I turn to wisdom from renowned authors from time to time. You know—those moments when I’m stalled at the computer, my brain clawed open, unable to patch together the simplest thought, my inadequacy a tightening noose around my neck asphyxiating me to a painful spiritual death. We all need hope. We need to believe we’re not in this alone.
Here are some of my favorite words of inspiration.
Why do writers write? Because it isn’t there. – Thomas Berger
Writing is easy; all you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until the drops of blood form on your forehead. – Gene Fowler
A writer never has a vacation. For a writer life consists of either writing or thinking about writing. – Eugene Ionesco
What no wife of a writer can ever understand is that a writer is working when he’s staring out of the window. -Burton Rascoe
A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. -Thomas Mann
Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards. -Robert A. Heinlein
Writing a novel is a terrible experience, during which the hair often falls out and the teeth decay. -Flannery O’Connor
There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. -W. Somerset Maugham
The secret to being a writer is that you have to write. It’s not enough to think about writing or to study literature or plan a future life as an author. You really have to lock yourself away, alone, and get to work. -Augusten Burroughs
[To write] you most likely need a thesaurus, a rudimentary grammar book, and a grip on reality. Prayer might work. -Margaret Atwood
The first 12 years are the worst. -Anne Enright
Marry somebody you love and who thinks you being a writer’s a good idea. -Richard Ford
Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong. -Neil Gaiman
I love the second to the last, and the 3rd, and the fourth, and all of them, actually.
Yeah – lucky here that I married someone who can tolerate my moody lifestyle, at least most of the time!