Writers’ Words of Wisdom for Writing Book
I’m a sucker for inspirational writing advice from already established (or even just published) writers. Most of the time I find that it’s not their actual advice that inspires me as much as knowing that they too suffer from writers’ block, got rejected multiple times, go through periods of self doubt, etc.
A few months ago Oprah.com had an extended Advice for Aspiring Writers feature with interviews of authors such as Toni Morrison, Jeffrey Eugenides, Michael Cunningham, Mary Gaitskil, John Edgar Wideman, and Walter Kim.
My favorite quote in this extravaganza of inspiration is from Kim:
At the beginning of a novel, a writer needs confidence, but after that what’s required is persistence. These traits sound similar. They aren’t. Confidence is what politicians, seducers and currency speculators have, but persistence is a quality found in termites. It’s the blind drive to keep on working that persists after confidence breaks down.
What’s your all time favorite quote from a writer (about writing)?
Tags: Jeffrey Eugenides, John Edgar Wideman, Mary Gaitskil, Michael Cunningham, Oprah, Toni Morrison, Walter Kim, Writing Advice
Considering my lack of focus and how often I sit down to write and end up not writing, this quote is one of my top 5:
“I thought that if you didn’t work at least as hard as the guy who runs a gas station then you had no right to hope for achievement.” -Thomas McGuane
“What I know about writing I know from having read the work of the great writers. If you really want to learn how to write, do that. Read Shakespeare, and all the others whose work has withstood time and circumstance and changing fashions and the assaults of the ignorant and the bigoted…read those writers and don’t spend a lot of time analyzing them. Learn to be as faithful to the art and craft as they all were and follow their example. That is, wide reading and hard work.” -Richard Bausch
Great ones guys! Here are two more that I like:
“Every writer I know has trouble writing.” – Joseph Heller
“When I used to teach creative writing, I would tell the students to make their characters want something right away even if it’s only a glass of water. Characters paralyzed by the meaninglessness of modern life still have to drink water from time to time.” – Kurt Vonnegut