Writers, never short of a quote on any subject. Often these quotes contradict quotes by others, such is the nature of the beast, but then you can’t live your life by quotes, can you? The best that can happen is the occasional bit of inspiration by one or two of them, even the ones that you disagree with… For whatever reason people seem to like these posts, and I suspect it’s not for my wittering preambles, so on to the wisdom of the scribblers at odds with each other…

“In order to write about life first, you must live it.” ~ Ernest Hemingway

“That’s why I write, because life never works except in retrospect. You can’t control life, at least you can control your version.” ~ Chuck Palahniuk

“The beauty of writing is imagining new endings to a time of darkness, like burning off a morning fog with the heat and clarity of the sun.” ~ J.J. Brown

“If being a writer doesn’t make you humble, nothing else will.” ~ Verge Le Noir

“All good writers are thieves. The best get away with a heist.” ~ Michael Stutz

“The pen is mightier than the sword as long as it doesn’t run out of ink.” ~ Matshona Dhliwayo

“Live a life worth reading about. Then write it.” ~ Chris Campanioni

“Writing is my life. Life is my hobby.” ~ Emma Lai

“If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered.” ~ Stephen King

“Writers are a superior breed. No one else can face so much rejection and still thrive.” ~ Susie Smith

“Reading is sexy. Women who read are suspect. Women who write dangerous.” ~ Chloe Thurlow,

“Life is more than one genre’.” ~ Juliette Power

“Writers don’t have bad life days; they just have good research days.” ~ Julie Wright

“Writing is a miserable, awful business. Stay with it. It is better than anything in the world” ~ Ann Patchett,

“Writing is the great invention of the world.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

“The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.” ~ Philip Roth

“I do not over-intellectualise the production process. I try to keep it simple: Tell the damned story.” ~Tom Clancy

Finally, if you’re ever tempted to take up the old quill yourself but put it off because there are so many other things you want to do. Bear in mind this little nugget of wisdom from Ariel Gore

“No one ever does the last thing on their list.” ~ Ariel Gore

Earlier posts on writer’s quotes…   words of wisdom  further words of wisdom  WoW3 wise words

and one on miss-quoting, Misquoting Kipling