perhaps you recall that excitement of getting up on Christmas morning and finding Santa had visited you. There was an open heart and no expectation other than to enjoy life.

Life’s challenges paid their visits over the years and dimmed this joy, but it wasn’t completely silenced. When I write or read a great story, I hear the voice of that inner child and connect to magic again.

Quotes to inspire that inner writer

 “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.”- Groucho Marx

“You can make anything by writing.”- C.S. Lewis

The true alchemists do not change lead into gold; they change the world into words.”- William H. Gass

“Words are our most inexhaustible source of magic.”- J. K. Rowling

. “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer; it sings because it has a song.”– Maya Angelou

“I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.”- Anne Frank

“Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it’s the only way you can do anything really good.”- William Faulkner

You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page”- Jodi Picoult

“Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”-  E. L. Doctorow

“Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.”– Barbara Kingsolver

“When you write a book, you spend day after day scanning and identifying the trees. When you’re done, you have to step back and look at the forest.” – Stephen King

“You fail only if you stop writing.”— Ray Bradbury

“If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”— Toni Morrison

“You can’t fail if you don’t quit. You can’t succeed if you don’t start.”— Michael Hyatt

“Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”— Benjamin Franklin

“Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind, is written large in his works.”—Virginia Woolf

“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”— Somerset Maugham

“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”— Madeleine L’Engle

“Don’t take anyone’s writing advice too seriously.”— Lev Grossman

“Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.”— Les Brown

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve, the fear of failure.”— Paulo Coelho

“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”— Albert Einstein

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”— Confucius

“If you believe it’ll work out, you’ll see opportunities. If you don’t believe it’ll work out, you’ll see obstacles.”— Wayne Dyer

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”— Thomas Edison

I hope some of these touched that inner writer and inspired you! Do you have any go-to inspirational words that connect you to that creativity?

61 thoughts on “WRITING QUOTES TO INSPIRE”

    • It is wonderful to connect with that inner child 🙂 I remind myself when that perfectionist visits that you only don’t make mistakes if you do nothing new, so this one is a great reminder. Thanks, Sally 🙂

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  7. Many of these are favorite quotes of mine and many more are new ones to cherish. Most of all I like what you said about everything being new and magical when you see it as a child. We need to maintain that inner magic even as adults.
    Great share, Denise!

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    • Thank you, Mae 🙂 I love to revisit these quotes often. There is something very magical about that inner child inside each of us! That is where our magic is.

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  10. An absolutely fantastic collection of quotes, Denise, many of which were brand new to me. But I also loved reading the ones I’ve heard in years gone by too, as it is so easy to forget the truth of them in the mad rush of getting through each day.

    These are things we need to be reminded of over and over and over. I’m going to print out the list and post it near my computer, just so I can do that very thing. Thank you! 😀 ❤

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    • I’m with you, they do need to be read over and over in a world that keeps us so busy. They are those little beams of lights we need! That is a good idea about putting them by your computer. I think I will do the same thing.

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      • I have pictures and notes all over the place, to inspire me, to make me laugh, and to remind me things about my books and characters. I find the visuals very helpful for all of those things! Again, great post, Denise! Thanks! 🙂

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  18. These are all great, Denise, but this one really spoke to me: “Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” That is exactly the way I write. This one is getting printed off and posted next to my computer for those times when the headlights grow dim. Thank you for sharing these inspiring quotes!

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    • Thanks, Jan 🙂 I really related to that one because at the beginning of any project I can overwhelm myself with the big picture. If I take it in small steps in those headlights it flows and gets me to the destination. Happy it inspired you too 🙂

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  19. Like John, there are times when I have doubts about my writing and whether I should continue. These quotes are genuinely inspirational and remind me why I need to keep going. Many, many thanks! ♥

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  21. An inspiring post, Denise. “You fail only if you stop writing.”— Ray Bradbury. This one hit me especially hard today. Each day it gets more difficult to stay with what I love to do. Yesterday (as most days go) I asked myself if I should continue on. I think Ray has it right no matter what I think in terms of my success. I will only fail if I stop. Thanks for this,

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    • Thank you, John 🙂 I think we all wonder if we should keep doing it at some point. I know I’ve questioned it, especially days when health throws a wrench into it. Even if I have to move away from planned writing and just go wrote a poem or two instead means to me I haven’t stopped. I’m glad it resonated with you too.

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  22. Wonderful post, Denise. I love the quotes you’ve chosen. When I was in my 30s, I read about everything that Thomas Merton wrote. He was a monk and a prolific writer. At one point he said, “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” Initially, I thought he meant painting art, but I’ve come to realize that he meant it in the broadest way. Writing was his art and his life, and through it, he (and many of us) both lose ourselves and find ourselves. 💗

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    • Thank you, Gwen 🙂 That quote sums it up perfectly. I do feel as though I’m finding myself and go to a place to do it where I lose myself in that moment. Thanks for sharing that one!

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  24. You’ve shared so many great quotes, Denise. I enjoyed this. I have journals filled with some of my favorites. One that’s a go to for me is “Both faith and fear will sail into your harbor, but only allow faith to drop anchor.” ~ Bear Grylls

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  27. I think I shared a quote by Van Gogh last year. It had to do with painting but writing also applies. I also like this one by C. S. Lewis. “You are never too old to set another goal or dream another dream.”

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