16 Quotes That Capture the Essence of Writing

Advice from Stephen King, Ernest Hemingway, Natalie Goldberg, and others

Image Credit: Hannah Olinger on Unsplash

Since starting my own commonplace book, I’ve collected hundreds of quotes about writing and creativity.

I’ve whittled them down to 16 quotes that capture the essence of writing.

These quotes offer encouragement and inspiration to anyone who has considered writing their first blog post, anyone who has resolved to publish their first book, and even seasoned authors who are battling the internal forces of fear and self-doubt.

1. “Writing is an act of discovering what you think and what you believe.” -Dan Pink

Before I started writing, I assumed that authors knew what they wanted to say before they began typing. That assumption evaporated in my first month of writing.

I realized that grabbing my pen or computer to begin writing was like picking up a magic wand. My wand could make words appear that formerly didn’t exist in my brain. By sitting down to write, I learned what I thought about the topic at hand. Writing crystallizes thought.

2. “A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for…