"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island." - Walt Disney

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Writing What You Want

"If there is a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." - Toni Morrison

"I just write what I wanted to write. I write what amuses me. It's totally for myself." - J.K. Rowling

"Everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it... The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt." - Sylvia Plath

"You own everything that has happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should've behaved better." - Anne Lamott

"I write to give myself strength. I write to be the characters that I am not. I write to explore all the thing I am afraid of." - Joss Whedon

"If it's still in your mind, it's worth taking the risk." - Paulo Coelho

"If I waited for perfection I would never write a word." - Margaret Atwood

"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self." - Cyril Connolly

"I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear." - Joan Didion

"Nothing haunts us like the things we don't say." - Mitch Albom

28 comments:

A.M. Guynes/Annikka Woods said...

All of these are very good quotes, and all of them are good points. Thank you for sharing.

Frankie Miller said...

Hi Sylvia
This is what I like to do - write for myself. If I'm entertaining myself, then I hope to entertain others.
This is not the way to get a best-seller; not having checked out the market for what people prefer to read, it means taking a chance.
I'd rather take a chance!

Stephanie Faris said...

I love J.K. Rowling's quote. I do the same...only much of the time, nobody else wants to read it.

Christie said...

Those are all great quotes, It reminds me to keep writing for me. . I write my stories for my own healing, but also in the hopes that it will touch another and promote healing.

Unknown said...

Some great quotes here Sylvia, I enjoy writing and have recently quit creative studies at Uni so that I can write what I want :)

Unknown said...

Some great quotes here Sylvia, I enjoy writing and have recently quit creative studies at Uni so that I can write what I want :)

Anonymous said...

Great quotes! The first one is among my faves. I really needed to read these right now as I've debated on sharing a very personal story but can't decide if it's worth completing. I'm asking myself the wrong questions -- will it have enough meaning? Will my readers like it? -- I should be asking myself if I want to write it (or read it) and why.

The Pedestrian Writer

Jessica said...

New follower here from the A to Z challenge. I've always been a big journal writer and started my blog to practice and work on my writing skills. Thanks for sharing those great quotes.

Anna K. Stewart said...

The Joan Didion quote is probably the one that most fits me even though I don't think I've read a thing she's written. I don't know what I'm thinking, feeling, etc, until I've written it down. But all the quotes are great. Now I have to read some Joan Didion. :-)

Suzy, The Grey Brunette said...

I have to agree with everything really. It really bugs me when people say you should write what you know. I mean, I write urban fantasy - how the heck would that work?! lol
Great post :)

Shine Kapoor said...

Motivating quotes. Nice post. Will visit again :)

Denise Covey said...

Excellent quotes Sylvia.

A. Catherine Noon said...

Wow. These are awesome, powerful quotes.

My favorite is Anne Lamott's; I had a very dark chuckle at that one.

Thanks for these!

This is A. Catherine Noon, visiting from the Noon and Wilder blog at http://noonandwilder.blogspot.com for the A-Z Challenge (and the Under 100 Followers section too), #1554 on the list. Happy blogging!

Jayanta said...

Thanks for sharing so many thought provoking quotes on writing. I write just because I love doing it...Thanks for visiting my posts in AtoZ challenge.

Unknown said...

I like the idea of writing for yourself BUT if you plan to write and sell your stories, I hope you write something that readers will want to read LOL

I love quotes and I have quite a few of them saved myself. Thanks for stopping by my blog too. I appreciate it!

Cheers, Michelle

Fancy Ranci said...

Thank you for sharing these great quotes. Many are very encouraging to me!

Unknown said...

My favorite quote is by Anne Lamott.

Kristin Smith said...

Love these quotes!! Especially the one by Sylvia Plath--great one!

Thanks for stopping by my blog! I'm your newest follower! Great to "meet" you! :)

http://swordsandstilettos.blogspot.com

J.H. Moncrieff said...

Great quotes. Writing what we want can be really difficult at times, with so many websites and books and people telling us we must write to market.

But the market always changes. Best to write what you love, and hope that this passion has made it a book other people will want to read.

Ann Hinds said...

I should probably print all the quotes and paste them to the wall in front of me. Lots to digest!
http://yeakleyjones.blogspot.com/

Cal Dream Squirrel said...

thank you for the great and inspiring quotes. having a bit of writer's block (mixed with a little self doubt), and I really needed this today...!

Unknown said...

I'm no writer but all these quotes are inspiring and applicable to all walks of life. Good luck with the rest of the challenge.

http://themagicquill.blogspot.in/

Birgit said...

Oh these are great quotes! I love them and yes, I agree, one writes for oneself first!

Amrit Sinha said...

Loved the quotes ... thanks for sharing :-)

Unknown said...

This is one of my favorite Annie Dillard quotes:

Read for pleasure. If you like Tolstoy, read Tolstoy; if you like Dostoevsky, read Dostoevsky. Push it a little, but don’t read something totally alien to your nature and then say, “I’ll never be able to write like that.” Of course you won’t. Read books you’d like to write. If you want to write literature, read literature. Write books you’d like to read. Follow your own weirdness.

thegypsie said...

That's exactly what I do, write what I want. I remember in junior high school I got in trouble for writing on a taboo subject but was given carte blanche to write about ANYTHING. Silly schools putting parameters on the term 'anything'.

Jerralea said...

Thanks for sharing these quotes. I had to smile at Anne Lamott's quote about people should have behaved better if they don't like how they have been portrayed.

I do believe you own everything that has happened to you. It's your story ... tell it! They are free to tell their side of the story.

I also agree with "The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt." - Sylvia Plath"

MS said...

Great quotes on writing. They are going in my file. Thanks for sharing them!
Mary from The View from my World