Get Your Creative Writing Week Going With These Inspiring Quotes

Monday Morning Roundup #1

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Some of my most popular social media posts have been quotes. Why is that?  I believe it’s because a good quote has the power to uplift and motivate, to remind us to do and be our very best. 

These fiction writers and world-class thinkers have provided some of the most wise and moving quotes, especially when it comes to creativity and writing. From Stephen King to Toni Morrison, my hope is that the following quotes will lift your spirits, confidence, and imaginations and inspire your best creative writing in the days ahead.

Quotes on Writing and Creativity from Famous Authors and Thinkers

Writing is the art of applying the ass to the seat."--Dorothy Parker

1. “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” —Maya Angelou

2. "You can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page." —J.K. Rowling

3. As you start to walk on the way, the way appears." —​Rumi

4. "Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work." —Stephen King

5. “Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye." —Dorothy Parker

6. "If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." —Toni Morrison

7. "The hardest part of writing a novel is finishing it." —Ernest Hemingway

8. “Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.” —Rumi

9. "A word after a word after a word is power." —Margaret Atwood

10. "Creativity is intelligence having fun." —Albert Einstein

I leave you with one of my all-time favorite quotes from one of my all-time favorite quote-worthy authors—Dorothy Parker. For me, it speaks to the pride, joy, and sense of accomplishment that a finished piece of creative writing can bring to an author. But also to the difficult work it takes to get there.

By the way, Dorothy Parker—poet, writer, screenwriter, and critic—had a fascinating life, full of highs and lows. She was well-known during her time for possessing a sharp and witty sense of humor. In her will, she left her estate to Martin Luther King Jr., and upon his death, to the NAACP.

"I hate writing, I love having written." --Dorothy Parker