Inspirational Author Quotes About Writing

If you’re an aspiring author in search of the secrets to success, it only makes sense to ask those who have achieved it. After all, they’ve been in your shoes.

While you may not be able to speak to successful authors directly, you can read their quotes. I’ve done the heavy lifting for you and compiled these 20 quotes about writing, which are sure to inspire and intrigue you.
1. "You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." - Jack London
2. “All a writer needs is talent and ink." -J.K. Rowling
3. “The scariest moment is always just before you start.” -Stephen King
4. “Nobody buys a book that they don’t pick up.” -James Patterson
5. “You see a lot of young writers who have interesting ideas and a certain skill with words, but their story is not a story ... it's more of a vignette." -George R.R. Martin
6. “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” -Robert Frost
7. “If you have no critics, you’ll likely have no success." -Malcolm X
8. “You can make anything by writing." -C.S. Lewis
9. “Write. Rewrite. When not writing or rewriting, read. I know of no shortcuts.” -Larry L. King
10. “I don’t need an alarm clock. My ideas wake me.” -Ray Bradbury
11. “In order to write about life first you must live it.” -Ernest Hemingway
12. “Character is plot, plot is character.” -F. Scott Fitzgerald
13. “Write what should not be forgotten.” -Isabel Allende
14. “If you don’t see the book you want on the shelf, write it.” -Beverly Cleary
15. “I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and I look at it, until it begins to shine.” -Emily Dickinson
16. “Write about the emotions you fear the most.” -Laurie Halse Anderson
17. “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere.” -Anne Lamott
18. “You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” -Jodi Picoult
19. “Done is better than perfect.” -Sheryl Sandberg
20. “Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.” -Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler)

The Bottom Line: Take these quotes and use them to push you forward. Remember, success as an author doesn’t happen ove
ight. It takes a great deal of dedication, passion, and hard work.