885 Quotes About Writing-advice

Aspiring novelists should be taught that the old adage, “Write about what you know,” isn’t limited to what you have personally experienced. Vicarious experience is also a great part of what you know. Read a lot of history and it becomes part of your store of knowledge, part of what you’re prepared to write about. The same goes for stories and memories that other people share with you.

A writer gets to live yet another life every time he or she creates a new story.

Writing a story is like going on a date—you will spoil it if you aren't living in the moment.

As you become a better writer, the writing becomes more difficult. You toil harder to tell a story in a smaller number of words.

If certain aspect needs to be inconsistent, it must better be consistently inconsistent throughout the story.

Don’t interrupt when your characters take a flight of their own.

Don’t break the rules when you haven’t fully figured them out yet.

Good writing ideas don’t have to be about political turmoil, mass killings, capitalism, racism, injustice, and so on. Find that one idea that has deep roots in your heart.

A writer can do without food for a few hours but not without the sight of books.