All of the following quotes are from a book called Off the Page, edited by Carole Burns, that I apparently picked up from a college bookstore textbook section once upon a time. Below are ten of my favorite quotes I pulled from this book, all from the chapter entitled "Words of Wisdom: What Writers Wish Someone Had Told Them." The full quote is in the text and some of the graphics have shortened versions that you are welcome to pass along to others. I hope they inspire you in your journey as a writer this week.
1. "Read and write and read and write and read and write, on and on and on. That's essentially it." ~Edward P. Jones
2. "I don't teach writing. I teach patience. Toughness. Stubbornness. The willingness to fail. I teach the life." ~Richard Bausch
3. "Read everything, write all the time. And if you can do anything else that gives you equal pleasure and allows you to sleep soundly at night, do that instead. The writing life is an odd one, to say the least." ~Alice McDermott
4. "Put in the groundwork, write your way through all of the problems, don't sit around thinking about them. You actually have to write your way through them. And don't ever give up. Perhaps the most important, the one I follow myself, is: Follow your instincts." ~Frances Itani
5. "I'm a big fan of the ambitious failure. And I try and urge them [my students] to overreach, to go too far, then look at what they've got and begin to shape it." ~Michael Cunningham
6. "Discouragement and hitting walls and feeling lost--it's just part of the process. You can't really create without confronting those things. Trying to meet with those challenges and work through them is what it's all about. It's sort of like solving a puzzle. It's not meant to be easy." ~Jhumpa Lahiri
7. "You just need to write. The best way to learn how to write is to read, and then do it. Very simply, successful writing is when you are listening to yourself very deeply and you have something to say. It's a very solitary, quiet, meditative process and you have to be patient enough to have that happen on the page. And trust that you have something to say." ~Claire Tristram
8. "Don't waste time feeling ashamed for being an unpublished writer. Each time you sit alone in a room and give your most honest and complete effort, you've earned the title of writer..." ~John Dalton
9. "If it's important to you and you can capture something vividly, it's worth doing. And there's no way to gauge whether other people will care or not. But I suspect that if you've done something that pleases you and moves you, there are other people out there who will also be interested." ~Dan Chaon
10. "Beginning writers may become overly discouraged by the difficulties that more experienced writers expect." ~Joyce Carol Oates
Which quote resonates the most with you? Why? I'd love to meet up with you in the comments section!
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On Thursdays this year, I'll share thoughts, tips and inspiration for writers. I'm certainly not an expert, but am simply seeking personal encouragement in this art and want to share with anyone who's also trying to find their way as a writer. These short posts will come from books, articles, the Bible, my own thoughts, and other people. Check back each week or subscribe for new posts. Please introduce yourself in the comments--I'd love to meet you and hear about your thoughts on writing.
Happy writing!
Leslie
Labels: Thursday Thoughts for Writers, writing
