Writing Encouragement

I recently finished revisions on a novel and want to send it out asap. But I know it’s better to wait—I have some writers who are reading the whole thing and I’m sure they’ll come up with suggestions. So there’s the happy part of being done with this round. There’s also the sad part of leaving these characters and trying to determine which project to work on next.
 
No matter where you are in the writing process—draft, rewrites, editorial edits, proofing, submitting, published, promoting—I think all writers need encouragement at some point. This writing business is a lot of work and those who get it the best are our fellow writers. Perhaps some of these writing quotes will encourage you as well.
 
The Love of Writing
 
“Write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page.” – E.A Proulx
 
“Writing is about struggling through and learning and finding out what it is about writing itself that you really love.” – Laura Kasischke
 
“I think of writing as a privilege—as a gift that's been given to me.  Any day that I don't get to write something—anything—is a day I have to spend being someone other than who I am.” – Larry Gelbart
 
Writing Is an Individual Process
 
“Here's one thing I've learnt about writing books. Don't assume that because you're moving slowly you're not making progress.” – Haley Chewins
 
“How you write the story isn’t as important as the fact that you write it.” – John Cabrera
 
“Choices are important. Each writer must make their own choices. What works for one person, might not work for another.” – Joan Hiatt Harlow
 
Don’t Give Up
 
“I think writer's block is simply the dread that you are going to write something horrible. But as a writer, I believe that if you sit down at the keys long enough, sooner or later something will come out.” – Roy Blount, Jr.
 
“One editor or art director might see little or nothing in your work, but another can see everything. Keep on.” – Deborah Marcero
 
“The nearest I have to a rule is a Post-it on the wall in front of my desk saying ‘Faire et se taire’ (Flaubert), which I translate for myself as ‘Shut up and get on with it.’” – Helen Simpson
 
“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.” – Earnest Hemmingway
 
Wow, if Hemmingway can say that, then why am I stressing so much? I’m off to practice my apprenticeship. How about you?

 

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