1,068 Quotes About Writers-on-writing

Writers must keep spilling their guts to the public until they go from saying 'Eew, that's gross' to 'Wow, look at that! Show us more!!' to 'Put it away, we've seen it before.

Ever had a dream of flying? Being something more? For me, it is an endless objective. A welcomed reverie.

First rule of exposition: Less is more.

Writing happens while writing.

Writing is one method of presenting the troubling incidences and inexplicable episodes of life into a structured format for self-scrutiny. Writing my life story is an effort to learn from every vivid and every morbid encounter in life.

Writing induces a person to work exclusively to expand his or her knowledge, follow their ideas, and remain aloofly unconcerned of earning the approval or scorn of other people.

Critical writing is one way to encounter reality by penetrating our cherished illusions. Writing strips away falsities and enables us to perceive our essential nature under a new spotlight.

Not only do writers write in the dark most of the time, we write about the dark: the shadows within and the night without. In so doing, we bring the light of our memories and imaginations to illuminate those hidden places. The result isn't always comforting, but our mission remains: to reveal things as they are.

I wanted to write enormous naturalistic novels with unhappy endings, full of detailed descriptions and arresting similes, and also full of purple passages in which words were used partly for the sake of their own sound.