How many of you have creative writing quotes and sayings that you live to write by?Every person out there, whether they are a writer or not, has quotes and sayings, or mantras that they live by. It may be as simple as "carpe diem," or more simply, "seize the day." It may be a bit more figurative: "To be or not to be, that is the question." People have to think a little harder to come upon what that quote specifically means for their individual situations. Click for Free Writer's Block Help E-Zine and Free E-Book There are many books written for the sheer purpose of providing creative writing quotations for the masses. Other books, reading material, or TV and movie lines are inspirational in themselves and people follow these sayings or quotes also. Here are a couple of examples to lead us off as we get into more creative writing quotes and sayings that will inspire and delight you to not only write more, but read more so that you will understand where your writing is coming from and how to best achieve the writing style that fits you. Creative Writing Quotes Example #1: "If a story is in you, it has got to come out." -- William Faulkner Everyone has a story. Whether you feel it is important or not, let your readers be the judge. What's your story? How long have you been keeping it to yourself? Why haven't you written it down? How can you share it with your readers in such a way that they will feel a connection to it? Creative Writing Quotes Example #2: "Enthusiasm literally means 'being filled with spirit'." -- Stephen Larsen What does enthusiasm mean to you? What gets you enthused? Why is it able to do so? What fails to get you enthused? Why? You see how simple it is to come up with questions and comments for each creative writing quote? Read on for some more... Creative Writing Quotes Example #3: "What you do instead of your work is your real work." -- Roger Ebert Writing is your real work. Finding this website and perusing it is just one way in which you are trying to fight your writer's block and write to your heart's content, making each piece of writing better than the last. Creative Writing Quotes Example #4: "It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was." -- Anne Sexton What you should take from this quote is the fact that the facts of what happened don't necessarily have to dictate the way you recall it, fashion it into writing, and jot it down onto paper. Your memories are your memories, and you should not let anyone try to change them or add to them if you feel what you have to say or write is sufficient. Use this quote (and the next one, for that matter) to help you contemplate how to write your very own memoir, and hopefully you'll be instilled with a bit more inspiration than you landed on this page with. Creative Writing Quotes Example #5: "Memory is a net." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. What does this quote mean to you, metaphorically? What does a net symbolize? It holds a lot in, and serves to contain items as well. Your memory is preserved if it is held onto in a "net". Therefore, Holmes may be trying to say that memory is a net because all that you remember and understand about your past is a container that is waiting to be opened and understood by you. You must learn how to shape what you know, have learned, have witnessed, and have garnered from the past and release it from that "memory net" into your present and future, so you may write about it, and preserve all that it stands for and means to you. Creative Writing Quotes Example #6: "One writes to make a home for one's self, on paper, in time, in others' minds." -- Alfred Kazin Why do you write? Do you merely like the feel of pen to paper? Or do you like making yourself or other people think about what you have to say? Are you a talker who just needs another outlet in which to present your opinions and present your feelings? Whatever the reason that you write, for yourself, for others, or for some other reason, you must know that reason in order to be at one with yourself as a writer and understand your own writing style. Creative Writing Quotes Examples #7 and #8: "I think knowing what you cannot do is more important than knowing what you can do." -- Lucille Ball "You must do the thing you think you cannot do." -- Eleanor Roosevelt The way that I choose to take the Lucille Ball quote is that the list of what you cannot do should be a short one, and you should always strive to be able to do anything you feel you are incapable of. After all, if you don't try, you obviously think that you can't. That's what Eleanor Roosevelt is trying to say. Find ways of interpreting quotes to help you understand your own style and purpose in writing, and even more importantly, in life. Once you come to a better understanding of yourself, your writing will become even better than I'm sure it already is! Creative Writing Quotes Example #9: "It is good to collect things, but it is better to go on walks." There are so many places to visit. When Anatole France says to go on walks, the point is that collecting things can be fun and interesting and inspire thoughts, emotions, and ideas for writing, but walks can be inspirational in themselves. Depending on where you walk, with whom you walk, how you walk (forwards, backwards, sideways, etc.), you will always have a different experience. You will see different people, hear different noises, smell different smells, etc. A man who lives near me walks around the oval that makes up my subdivision. The distance around the oval is one full mile. For the last quarter of a mile, or about one quarter of the oval, he walks backwards. His explanation is that it is "something different". I'm also sure that it works his legs a bit differently and makes him think a little harder about how he is walking and what is behind him. So go on walks. Try different methods of walking. You may even decide to run to a certain location, such as a museum or some other place. Visit some writing places. Walk there, bike there, drive there, or find some other means of transportation to get there. The point is to learn to not just stay in with what you have, but go out and search for your inspiration. Sometimes it's hiding, but you'll know when you find it. Creative Writing Quotes Example #10: "Over and over, we have to go back to the beginning. We should not be ashamed of this. It is good. It's like drinking water." -- Natalie Goldberg Natalie Goldberg is a wonderful author. Her book, Writing Down the Bones, is one of my own inspirations. She writes about writing. Understanding your writing. Finding new methods of writing. Surprising yourself with your writing. Plus, she shares a ton of great quotes and sayings that inspire her. I highly recommend reading some of her work. Beginnings are very important in writing. No matter what you say at the beginning, you must remember it (after all, "memory is a net") and use it to help the rest of your writing along. Always look back to the beginning. If you don't know just how to get out of your writer's block, think about what got you out of it the last time. Was it a creative writing quote, a story starter, a poem starter, writing example, or some other technique? Use the method you used the last time (the beginning of breaking your writer's block) to get out of it this time. Quotes and sayings are just some of the methods you may have attempted. After all, as Goldberg says, "it's like drinking water," and that is something that everyone knows just how to do. It's a simple act, as both she and I feel writing should be. So, go back to the beginning. You'll find it helpful in your quest to becoming a better writer. Review these quotes and sayings and read some more creative writing quotes. Find their inner meanings, or discern your own from them. However you choose to interpret any or all of these quotes, you are sure to find a way to use them to instill your writing with a bit more substance and verve.
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