Quotes about writing
page 50

“I paint thoughts, I write notes and words in movement.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: (it) Dipingo pensieri, scrivo note e parole in movimento.
Source: prevale.net

“I think even if I did try to write something that had nothing to do with women or race, which are two pretty broad topics, I don’t know how I would do that. I don’t think there’s a way that I could write a buddy cop drama, or something really far from anything I’ve written, that didn’t have pieces of race and gender. Those are parts of the world we live in, and they are things I think about. It all comes into the voice of your writing, and you can’t write about someone else’s voice. You can only write in your own.”

Celeste Ng (1980) American novelist

On why she revisits certain themes in “AN INTERVIEW WITH CELESTE NG, THE 2018 INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORE DAY AMBASSADOR” https://bookriot.com/2018/04/27/celeste-ng-interview/ in BookRiot (2018 Apr 27)

Women, World, Way, Thinking

“I have an interest in the outsider…In fiction you’re not often writing about the typical, you are interested in outliers, the points of interest. Part of it comes from feeling I was the only Asian or person of colour … another part comes from my personality: I’m an introvert, and my usual survival mode in a large group is to stand by a wall and watch everybody.”

Celeste Ng (1980) American novelist

On her writing interests in “Celeste Ng: ‘It’s a novel about race, and class and privilege’” https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/nov/04/celeste-ng-interview-little-fires-everywhere in The Guardian (2017 Nov 4)

Feeling, Parting, Personality

“Writing is, therefore, both a form of compulsive behavior and, I frequently tell people, a self-induced form of mental illness. Those few writers who don’t start off by being a little nuts soon get that way as a direct result of their vocation.”

Larry Niven book N-Space

Tom Clancy, Introduction: The Maker of Worlds (p. 1)
Short fiction, N-Space (1990)

People, Way, Behavior, Self-confidence

“Here is the chalk." This is a truth; and here and the now hereby characterize the chalk so that we emphasize by saying; the chalk, which means "this." We take a scrap of paper and we write the truth down: "Here is the chalk.”

Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) German philosopher

We lay this written statement beside the thing of which it is the truth. After the lecture is finished both doors are opened, the classroom is aired, there will be a draft, and the scrap of paper, let us suppose, will flutter out into the corridor. A student finds it on his way to the cafeteria, reads the sentence. "Here is the chalk," and ascertains that this is not true at all. Through the draft the truth has become an untruth. Strange that a truth should depend on a gust of wind. ... We have made the truth about the chalk independent of us and entrusted it to a scrap of paper. p. 29-30
What Is A Thing? (1935, 1968)

Truth

“I rekindled a friendship I hadn't had in a long time and I was reminded of all the parts of me that had left. I was like, 'Wow, I love to paint and to write, and to be outside...'”

Lauren Jauregui (1996) Cuban-American singer and songwriter

Billboard Cover: Fifth Harmony on Surviving Pop-Star Fame and 'Finally Having a Damn Voice', Billboard, May 5, 2016 https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/cover-story/7356880/fifth-harmony-billboard-cover-story-fame-challenges-new-album-the-x-factor,

Love, Friendship, Making love, Time

“England is, I believe, the only country in which during a great war eminent men write and speak publicly as if they belonged to the enemy.”

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830–1903) British politician

Letter to Miss Milner (11 November 1901), quoted in The Times (19 November 1901), p. 10
1900s

Men, War, Country

“I don’t need to be motivated to write; it’s always there waiting to get out. Published or not.”

Jason Tanamor (1975) Filipino-American Author and Writer

Write Now Interview (2020)

Motivation, Waiting

“Live life like you're writing your own obituary.”

Ron English (1959) American artist

Death and the Eternal Forever (2014)

Life

“When Nature gives a gorgeous rose,
Or yields the simplest fern,
She writes this motto on the leaves, —
"To whom it may concern!"”

John Godfrey Saxe (1816–1887) American poet

And so it is the poet comes
And revels in her bowers,
And, — though another hold the land,
Is owner of the flowers.
"The Poet's License".
The Masquerade and Other Poems (1866)

Nature

“I write fantasy. The only science fiction I have written is Fahrenheit 451.”

Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) American writer

It's the art of the possible. Science fiction is the art of the possible. It could happen. It has happened. <br class="br"> A Conversation with Ray Bradbury - Point Loma Nazarene University, Writer's Symposium By The Sea; April, 2001 http://www.cosmolearning.com/videos/a-conversation-with-ray-bradbury-2001-1131/

Science

“Some journalists are just motivated by their own sense of what they want to say or what they feel comfortable saying or writing about. In '77, I was on the cover of Time.”

Lily Tomlin (1939) American actress, comedian, writer, and producer

The same week I had a big story in Newsweek. In one of the magazines it says I live alone, and the other magazine said I live with Jane Wagner. Unless you were so really adamantly out, and had made some declaration at some press conference, people back then didn't write about your relationship.
Metro Weekly interview (2006)

Feeling, Motivation, Sense, Time

“If something is between God and you, then you have a problem, an obstacle, I believe I have a huge mission to write, or to record, or to give to the world or to Christians or people who are not Christian yet.”

Ian Mulder (1963) Dutch pianist, composer and conductor (*1963)

Meet Ian Mulder: A Christian composer who brings listeners to God https://www.osvnews.com/2020/11/30/meet-ian-mulder-a-christian-composer-who-brings-listeners-to-god/ (November 30, 2020)

God, People, World, Problem

“You can’t lead bunny lives and write tiger poetry.”

William Packard (1933–2002) American writer

From the book Art of Poetry Writing: A Guide For Poets, Students, & Readers https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/467125.Art_of_Poetry_Writing published by St. Martin's Press on June 15, 1992.

“We have found that it's a good idea to read as many authors and as many different genres as possible. That way, we can learn more about writing and it gives us ideas to try different things.”

Marcia Jones (writer) (1958) American author

Marcia Thornton Jones Interview https://web.archive.org/web/20121024121117/http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/marcia-thornton-jones-interview-transcript (1997)

Way, Idea, Learning, Reading

“I was always determined to find just the right book for that one child who maybe was a reluctant reader. I knew there was a book to turn him on to reading. I just had to find it. I do have a special place in my heart for kids who maybe have trouble reading or who just don't want to for various reasons. It's always my goal to write books that will somehow entice them to want to read.”

Debbie Dadey (1959) American children's writer

Children's author Debbie Dadey visiting downtown library to sign books, brainstorm. https://lancasteronline.com/features/entertainment/children-s-author-debbie-dadey-visiting-downtown-library-to-sign/article_bf6e4607-f0ba-5e73-a88f-64c9cb876bb2.html (July 29, 2013)

Books, Reading, Heart

“It doesn’t matter if radio thinks it’s a dying genre, or if there are people who thinks it sounds like ‘this or this or that’. If you write a good song, and it’s pop-punk, people will like it; because pop-punk doesn’t really mean a whole lot: it just means that it’s got that pop catchiness to it, but it’s got that punk energy and speed, and stuff that makes you want to jump up and down or drive a car real fast; and that’s something that will never get old.”

Pierre Bouvier (1979) Canadian musician

Simple Plan: The 13th Floor Interview https://www.13thfloor.co.nz/simple-plan-the-13th-floor-interview/ (February 7, 2018)

People, Making love, Cars, Thinking

“So the biggest lesson for me was to write what you want. People are going to have their opinions—good and bad. The reality is you’re not going to please everyone, and if you attempt to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one. If anything, you can have fun doing it.”

Jason Tanamor (1975) Filipino-American Author and Writer

Esquire Philippines Interview (2020)

Bad luck, People, Reality

“Write your plans in pencil and give God the eraser.”

Paulo Coelho (1947) Brazilian lyricist and novelist

God

“If you wish to be a writer, write.”

Epictetus (50–138) philosopher from Ancient Greece

“I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean.”

Isocrates (-436–-338 BC) ancient greek rhetorician

Wisdom

“The future is completely open, and we are writing it moment to moment.”

Pema Chödron (1936) American philosopher

Future

“The fact that I can tell stories not only by writing them but also by living them through a character and therefore giving the public emotions (possibly positive), which is the ultimate goal of entertainment.”

Isabelle Adriani (1972) Italian actress, journalist, singer, and writer

Italians in the World. Isabelle Adriani, perfect balance between life and fairy tale. https://www.tesoriditaliamagazine.it/italians-in-the-world-isabelle-adriani-perfect-balance-between-life-and-fairy-tale (5 June 2020)

“Always the victor writes the history of the vanquished. He who beats distorts the faces of the beaten. The weaker depart from this world and the lies remain.”

Bertolt Brecht book The Trial of Lucullus

The Trial of Lucullus (1940), Brecht Collected Plays, vol. 4, p. 386.

World, History

“The poet writes a few lines, then throws them away, thinking: ‘Nobody’s going to be interested in that.’”

Paulo Coelho book Manuscript Found in Accra

Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), Uselessness

Thinking

“No matter how various the subject matter I write on, I was a science-fiction writer first and it is as a science-fiction writer that I want to be identified.”

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, known for his works of science fiction …

In Joy Still Felt (1980), pp. 286-287
General sources

Science

“What is important is not just what you do - "I am writing a book"”

Natalie Goldberg book Writing Down the Bones

but how you do it, how you approach it, and what you come to value.
[…] There are many realities. We should remember this when we get too caught in being concerned about the way the rest of the world lives or how we think they live.
Essay, "Every Monday". p.127
Writing Down the Bones (1986)

Books

“Just write. Just write. Just write. [...]
When we are in the heart of writing it doesn't matter where we are. We can write anyplace.”

Natalie Goldberg book Writing Down the Bones

Essay, "Write anyplace". p.110, 111
Writing Down the Bones (1986)

Heart

“He writes the page of every day of his life who has the courage to live his dreams.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: (it) Scrive la pagina di ogni giorno della sua vita colui che ha il coraggio di vivere i propri sogni.
Source: prevale.net

Life, Dreams, Courage

“While the whole world is attracted and distracted by unnecessary criticism, music writes history.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: (it) Mentre il mondo intero è attratto e distratto da critiche inutili, la musica scrive la storia.
Source: prevale.net

World, Music, History

“If there is only one person who has the right to write the story of your life, that person is you: write it forcefully.”

Prevale (1983) Italian DJ and producer

Original: (it) Se c'è una sola persona che ha il diritto di scrivere la storia della tua vita, quella persona sei tu: scrivila prepotentemente.
Source: prevale.net

Life, Personality

“My compulsion to write the story was from seeing so many people go unpunished, and so many innocents' stories being untold…”

Colson Whitehead (1969) novelist

On his moral imperative to write his work The Nickel Boys in “INTERVIEWS—Powell's Interview: Colson Whitehead, Author of 'The Nickel Boys'” https://www.powells.com/post/interviews/powells-interview-colson-whitehead-author-of-the-nickel-boys in Powell’s City of Books (2019 Jul 11)

People

“When we write code, we forgot about the bigger picture.”

Joe Armstrong (1950–2019) British computer scientist

A Few Improvement to Erlang

“I am the world's worst C programmer because it's so complicated I can't understand it [...] All I know is that whenever I write C, my pointers are always missed by one from where they're supposed to go.”

Joe Armstrong (1950–2019) British computer scientist

26 Years with Erlang

World, Understanding

“Comedy is a lot harder to do if you don’t go to the mean place. The cheapest laugh you can get is an insult or snarky comment, so if you take that off the table you have to write smarter.”

Dan Povenmire (1963) American television director, writer, producer, storyboard artist, and actor

LIFE IN 2D: DAN POVENMIRE ON THE GREATEST CARTOONS EVER, SALSA MUSIC, AND NOT BEING A JERK https://www.houseofspeakeasy.org/dan-povenmire-interview/ (November 7, 2014)

“For myself, I am totally convinced that these are the true happenings of our time; that, even as I write, these events are unfolding. As they further unfold, I believe they will prove to your fullest satisfaction that this is the true condition of our present time in history.”

Benjamin Creme (1922–2016) artist, author, esotericist

The Great Approach (2001) p. 1

History, Time

“Anything we fully do is an alone journey. […] You are alone when you write a book. Accept that and take in any love and support that is given to you, but don't have expectations of how it is supposed to be.”

Natalie Goldberg book Writing Down the Bones

Epilogue. p.179, 180
Writing Down the Bones (1986)

Love, Books, Support

“See the big picture. You are committed to writing or finding out about it. Continue under all circumstances. Don't be rigid though.”

Natalie Goldberg book Writing Down the Bones

Essay, "No hindrances". p.145
Writing Down the Bones (1986)

“If you want a room to write in, just get a room. Don't make a big production out of it. If it doesn't leak, has a window, heat in the winter, then put in your desk, bookshelves, a soft chair, and start writing.”

Natalie Goldberg book Writing Down the Bones

Essay, "The writing studio". p.103
Writing Down the Bones (1986)

Winter

“Read a lot, listen well and deeply, and write a lot. […] If you read good books, when you write, good books will come out of you.”

Natalie Goldberg book Writing Down the Bones

Essay, "Listening". p.59
Writing Down the Bones (1986)

Books, Reading

“The basic unit of writing practice is the timed exercise.
1. Keep your hand moving.
2. Don't cross out.
3. Don't worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar.
4. Lose control.
5. Don't think. Don't get logical.
6. Go for the jugular.
[…] That is the discipline: to continue to sit.”

Natalie Goldberg book Writing Down the Bones

Essay, "First thoughts". p.8, 9
Writing Down the Bones (1986)

Exercises, Thinking, Time

“First, consider the pen your write with. Think, too, about your notebook. […] A cheap spiral notebook lets you feel that you can fill it quickly and afford another. Also, it is easy to carry.”

Natalie Goldberg book Writing Down the Bones

Essay, "Beginner's mind, pen and paper". p.5, 6
Writing Down the Bones (1986)

Feeling, Thinking

“I went home with the resolve to write what I knew and to trust my own thoughts and feelings and to not look outside myself. I was not in school anymore: I could say what I wanted.”

Natalie Goldberg book Writing Down the Bones

Introduction. at p.2
Writing Down the Bones (1986)

School, Feeling, Home

“There are some rhetorical moves that I wouldn’t be able to make if I didn’t know these languages. In terms of writing figurative language, I probably pull a lot from Yoruba imagery…”

Chigozie Obioma (1986) Nigerian writer

On his first novel The Fishermen in “'Why Jay?': Chigozie Obioma on the haunting death that inspired his novel” https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jan/18/chigozie-obioma-why-do-my-stories-end-this-way-honestly-i-want-to-write-a-feelgood-story- in The Guardian (2019 Jan 18)

“Thank God – because what are you going to write about if you don’t struggle as a child? I don’t think that you become creative because you have struggled, no, but creative people are fuelled by anger and passion, and haunted by demons and memories.”

Isabel Allende (1942) Chilean writer

On how her miserable childhood may have inadvertently affected her writing in “The incredible life of Isabel Allende” https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/authorinterviews/10589928/The-incredible-life-of-Isabel-Allende.html in The Telegraph (2014 Jan 28)

God, People, Thinking, Memory

“We shall have faith, that, at the writing of peace, America and our other gallant Allies will not be obtunded by the mirage of contingent reasons of expediency.”

Soong Mei-ling (1897–2003) Chiang Kai-shek's wife, First Lady of the Republic of China

Address to the U.S. House of Representatives (February 18, 1943)

Peace, Faith

“Tonight I have no desire to sleep. / I want to remain here until morning / writing poetry. / The heart drowns less slowly / when the pen sheds tears / and the paper dries pain.”

Menotti Lerro (1980) Italian poet

Source: The Poetry of Menotti Lerro, p. 55

Pain, Tear, Sleep, Heart

“Given the rigor and detailing that was needed to write the book—through the process the concepts I wrote about kept getting stronger.”

Divya S. Iyer (1984) Indian bureaucrat

Source: Quoted in The Better India https://www.thebetterindia.com/208078/kerala-ias-hero-upsc-tips-civil-service-exam-syllabus-india/

Books

“This is the practice school of writing. Like running, the more you do it, the better you get at it. […] You practice whether you want to or not.
Through practice you actually do get better.
Sit down with the least expectation of yourself; say "I am free to write the worst junk in the world."”

Natalie Goldberg book Writing Down the Bones

You have to give yourself the space to write a lot without a destination.
Essay, "Writing as a practice". p.11
Writing Down the Bones (1986)

World, School

“If you have no fear of shouting nor writing down someone's name, then you have got nothing to fear in their presence.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Fear

“The benefit of writing is that: No man can doubt the existence of Julius, but many are still in doubt whether Jesus existed or not. Mind over emotions.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

“The beggar who can write and read requires proper motivation than daily support from others.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Motivation, Support, Reading

“Women are great at talking and expressing their emotions, while men are great at reasoning and writing down their thoughts.”

Mwanandeke Kindembo (1996) Congolese author

Women, Men

“Writing is tiring and difficult, but I can sit at my desk for hours and hours, writing through the night to dawn. I never had any prior writing experience, but I learned that it’s not about using heavy vocabulary, and more about how I can express my sincerity.”

Brigitte Lin (1954) Taiwanese actress

As quoted in "Brigitte Lin, a timeless national treasure" in Taipei Times (15 May 2018) https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2018/05/15/2003693091

Learning, Sincerity, Night

“No. I have run away from a lot of publicity. I have tried my best to come back to my desk again. I needed a peaceful corner of my own for my next work. But it took time. Now I am adjusting myself to these new circumstances. I will try to write my next book as soon as possible.”

Han Kang (1970) South Korean writer

On the issue of her publicity in "Korea's Kafka? Man Booker winner Han Kang on why she turns a woman into a plant" in Deutsche Welle (September 12, 2016) https://www.dw.com/en/koreas-kafka-man-booker-winner-han-kang-on-why-she-turns-a-woman-into-a-plant/a-19543017

Books, Peace, Time

“I don’t outline anything in advance. That can be really scary. I liken it to walking blindfolded. I’m trying to head towards somewhere, but I have no idea how to get there. I don’t write in order, either. I’m taking things as they come, following my fancy.”

Jenny Han (1980) American writer

As quoted in "Why Jenny Han Thinks We Should Judge To All The Boys I Loved Before By Its Cover" in Refinery 29 (9 August 2018) https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2018/08/206826/jenny-han-to-all-the-boys-i-loved-before-author-interview

Idea

“Well, I don’t ever plan anything in my books. Since I don’t outline, I tend to just go wherever my imagination leads me and where I feel excited to write about. I tend to write scenes that I would want to read.”

Jenny Han (1980) American writer

As quoted in "To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before author Jenny Han on watching her book become a phenomenon" in Vox (4 June 2019) https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/6/4/18648808/to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before-jenny-han-interview

Books, Feeling, Imagination, Reading

“No one writes each other letters anymore, but I think there's something so special about receiving a really heartfelt letter, still.”

Lana Condor (1997) Vietnamese-American actress

As quoted in "To All the Boys Star Lana Condor on Making the Summer’s Best Rom-Com" in Vulture (14 August 2018) https://www.vulture.com/2018/08/to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before-netflix-lana-condor-rom-com-interview.html

Thinking

“But every time I look at myself and think, oh, my body's not OK or my worth in value are determined by my appearance and my marketability, I'm kind of engaging in one form of this same narrative. So writing this work has been really cathartic and humbling for me.”

Sarah Jones (stage actress) (1973) African-American actress, playwright, and poet from the United States

On identifying with various characters in Sell/Buy/Date in “Playwright Sarah Jones Takes On The Sex Industry In 'Sell/Buy/Date'” https://www.npr.org/2018/10/13/657200487/playwright-sarah-jones-takes-on-the-sex-industry-in-sell-buy-date in NPR (2018 Oct 13)

Thinking, Appearance, Time

“My attitude to writing is.. it's like when you do wallpapering, you know, you remember where all the little bits are that don't meet, you think: "Oh my God that's horrible..."”

Harrison Birtwistle (1934) British composer

And then your friends come and say: "Who did this wallpapering? It's terrific!" <br class="br">Interviewed by Dan Warburton, July 8, 1995. http://www.paristransatlantic.com/magazine/interviews/birtwistle.html

God, Thinking

“The more you read and write, the better you think and live.”

Settlemania (1999) Settlemania Is in Indian Video Content Creator and Social Media Expert

Thinking, Reading

“Teenagers give me hope. We write them off so often. But I'm seeing a lot of things in this generation that’s coming up that gives me a lot of hope for the future. So I tell them when I'm in the old folks home, I think I can relax because I think you guys are going to do a great job.”

Angie Thomas (1988) American author

On looking to the next generation for hope in “Author Angie Thomas: Burn It All Down Or Use Those Emotions In My Art” https://www.ttbook.org/interview/author-angie-thomas-burn-it-all-down-or-use-those-emotions-my-art in To the Best of Our Knowledge (2019 Jan 14)

Hope, Guy, Home, Thinking

“I think the only responsibility that writers have is to our own truth. If that happens to merge with contemporary issues, then yes, write that truth. But what we are haunted by is not a thing we choose. And that choice is most certainly not made by the latest headlines.”

Shobha Rao

On whether writers have the responsibility to write about contemporary issues in “‘I can’t think of a happier story’: Shobha Rao talks GIRLS BURN BRIGHTER” https://www.booklistreader.com/2018/03/06/books-and-authors/i-cant-think-of-a-happier-story-shobha-rao-talks-girls-burn-brighter/ in Booklist Reader (2018 Mar 6)

Truth, Thinking

“Ask yourself what is the point of advertising prescription drugs... Clearly they... expect we will... demand that our doctors write the prescriptions.”

Barry Schwartz book The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less

The Paradox of Choice (2004)

“The greatest lesson i have learnt from writing is that it doesn't matter what you write but your writing matters, your words need to be meaningful. Feel free to write your imagination and try to find the author hidden within you.”

Shabdon Ka Jahan

Feeling, Imagination

“The writing seemed to just spiral out of me, and if I had to pick a time when I really started this journey it would be that wonderful quiet morning on a verandah so many years ago in the Colombian countryside...”

Irene Sabatini (1967) writer from Zimbabwe

Source: Irene Sabatini Website https://irenesabatini.com/

Time

“My nails are my rhythm section, when I'm writing a song all alone. Some day, I may cut an album, just me and my nails.”

Dolly Parton (1946) American singer-songwriter and actress

As quoted in "Dolly Parton: Gee, She’s So Nice" https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/dolly-parton-gee-shes-really-nice (7 December 1980), by Roger Ebert, Roger Ebert <br class="br">1980s

“If they want to write about me in a good way, they should write how I do things that are useful. If they want to criticize me, I don't care, I don't mind. But they must criticize me fairly. Usually the criticism is not fair. Or the praise, even the praise sometimes is not fair.”

Bhumibol Adulyadej (1927–2016) King of Thailand

Source: "King Bhumibol's Reign" in The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/21/magazine/king-bhumibol-s-reign.html (21 May 1989)

Way

“Scientific writing is abhorrently stylized and places a premium on poor quality.”

Isaac Asimov book Buy Jupiter and Other Stories

Buy Jupiter and Other Stories (1975), p. 82
General sources

“People who are busy and happy don’t write diaries; they are too busy living.”

Robert A. Heinlein book Friday

Source: Friday (1982), Chapter 33 (p. 353)

Happiness, People, Business

“Every single Muslim historian of medieval India lists temples which the rulers he is writing about has destroyed and the mosques he has built instead.”

Arun Shourie (1941) Indian journalist and politician

Source: Indian controversies: Essays on religion in politics (1993) 429

“Being a woman writer, I would be deceiving myself if I said I write completely through the eye of a man. There’s nothing bad in it, but that does not make me a feminist writer. I hate that name. The tag is from the Western world – like we are called the Third World.”

Buchi Emecheta (1944–2017) author

Speaking on her writing not as a feminist [as quoted in "Zikoko" https://www.zikoko.com/life/oldies/9-thought-provoking-quotes-from-the-literary-icon-buchi-emecheta/).

Hate, World

“Place is important to my writing; I believe that if a reader gets a clear picture of the place where a character is from, then they can understand what motivates the character, what limits him or her…”

Jesmyn Ward (1977) American writer

Source: On using the setting to frame her novels in “Jesmyn Ward: ‘So much of life is pain and sorrow and wilful ignorance’” https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/nov/12/jesmyn-ward-sing-unburied-sing-interview-meet-author in The Guardian (2017 Nov 12)

Motivation, Understanding

“Creative writing programmes are not very necessary. They just exist so that people like us can make a living.”

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (1977) Nigerian writer

On Money and wealth
Source: https://sheleadsafrica.org/20-powerful-chimamanda-adichie-quotes-for-todays-boss-women/

People

“I don't sit down to write something politically or to challenge stereotypes. Being who I am, almost everything I do will be political, almost everything I do will be a challenge to those stereotypes…”

Rabih Alameddine (1959) Lebanese-American painter and writer.

Source: On challenging stereotypes in “Researcher Nadia Barhoum interviews Rabih Alameddine” https://belonging.berkeley.edu/alameddine (Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley)

“I don’t consider myself a successful screenwriter. I write screenplays because I have no choice. Often I’m simply the director’s last resort. I think that good novel-writing emphasizes characterization. It’s the personality that makes a good movie or novel character unforgettable.”

Geling Yan (1958) Chinese writer and screenwriter

Source: Interview with the Big Thrill

Thinking, Success, Personality

“My dream is to write with both pens, in English and Chinese. I want to be more truthful and more straightforward when I write in English.”

Geling Yan (1958) Chinese writer and screenwriter

Source: "Chinese writer finds freedom in English" in Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-literature-yan-interview/chinese-writer-finds-freedom-in-english-idUSTRE53M00D20090423 (22 April 2009)

Truth, Dreams

“Of course, the vision of many works, such as the sense of picture and imagery, is actually unconscious by the writer. If the writer is conscious, he will write very artificial things.”

Geling Yan (1958) Chinese writer and screenwriter

Source: "Yan Geling: I Am Also A Person In The Cave" https://www.bannedbook.org/en/bnews/lifebaike/20211010/1635954.html (10 October 2021)

Sense

“It’s frustrating seeing things lost in translation. Some expressions are just so Chinese, or so English, you have to switch your thinking to English in order to write it with spontaneity and naturally.”

Geling Yan (1958) Chinese writer and screenwriter

Nature, Thinking

“I would love to write more children’s books. I think children can understand complex things so long as you explain them in words they can wrap themselves around.”

Padma Lakshmi (1970) Indian-born American author, actress, model, television host and executive producer

Source: "What I’ve Learned: Padma Lakshmi" in Esquire https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/a37862708/padma-lakshmi-what-ive-learned-interview-2021/ (2 November 2021)

Love, Children, Books, Understanding

“I feel like all directing, writing, acting… all things feed into one another in a cool way. It’s just one of those jobs where it’s not too difficult to jump around because they’re all interconnected so to speak.”

Tania Raymonde (1988) American actress

Source: Interview: Tania Raymonde Talks ‘Deep Blue Sea 3’ https://www.thehollywoodnews.com/2020/08/20/interview-tania-raymonde-talks-deep-blue-sea-3/ (Aug 20, 2020)

Way, Feeling

“Often, in writing, granting the basic skill of writing a literate English sentence—which can no longer be taken for granted even in college graduates—all it takes is determination.”

Marion Zimmer Bradley (1930–1999) Novelist, editor

Source: Introduction to Waterwise in Marion Zimmer Bradley (ed.), Sword and Sorceress 7 (1990), p. 199

“A story with no moral isn't worth writing; a story with no plot isn't worth reading. And if people get your point before they get your story, you are to hire a soapbox instead.”

Marion Zimmer Bradley (1930–1999) Novelist, editor

Source: Introduction to Hawk’s Hill in Marion Zimmer Bradley (ed.), Sword and Sorceress 7 (1990), p. 183

People, Reading

“Thinking is easier than working. And the best kind of thinking is the kind where you don't have to write anything down, i.e., "meeting thinking." When you think up an idea during a meeting, all you have to do is blurt it out. You won't have to involve any parts of your body except your mouth and maybe your brain stem.”

Scott Adams book The Joy of Work

Source: Books, The Joy of Work (1998)

Idea, Thinking, Parting

“A script is only the beginning of the process. But with books, what you write is exactly what people read. So as a writer, that's very satisfying.”

D.J. MacHale (1955) American television director and producer

Source: AME with D.J. MacHale https://www.reddit.com/r/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark/comments/l875no/ame_with_dj_machale/ (January 29, 2021)

People, Books, Reading

“The thing is, kids love scary stories. They love dramatic stories. They love that kind of stuff. It’s one of the reasons why I write books now. I’m able to write the kind of stuff I like, whereas in TV I can’t do that anymore.”

D.J. MacHale (1955) American television director and producer

Source: Rejection, Scares, and Ryan Gosling: Looking Back at Nickelodeon’s “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2014/10/interview-are-you-afraid-of-the-dark-dj-machale (October 30, 2014)

Love, Books

“They say that comedy and sausages are the two things that if you know how they're made they affect the appetite. I'm always creating and writing stuff so it's nice for me to be able to watch it as a fan.”

Mike Myers (1963) Canadian- British- American actor, comedian, singer, screenwriter, and film producer

Interview with Joe Utichi, RT-UK: Mike Myers Interview https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/rtuk-mike-myers-interview/, rottentomatoes.com, 27 June 2007.

“I believe it is important to speak to your readers in person... to enable people to have a whole picture of me; I have to both write and speak. I view my role as a writer and also as an oral communicator.”

Buchi Emecheta (1944–2017) author

Source: On speaking to readers in “Interview with Buchi Emecheta” http://www.emeagwali.com/nigeria/biography/buchi-emecheta-voice-09jul96.html (Philip Emeagwali)

People, Communication, Personality

“If speaking is still difficult to negotiate, then writing has created a free space for most women -much freer than speech. The book is bound, circulated, read. It retains its autonomy much more than a woman is allowed in the oral situation”

Yvonne Vera (1964–2005) Zimbabwean writer

Opening Spaces: An Anthology of Contemporary African Women's Writing, August 11, 2008 https://www.amazon.com/Opening-Spaces-Anthology-Contemporary-African/dp/0435910108

Women, Books, Reading

“For me writing is light, a radiance that captures everything in a fine profile. This light searches and illuminates, it is a safe place from which to uncover the emotional havoc of our experience. Light is a bright warmth which heals. Writing can be this kind of light.”

Yvonne Vera (1964–2005) Zimbabwean writer

Source: Good Readshttps://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/237227.Yvonne_Vera

Search, Light

“I read often but, the genre I go to is mystery. I like to write my own stories but as you know, people often die in mysteries, so someone often dies in my stories. Also, I like to go to art galleries on my day offs.”

Noa Tsurushima (2001) Japanese actress

People, Art, Reading

“On Philosophy Tube, I call all the shots, I do all the writing, I do all the research. I plan it all out, and it's my show. I miss the feeling of being at the bottom and having to climb up again.”

Abigail Thorn (1993) British actress and YouTuber

Source: Meet Abigail Thorn, the trans philosopher who wants to kill James Bond https://www.insider.com/abigail-thorn-interview-philosophy-tube-kill-james-bond-podcast-2021-8, 21 August 202

Feeling

“If we are to understand what is going on in Empedocles’s writings, we need to think about the philosophical motives that drive him, and we need to make use of the bits of text we already had before the papyrus turned up.”

Catherine Rowett (1956) Professor of Philosophy at the University of East Anglia (born 1956)

Source: Presocratic Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction (2004), Ch. 1 : Lost words, forgotten worlds

Motivation, Understanding, Thinking

“When someone just writes 'f**k, f**k, f**k', we just fix it, laugh and move on. But the difficult social issues are the borderline cases — people who do some good work, but who are also a pain in the neck.”

Jimmy Wales (1966) Wikipedia co-founder and American Internet entrepreneur

Source: As quoted in "Who knows?", The Guardian (26 October 2004)

Pain, People

“I was writing to my wife when your letter arrived, and now I want to look at her portrait myself, seeing the great beauty it contains. I am such a devoted husband that other beautiful women now do nothing for me.”

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) Holy Roman Emperor

Women, Beauty

“I have actually sat down to make a distinct History of the Norman Conquest, which I can do easier than anybody else, as I have worked so much at the subject for twenty years past, that is, a great part of the story; there will be little more to do than to write down what is already in my head.”

Edward Augustus Freeman (1823–1892) English historian (1823-1892)

Source: Letter to Dean Hook (23 December 1865), quoted in W. R. W. Stephens, The Life and Letters of Edward A. Freeman, Volume I (1895), p. 335

History, Past, Parting

“…Begging Your Holiness as earnestly as I can that you convene a general council with the urgency that the situation demands and that for optimal effect Your Holiness should write to other princes and potentates explaining why. Namely the need to create a united front against the expected Turkish attack and to prevent the heresies that have recently appeared from spreading further.”

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) Holy Roman Emperor

Optimism, Appearance

“Writing music for me is easy, and is less stressful than a nine-to-five job. What I find hard is going to meetings and dealing with lawyers. The Hollywood lifestyle is hectic and often you have to survive on just four hours sleep before starting again.”

Lorne Balfe (1976) British composer

Source: Composing a career of note in LA https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/composing-career-note-la-2453112 (9 July 2002)

Music, Sleep

“The writer has a fundamental responsibility to write well or to write the best he can, because if he doesn’t he’s not a writer. And when a writer writes, he’s always referring to a social and historical context…”

Reinaldo Arenas (1943–1990) Cuban poet/novelist/playwright

Source: On a writer’s responsibility in “The Literature of Uprootedness: An Interview with Reinaldo Arenas” https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-literature-of-uprootedness-an-interview-with-reinaldo-arenas in The New Yorker (2013 Dec 5)

“Write with your eyes like painters, with your ears like musicians, with your feet like dancers. You are the truthsayer with quill and torch. Write with your tongues of fire. Don't let the pen banish you from yourself.”

Gloria E. Anzaldúa Speaking in Tongues

"Speaking in Tongues: A Letter to Third World Women Writers" (1981)
Source: in This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, p. 171

Quotes about writing page 50

Quotes about writing
page 50