Here are several of my favorite quotes about creativity and writing, guaranteed to inspire you if you find yourself in a slump, which many creative people do from time to time.
“What is to give light, must endure burning.” – motto of The Sun magazine
“I grapple with having equal proportions of narcissism and low self-esteem.” – Anne Lamott
“Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings. – Victor Hugo
“It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way. – Ernest Hemingway
“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” – Jack London
“When your heart speaks, take good notes.” – Judith Campbell
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” – Marcos Cicero
“Above all, be the heroine of your life. Not the victim.” – Nora Ephron
“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking” – Friedrich Nietzsche
“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.” – Ovid (43 BC – 17 AD)
“What lies behind us and what lies before us, are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“If you are lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it.” – John Irving
“If I were in solitary confinement, I’d never write another novel, and probably not keep a journal, but I’d write poetry, because poems, you see, are between God and me.” May Sarton
“I work continuously within the shadow of failure. For every novel that makes it to my publisher’s desk, there are at least five or six that died on the way.” Gail Godwin
“Twenty years from now you will more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. – Mark Twain
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How did you like these quotes about creativity and writing? Do you have a favorite? I’d love to hear from you! Also, if you have any quotes that are personal favorites about writing and creativity, send them my way. I’m always looking for new ones.
P.S. I am an ex-shrink who writes novels. Check out my books here.
> “I grapple with having equal proportions of narcissism and low self-esteem.†– Anne Lamott
Oh, that made me laugh so hard. Truer than I’d like to admit.
> “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.†– Jack London
That’s very true, too. I meet so many people who say something like “Oh, you’re writing a novel. I started that once. I’m gonna finish someday.” Or, “I’m going to do that too, just as soon as I get a chance like you.” I don’t tell them you never “get the chance.” You either do it or you don’t. Life is never going to give you a chance. There’s always a hundred things calling at you. You have to, as the sneaker company says, Just Do It. So Jack knew what he was talking about.
Hi John,
I like the Anne Lamott one, too. On any given day I traverse the two extremes.
It has been my experience, too, that there is a huge pack of people who want to write novels. Much fewer who actually do it. I would guess one or two percent of people actually get something on paper. So you’re in the minority. I think this is a good reason to celebrate!
Here are comments posted by facebook friends:
“This one is rather silly, but it works like a charm for me: “Never start with a clear idea of a storyline, instead, commence blindly, with a vague notion of trying to include a reference to your favourite band, gift shop, or chocolate bar…” Alan Martin
D-M
“Yes I have a favorite. The Mark Twain one. You can print that a million times over. And the Nora Ephron, and Anne Lamont…and…..
I always get so much inspiration from your posts. But I think our significant others would be the ones to actually learn something from such a list. No? ”
Yes, I agree!