Quotes about Writers and Writing

I'm not a born writer, and I don't enjoy writing. Votes: 2

I'm an author. And writers write books. And writing books is a full-time career. Votes: 2

George Orwell is a pinnacle writer, for his combination of moral insight and literary writing. Votes: 2

I'm a writer, and the subject is less important than the act of writing itself. Votes: 2

I'm a better writer than I am a singer, and I express myself easily through writing. Votes: 2

If writers just sit and talk about oppression, they are not going to do much writing. Votes: 2

Well, in features, and in writing especially, it's often the style of the writer comes in. Votes: 2

Most so-called writers keep writing and writing with the hope, some day, to find something to say. Votes: 2

I'm a fairly fast, but sloppy writer, so I'm a big fan of re-writing, and re-writing again. Votes: 2

Being a writer involves writing. You've got to commit to sitting down and writing instead of Xbox or Netflix. Votes: 2

Writing provides no guarantees. And writers who stay with writing do it for reasons that are larger than self. Votes: 2

I think I'm an American writer writing about Latin America, and I'm a Latin American writer who happens to write in English. Votes: 2

My father always told me I should be a writer, and I found I loved writing my autobiography; writing is such an interesting process. Votes: 2

Writers don't write writing, they write reading. When I was a kid, I read four or five books a week. And that is how I became a writer. Votes: 2

Well, I'm a writer by nature, and I got a little bit - a little taste of a daily fast-paced writing job, writing career, and I loved it. Votes: 2

A prose writer gets tired of writing prose, and wants to be a poet. So he begins every line with a capital letter, and keeps on writing prose. Votes: 2

Other writers definitely influence my writing. What encourages me and inspires me is when I read a good book. It makes me want to be a better writer. Votes: 2

Just writing a lot doesn't necessarily make you a better writer. You have to hear yourself as a writer, and the best way to do that is to read your writing out loud. Votes: 2

It was actually the movie 'Rushmore' that made me first realize that I could try writing, but 'Cheers' is the best show ever. The writers on that show created a relationship that writers today still fail to rip off successfully: the Sam and Diane. Votes: 2

I'm not patient at all. I avoid writer's block by writing. I power through with a bad version, so I can move on, and usually once I've gotten to the next scene, I'll discover what was missing from the bad version scene. Then I can easily rewrite it to get back on the right path. Votes: 2

Yeah, writers do hate writing. Votes: 0

Reading is probably what leads most writers to writing. Votes: 0

I'm sure other writers have no difficulties writing nice. Votes: 0

Few writers are willing to admit writing is autobiographical. Votes: 0

I am not retiring. Writers don't retire. Writers never stop writing. Votes: 0

I love new writing, new blood, modern works by unknown writers. Votes: 0

Some of the best fiction writers got their start writing airline menus. Votes: 0

That is my major concern: writers who are in prison for writing. Votes: 0

Those who say they want to be writers, and aren't writing, don't. Votes: 0

The thing all writers do best is find ways to avoid writing. Votes: 0

Some writers enjoy writing, I am told. Not me. I enjoy having written. Votes: 0

I definitely have loads of respect for writers and the art of writing. Votes: 0

Writers would be warm, loyal, and otherwise terrific people-if only they'd stop writing. Votes: 0

Writers have problems writing sex scenes, because writing one really well is pornography. Votes: 0

But with writers, there's nothing wrong with melancholy. It's an important color in writing. Votes: 0

Stand-up has the best writers, because it's the hardest writing by a million miles. Votes: 0

Advice to writers: Sometimes you just have to stop writing. Even before you begin. Votes: 0

Writers talk about the agony of writing; I talk about the agony of not writing. Votes: 0

Cats are dangerous companions for writers because cat watching is a near-perfect method of writing avoidance. Votes: 0

Writers should take advantage of their surroundings, if only to trigger memories that juice their writing. Votes: 0

I feel like if writers used writing as therapy we'd have a ton of happy writers. Votes: 0

Writing, at its best and truest, can offer solace and salvation for both readers and writers. Votes: 0

Like most-maybe all- writers, I learned to write by writing and, by example, by reading books. Votes: 0

We don't have enough words for photography. Can you imagine writers having only one word for writing? Votes: 0

Artists are expected to talk about their work but writers aren't expected to talk about their writing. Votes: 0

Writers have to keep on writing if they want to mature, like caterpillars endlessly chewing on leaves. Votes: 0

The best way to learn about writing is to study the work of other writers you admire. Votes: 0

Like so many writers I started writing stories because I didn't have much time for anything else. Votes: 0

I also write plays, so I understand the writers mind, and how obsessed you can get writing. Votes: 0

I think all writers write for an audience. There is no such thing as writing for yourself. Votes: 0

I think writers worry that you might not exist in some strange way if you're not writing. Votes: 0

Good writers hate bad writing but hating bad writing doesn’t make you good. Writing badly does. Votes: 0

Successful writers are not the ones who write the best sentences. They are the ones who keep writing. Votes: 0

Writers quite often starve. And I'm mainly just writing critical prose and poetry, that's a formula for starvation. Votes: 0

Writers of fiction should stick to writing, not pop up on panel shows or as a talking head. Votes: 0

I believe strongly in writing groups such as Romance Writers Of America that offer support, information and networking. Votes: 0

Outlines are the last resource of bad fiction writers who wish to God they were writing masters' theses. Votes: 0

There are a million talented writers who are unpublished only because they stop writing when it gets hard. Votes: 0

Everyone assumes writers spend their time lounging around, writing and occasionally striking a pose whilst having a think. Votes: 0

We have story-makers and we have writers apparently most of the today's writing falls into the first category. Votes: 0

Good writers are often excellent at a hundred other things, but writing promises a greater latitude for the ego. Votes: 0

The triumph of writing fiction is that by doing so, writers can build a more ideal world in themselves. Votes: 0

All writers, I think, are to one extent or another, damaged people. Writing is our way of repairing ourselves. Votes: 0

If I had to give young writers advice, I would say don't listen to writers talking about writing or themselves. Votes: 0

Writers ever since writing began have had problems, and the main problem narrows down to just one word - life. Votes: 0

Artists don't often know much about writing... but they don't bray so much about writing as writers do about art. Votes: 0

Nobody wanted me. I just kept writing books and learning my craft. Most writers aren't very good in the beginning. Votes: 0

It would be no loss to the world if most of the writers now writing had been strangled at birth. Votes: 0

Writing offers fairly large rewards to a few successful people, but the rewards come late, and most writers are failures. Votes: 0

Like most writers, I find the Web is a wonderful distraction. Who doesn't need that last minute research before writing? Votes: 0

Writing is so difficult that I feel that writers, having had their hell on earth, will escape all punishment hereafter. Votes: 0

Fear is the major cargo that American writers must stow away when the writing life calls them into carefully chosen ranks. Votes: 0

[Writing a joke] there is no team of writers. It's just you in an office, staring at yourself in the mirror. Votes: 0

A creative writing program is only as good as its teachers, and I was fortunate in having two great writers as mentors. Votes: 0

My father mainly liked writers. His friends were writers. He wanted to find the writing. That was his main frustration I think. Votes: 0

At risk of sounding foully pompous I think that writers' groups are probably very useful at the beginning of a writing career. Votes: 0

I always felt my writing could benefit from the attention of established writers. I knew my work could grow and be better. Votes: 0

With television, I worked on 'Lost,' where you'd just put your faith in the writers and go with what they're writing. Votes: 0

I think everything we do, on one level or another, as writers, most of our writing is informed by our world view. Votes: 0

I envy those writers who outline their novels, who know where they're going. But I find writing is a process of discovery. Votes: 0

An editor is a person who knows more about writing than writers do but who has escaped the terrible desire to write. Votes: 0

Writing is not a matter of choice. Writers have to write. It is somehow in their temperament, in the blood, in tradition. Votes: 0

For me, reading books and writing them are tied together. The words of other writers teach me and refresh me and inspire me. Votes: 0

I'm always amazed by writers who tell me they plan everything at the beginning. I feel their writing days must be very bland. Votes: 0

I like terrific writing, but I also like a terrific story. My favorite books have both, and they're by contemporary, commercial American writers. Votes: 0

Here's the bottom line; writers write. Sometimes words flow easily. Sometimes it's like sloughing through mud. Either way a professional writer keeps writing. Votes: 0

It's one of the strangest attributes of this profession that when we writers get exhausted writing one thing, we relax by writing another." Votes: 0

It seems to me that many writers, by virtue of environments of culture, art and education, slip into writing because of their environments. Votes: 0

Radio is better than writing because they can't lie. Cause sometimes writers be straight lying, bro, and these headlines be making me mad. Votes: 0

Writing headlines is a specialty - there are outstanding writers who will tell you they couldn't write a headline to save their lives. Votes: 0

I envy certain writers, because there are writers who do go into a kind of different zone, where the writing isn't controlled anymore. Votes: 0

It's one of the strangest attributes of this profession that when we writers get exhausted writing one thing, we relax by writing another. Votes: 0

Writers when they're writing live in a spooky, clamorous silence, a state somewhat like the advanced stages of prayer but without prayer's calming benefits. Votes: 0

There are so many reasons why, for me, writing is superior to acting. One of them is anonymity. Writers can live relatively normal lives. Votes: 0

You're...writing for other writers to an extent-the dead writers whose work you admire, as well as the living writers you like to read. Votes: 0

I am constantly amazed at how little painters know about painting, writers about writing, merchants about business, manufacturers about manufacturing. Most men just drift. Votes: 0

All writers have periods when they stop writing, when they cannot write, and this is always painful and terrible because writing is like breathing ... Votes: 0

I always try to use my medium, and if I get into a normal sitcom-writing contest with normal sitcom writers, I'm going to lose. Votes: 0

It's a scary thing for fiction writers, when you're always writing from the point of view both as and for someone who is different. Votes: 0

I gave Joss Whedon and Judd Apatow their first writing jobs, as well as many other untried writers who went on to great success. Votes: 0

Writers like to write, and writing in different forms - short, long, bite-sized, done on the fly, done with painstaking attention - all interest me. Votes: 0

Writers end up writing about their obsessions. Things that haunt them; things they can't forget; stories they carry in their bodies waiting to be released. Votes: 0

I really like writing television, and I like the collaborative writers room feeling. It's ten people, and you're together every day laughing your heads off. Votes: 0

Writers know that sometimes things are there in the drawer for decades before they finally come out and you are capable of writing about them. Votes: 0

As soon as I started writing, other writers stopped wanting me acting in their shows - maybe they thought I was going to rewrite them. Votes: 0

If it isn't for the writing, we've got nothing. Writers are the most important people in Hollywood. And we must never let them know it. Votes: 0

They're fancy talkers about themselves, writers. If I had to give young writers advice, I would say don't listen to writers talking about writing or themselves. Votes: 0

For purposes of marketing, writers are designated as poets, novelists, or something else. But writing is about matchmaking, an attempt to marry sensations with apt words. Votes: 0

Writers sometimes give up what is most strange and wonderful about their writing - soften their roughest edges - to accommodate themselves toward a group response. Votes: 0

Writers end up writing stories-or rather, stories' shadows-and they're grateful if they can, but it is not enough. Nothing the writer can do is ever enough Votes: 0

I think the deepest thing is that many fiction writers tell stories but are not elegant writers. But, we're not writing journalism when we're making literature. Votes: 0

I don't think they [contemporary writers] read me either. I mean, if we're concerned genuinely with writing, I think we probably get on with our work. Votes: 0

I believe that, like most writers, my personality comes through in the fiction. So in that respect my writing can't be like any other author's really. Votes: 0

Whenever I'm asked why Southern writers particularly have a penchant for writing about freaks, I say it is because we are still able to recognize one. Votes: 0

We've got a bunch of new writers now who tell me they grew up watching The Simpsons. It's bizarre, and they're writing some very funny stuff. Votes: 0

I don't reckon there are many writers who start out really expecting writing to be an attainable occupation. Well, I didn't. It was a pipe dream. Votes: 0

I'm an ecumenical reader, grew up with all sorts of fiction, teach writing, went to the Iowa Writers' Workshop, so my tastes and interests are broad. Votes: 0

I read about writers who have routines. They write at certain times of the day. I can't do that. I am always writing-but in my head. Votes: 0

My advice for writers is to get a good day job. It takes the pressure off writing if you have a job that pays the bills. Votes: 0

Writing 'Schottenfreude' has reinforced the fact that there are few, if any, emotions that have not been experienced, and analyzed, by some of the world's greatest writers. Votes: 0

I've had a lot of writers, in particular, who said they got into writing because of the 'Van Dyke Show.' They said it looked like fun. Votes: 0

Women are the essential part of the theater but the writers are not writing about women. I think they're too perplexed about the whole female situation probably. Votes: 0

One of the things that draws writers to writing is that they can get things right that they got wrong in real life by writing about them. Votes: 0

Often in literary criticism, writers are told that a character isn't likable, as if a character's likability is directly proportional to the quality of a novel's writing. Votes: 0

Much to my surprise, there's a sense for people in the cable industry that fiction writers might actually be good at script writing. You can write dialogue! Votes: 0

My writing process is ritualized and monotonous, but there's no other way to get the job done. All other fiction writers I've met say the same thing. Votes: 0

Writers do not live one life, they live two. There is the living and then there is the writing. There is the second tasting, the delayed reaction. Votes: 0

Writers should be able to fully deduct from their taxes all writing-related expenses, including alcohol, parking tickets, court judgments, fines for lewd public behavior, Zoloft, and cigarettes. Votes: 0

Writing a book is like an unknown abyss, every time. Every book is different. Contrary to what unpublished writers think, it's horrible to have a book out. Votes: 0

I'm such a huge fan of fan fiction, to me it's a great way for readers to become writers. It's like putting the training wheels on for writing. Votes: 0

In fiction writing, I would say there are several different strands that have been woven through my own writing, and each influenced by a different group of writers. Votes: 0

Writing is no dying art form in America because most published writers here accept the wisdom and the necessity of encouraging the talent that follows in their footsteps. Votes: 0

Distractions have never prevented a Writing Writer Who Writes from writing; distractions are an excuse proffered by Non-Writing Non-Writers Who are Not-Writing for why they are not writing. Votes: 0

The people who encouraged me weren't necessarily writers or readers themselves. They were people who were just pleased to see me devote my life to reading and writing. Votes: 0

If something in your writing gives support to people in their lives, that's more than just entertainment-which is what we writers all struggle to do, to touch people. Votes: 0

There are a lot of people in this country who really like my writing. And a lot of writers respect me. But the so-called establishment? They hate me. Votes: 0

I've been trying to write. I also spent a lot of time on different campuses, in conversation, helping other writers. That's what I do: I teach them writing. Votes: 0

For writers from working-class families, the making of art is cultural disenfranchisement, for we do not belong in literary circles and our writing rarely makes it back home. Votes: 0

I am writing this from what we Americans call Yurrp. In Yurrp writers are taken as seriously as Lana Turner's legs are in America - a ridiculous situation. Votes: 0

I ended up on 'Heroes' because I auditioned for the part like everybody else, but the writers were writing the role of Daphne, which was originally called Joy. Votes: 0

While writing, writers are living inside a character or characters, and when the book ekes into the world, writers are living inside the reader. That's more than connecting. Votes: 0

When I was in high school and college, my other real focus was, actually, fiction writing. So in college, I had done all these seminars with these various writers-in-residence. Votes: 0

Writing saved me from the sin and inconvenience of violence - as it saves most writers who live in 'interesting' oppressive times and are not afflicted by personal immunity. Votes: 0

What we need is more women writers, writing for older women. There are some actresses who have production companies and create their own material, and I truly admire that. Votes: 0

When I'm writing, I'm writing for a particular actor. When a lot of writers are writing, they're writing an idea. So they're not really writing in a specific voice. Votes: 0

Nobody told all the new e-mail writers that the essence of writing is rewriting. Just because they are writing with ease and enjoyment doesn't mean they are writing well. Votes: 0

What we need is more women writers, writing for older women. There are some actresses who have production companies and create their own material, and I truly admire that Votes: 0

writing is the loneliest job in the world. There's always that frustrating chasm to bridge between the concept and the writing of it. We're a harassed tribe, we writers. Votes: 0

In terms of writing, I think what most fiction writers treasure more than anything is the feeling that they're living for the length of a book inside another person. Votes: 0

My brother and I were both teenage writers, and he was, I have to say, better than I was, but he went into science, and I went into writing. Votes: 0

Despite all the cynical things writers have said about writing for money, the truth is we write for love. That is why it is so easy to exploit us. Votes: 0

If you just sit there, and you're a writer, you're bound to write crap. A lot of American writing is crap. And a lot of American writers are professionals. Votes: 0

Jerome Charyn is one of the most important writers in American literature and one of only three now writing whose work makes me truly happy to be a reader. Votes: 0

I think fiction writers should work. If you have a job and are not living off advances or grants, you never have to make concessions in your writing, ever. Votes: 0

I can't recommend technical writing as a day job for fiction writers because it's going to be hard to write all day and then come home and write fiction. Votes: 0

I'm not against White writers writing about Blacks as long as they are as objective as say James McPherson writing about an Irish American janitor in his brilliant short story "Gold Coast." Votes: 0

At Sarah Lawrence, I realized that everybody was already what they were going to be. The painters were painting, the writers writing, the dancers dancing. And nobody wore any makeup. The art was uppermost. Votes: 0