Creative writing can be an excellent outlet for you to express your innermost feelings, thoughts on current events, wishes for the world or most outlandish ideas. And the best part? There’s no wrong way to write – so long as you actually sit down and write.
However, for those moments when the words don’t flow you may need a little external motivation to keep going. Today we’re turning to seven accomplished writers for their thoughts on what it takes to become a successful writer.
“It is perfectly okay to write garbage—as long as you edit brilliantly.”
– C.J. Cherryh
“To gain your own voice, you have to forget about having it heard.”
– Allen Ginsberg
“Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depth of your heart; confess to yourself you would have to die if you were forbidden to write.”
– Rainer Maria Rilke
“In the planning stage of a book, don’t plan the ending. It has to be earned by all that will go before it.”
– Rose Tremain
“Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.”
– Barbara Kingsolver
“I kept always two books in my pocket, one to read, one to write in.”
– Robert Louis Stevenson
“Being published is different from being a writer. It will be easier to face the publishing gauntlet if you know that you’ll write anyway, whether you are published or not.”
– Katherine Howe
Bonus:
“Being a good writer is 3% talent, 97% not being distracted by the Internet.”
– Anonymous
You heard “Anonymous” – now get off the internet and start writing!
