The best way to become a better writer is to write and then to publish your writing, whether you publish it on a blog, in a book, or with a close friend. It’s only by practicing writing, and getting feedback on it, that you can improve.
That being said, it never hurts to learn from those who have gone before you, and over the years, we’ve compiled a lot of excellent advice from the best writers on how to become a better writer.
My Top 5 Writing Quotes:
- “Being a writer is a very peculiar sort of job: It’s always you versus a blank sheet of paper (or a blank screen) and quite often the blank piece of paper wins.” —Neil Gaiman
- “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” —Somerset Maugham
- “Writing is the only thing that when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.” —Gloria Steinem
- “We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” —Anais Nin
- “Get through a draft as quickly as possible.” —Joshua Wolf Shenk
Favorite Quotes from Writers in Our Community
I asked authors in our community for their favorite quotes on writing or being a writer, and here’s what they sent me.
1. How You Write a Book, According to Neil Gaiman
From Carole Wolfe, author of My Best Mistake, and M MacKinnon, author of The Comyn’s Curse:
2. Why We Write, According to Walt Whitman
From Melanie Lambert, author of Wonder Woman in Disguise:
“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. So medicine, law, business, engineering… these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love… these are what we stay alive for.”
― Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass
3. What You Must Write, According to Toni Morrison
From Michelle Dalton, author of Epona, and Joslyn Chase, author of Steadman’s Blind:
4. How to Write the Right Word, According to Mark Twain
From Ichabod Ebenezer, author of A Shadow Stained in Blood:
5. What Writing Is, According to Isaac Asimov
From Jeff Elkins, author of Grab:
6. On the Path to Writing Success, According to Octavia E. Butler
From S.J. Henderson, author of Daniel the Drawer:
“You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.” —Octavia E. Butler
7. Why We Doubt Our Own Writing, According to Ira Glass
From Ross Boone, author of The Absent Landlord:
“All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. . . . For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. . . . But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you.” —Ira Glass
8. Why Writing Requires Empathy, According to John Barth (and Sarah Gribble)
From Sarah Gribble, author of The Hike:
“Everyone is necessarily the hero of his own life story.” John Barth
In other words:
More Favorite Writing Quotes
Need more writing quotes? Read on for more of our favorites:
9. Why You Became a Writer, According to Gloria Steinem
10. Why You Became a Writer, According to George Orwell
“[You write out of the] desire to seem clever, to be talked about, to be remembered after death, etc., etc., etc. It is humbug to pretend this is not a motive and a strong one.” —George Orwell
11. Why You Became a Writer, According to Anaïs Nin
12. That Doesn’t Mean Writing Is Easy
“Being a writer is a very peculiar sort of job: It’s always you versus a blank sheet of paper (or a blank screen) and quite often the blank piece of paper wins.” —Neil Gaiman
13. Start Writing Now
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14. And Write Quickly
15. What To Write About
“Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.” —Natalie Goldberg
16. Be Willing to Write Badly
17. Don’t Doubt Yourself
18. All Great Writers Are a Little Crazy
“The good writing of any age has always been the product of someone’s neurosis.” —William Styron
19. The Only Way to Fail As a Writer…
20. Just Write One True Sentence
21. Just Write Something Simple
22. Your Big Ideas are Worthless
23. Really Worthless
(I don’t consider myself the equal of George R.R. Martin, Ernest Hemingway, or Sylvia Plath… yet… but this quote seemed important to include.)
24. Don’t Let Anything Interfere With Your Writing
“Find your best time of the day for writing and write. Don’t let anything else interfere. Afterwards it won’t matter to you that the kitchen is a mess.” —Esther Freud
25. Keep At It
“I believe myself that a good writer doesn’t really need to be told anything except to keep at it.” —Chinua Achebe
26. Write Even When the World is Chaotic
27. The Mark of a Master Writer
“The mark of a master is to select only a few moments but to give us a lifetime.” —Robert McKee
28. No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.
29. Stay Drunk on Writing
30. Writing is like kissing
31. Don’t Make a Chore for Your Readers
“So the writer who breeds more words than he needs is making a chore for the reader who reads.” —Dr. Seuss
32. Show, Don’t Tell
33. How to Develop Your Own Style
34. Writing is More Difficult for Us
35. No One Knows the Rules
36. The best way to become a writer
37. Always Listen to Ben Franklin
38. Your Words Have Power
39. Chase Your Dream
40. Writing in the Dark
41. Turn the Monsters Loose
42. Stories Are All Around You
43. Write Now
44. The Secret Professional Writers Know
45. Follow Your Hero
46. Exercise Your Writing Muscle
47. But Actually, Exercise Your Writing Muscle
“Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.” —Jane Yolen
48. Your Writing Is Your Strength
49. The Real Challenge: Avoiding Distraction
50. Just Tell a Story
“I have been successful probably because I have always realized that I knew nothing about writing and have merely tried to tell an interesting story entertainingly.” —Edgar Rice Burroughs
51. Perseverance Is Key
52. Your Villains Think They’ve Got it Right
53. Write First, Edit Later
54. Your Hero’s Job
55. Plan, Then Adjust
56. Read, Read, Then Read Some More
57. How to Keep Your Readers Hooked
Need more grammar help? My favorite tool that helps find grammar problems and even generates reports to help improve my writing is ProWritingAid. Works with Word, Scrivener, Google Docs, and web browsers. Also, be sure to use my coupon code to get 25 percent off: WritePractice25
Which quote is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.
PRACTICE
Write something worth reading! Spend fifteen minutes free writing or working on a work in progress. As you write, channel the advice from the great writers above.
When your time is up, post your practice in the comments section.
Happy writing!
Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris, a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).
Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.
