Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Fun and Inspirational Quotes for the Writer

Do you post favorite quotes on your computer, around your desk, or elsewhere in your writing space? Do you tuck them away in a journal? I love fun and inspirational quotes. They can bring a smile to my face, spur me to think deeper, and encourage me to persevere. You can also find wonderful nuggets of truth in just one simple sentence.

So this week, on Writer’s Journey Wednesday, we’re going to do something a little different. No writing tips today. Instead, I’d like us to share our favorite quotes – and if they’re writing related – all the better!

You can leave your favorite quotes in the “comments” section. But I’ll start us off here with some that I particularly like. Enjoy! They might even evoke a giggle or two. Or if you’re a guy – a few manly chuckles. ;-D

Dawn


Quotes

“Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader- not the fact that it is raining, but the feel of being rained upon.”
~ E. L. Doctorow


“Manuscript: something submitted in haste and returned at leisure.”
~ Oliver Herford


“The difference between the right word and almost the right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.”
~ Mark Twain


“A good many young writers make the mistake of enclosing a stamped, self-addressed envelope, big enough for the manuscript to come back in. This is too much of a temptation to the editor.”
~ Ring Lardner


“A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author.”
~ Gilbert K. Chesterton


“The secret of good writing is to say an old thing in a new way or to say a new thing in an old way.”
~ Richard Harding Davis


“The waste basket is the writer's best friend.”
~ Isaac Bashevis Singer


“For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can.”
~ Ernest Hemingway


“The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.”
~ Tom Clancy


“A writer must have all the confidence in the world when writing the first draft and none whatsoever when editing subsequent drafts.”
~ T. Davis Bunn


“Also be prepared as you write to be surprised by what you find out about yourself and about your world . . . you are- after all- your first reader of what you write. Please that reader. . .”
~ Jane Yolen