Top Ten Quotes About Writing (Right)

Hello Bookworms!
Today I am covering another top ten, this time about my personal favorite quotes about writing. These keep me writing and stave off that dreaded writers block. So, without further ado, let us begin!

#10:
"Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but and escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. But, of course, only those who have personality and emotions know what it is to want to escape from these things."
~T.S. Eliot
I love this quote, because too often people write poetry just to express all their pent up emotions, and tell people what they think. This isn't poetry, it is a rambling on paper which happens to rhyme. I often use this quote to remind myself of the reason I write poetry.

#9:
"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."
~Winston Churchill
This quote summarizes my view on my writing. I go through several mistakes in my writing, however I keep working, because writing, and the thrill of new adventures is what keeps me going in the morning. I use this quote to remember that success doesn't mean that I get something right the first time.

#8:
"A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd."
~Max Lucado
This quote serves as an excellent example of standing out, and leading something brand new. Yes, your writing could influence several people, it could be brilliant and amazing, but in order to do that you sometimes have to turn your back on most of society, and ignore what most people say; unless of course they are experts, but that's a different story.  I use this quote to uplift my spirits when I think my writing is so random people will never want to read it.

#7:
"If I had only one rule to live by, it would be this: Write to communicate, not to impress."
~Judy Bridges
  Shakespeare was a great author, and play-write. (I'm probably spelling that wrong). However, he often wrote to impress his audience, several times using words which he himself made up. He had every right to do so, however a reader should be able to follow the story. I use this quote as a reminder that it doesn't matter if you're a genius, if people cannot understand you, you have bigger issues.

# 6:
"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."
~Leo Tolstoy
 Often as writers we get this idea of how we will change everything, and everyone will be better off. I don't know who first started saying it, but someone started the saying "If I ruled the world, it would be a better place-for me." Something may be wrong, or it may just be our way of looking at it which is wrong. Make sure that you as a writer have thoroughly examined why you think something before you tell other people what you think. This quote reminds me that not every story needs to be told, and sometimes things are better kept secret.

#5: 
"There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" 
~Robert Kennedy
Sometimes, instead of looking at what is in the world and shouldn't be, I like to look at what isn't in the world and should be. Some concepts and ideas of several years ago have been lost, and some were never there to begin with. This quote reminds me that my writing is to bring things into the world, and explore the domino effect of the reactions.

#4: 
"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."
~Scott Adams
To preface, the only thing I know about this guy is he writes a cartoon. I haven't actually read the cartoon, I don't think I would understand the humor. The point is, everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes we don't really understand why we made them, sometimes we read something we wrote late at night and think, "I call myself a writer?" And then sometimes we read something we read something we wrote late at night and think, "Maybe I should write more at night." This quote keeps me writing, realizing that maybe my mistakes actually aren't all that bad.

#3:
"Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It's as if they are showing you the way."
~Donal Miller
 Close to the Judy Bridges quote earlier, writing is about communicating, and sometimes writing is simply a tinted window, in which one person can be taught how someone else sees the world, and why things mean so much to them. This quote reminds me that writing is less of a planned movie, and move of an observation deck. You never know what's going to happen, but you have to see things differently in the end.

#2: 
"If you're willing to fail interestingly, you tend to succeed interstingly."
~Edward Albee, playwright
If you write enough, it's almost a guarantee that you will fail. So, don't write to succeed. Write to have fun. Instead of worrying about whether you will make the list of top one-hundred novels in the nation, instead write something that you could pull off your shelf after reading a hundred times, and still find funny, amusing, and entertaining. This one reminds me that I write not for a crowd of people, or for a generation of far off children, or even to be recognized as a great author; I write because at the end of the day, I want to be able to enjoy looking back over my work.

#1: 
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please."
~Mark Twain
Alright, who didn't see me using a humorous quote as my last one. What can I say? This is how I work. Until I get all the facts, there is no way for me to know whether or not someone else has already used my ideas? Once I know how it happened, I can twist it around so that no one sees it coming, but I can drop clues as inside jokes to those who know the truth. (Yes, I'm talking about mystery novels, though it's really good for a parody novel as well:) ) This one reminds me, that in the end my writing is my writing, and no one can take that away from me.

Thank you for reading these, I really hope they helped! What are your favorite quotes? How do you stave off writers block? And what would you like me to talk about? My next post will be on small writing exercises which help me with stories, character development, and just experimenting with new writing styles. I will be posting it sometime next week, so keep a weather eye out!
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