Logo - Feel The Words

Writing Quotes

The craft and habit of writing.

This set covers a filmmaker tracing an early comedic style back to college years, and advice that writing something and deciding to publish it are two separate decisions entirely. For more on the finished product, see Book.

You have to be rather relentless about pushing other things out of the way. This activity of writing, which has no promises attached to it, comes to be given a kind of arbitrary but persistent importance.

Quotes by W. S. Merwin

The idea of writing, to me, was, from the beginning, was writing something which was a little different from the ordinary exchange of speech. It was something that had a certain formality, something in which the words were of interest...

Quotes by W. S. Merwin

I can't imagine ever writing anything of any kind on a machine. I never tried to write either poetry or prose on a typewriter. I like to do it on useless paper, scrap paper, because it's of no importance.

Quotes by W. S. Merwin

As soon as I could write with a little pencil, I was writing these little hymns and illustrating them, and I thought they should be sung in church, but they never were.

Quotes by W. S. Merwin

There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.

Quotes by W. Somerset Maugham

Writing is the supreme solace.

Quotes by W. Somerset Maugham

Writing a book is usually a full-time job that takes years. I didn't have years. So I decided to crowdsource content for the book.

Quotes by Vivek Wadhwa

Nothing induces me to read a novel except when I have to make money by writing about it. I detest them.

Virginia Woolf

Initially, I thought that Ethereum was a thing that would be used for people to write simple financial scripts. As it turns out, people are writing stuff like Augur on top of it.

Quotes by Vitalik Buterin

I first started writing historical fiction in the late '70s and kept pictures of Kathleen Woodiwiss and Rosemary Rogers on my refrigerator until my first book was published by Avon in 1982. The biggest advantage of this genre for me...

Quotes by Virginia Henley

I made my drama teacher cry. I only took drama to get out of writing papers in English and the teacher was this thespian Broadway geek and here I was this Italian guy from Staten Island and I would put...

Quotes by Vinny Guadagnino

We grew up in abject poverty. Acting, writing scripts and skits were a way of escaping our environment at a very young age.

Quotes by Viola Davis

I started writing songs at age 15.

Quotes by Vince Clarke

I love writing. Given a choice, after directing for all these years, and if given an army of talented directors, I would not direct at all.

Quotes by Vikram Rohit Shetty

After 'A Suitable Boy,' I didn't write anything, not even a short story. I thought to myself: 'I ought to start writing.' But I can never force myself to write.

Quotes by Vikram Seth

In 2007, I probably wrote four screenplays in the entire year. Every three months I was writing a screenplay.

Quotes by Vikramaditya Motwane

I love writing but it's a real pain. It's a miserable process - very satisfying but very miserable.

Quotes by Vikramaditya Motwane

While writing 'Bhavesh,' I pretty much chewed up every single graphic novel I could get my hands on, so all the way from the entire 'Batman' series, Frank Miller's 'Batman,' Ed Brubaker's 'Batman,' Scott Snyder's 'Batman,' all the way through...

Quotes by Vikramaditya Motwane

Writing takes too much patience and it takes too much out of you for me to want to attempt it too often.

Quotes by Vikramaditya Motwane

I enjoyed writing ‘Tashan' very much.

Quotes by Vijay Krishna Acharya

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a quote about the kind of comedy someone used to write?
Yes. One quote reflects on what material might have looked like if the speaker had started earlier, guessing it would have resembled 'Damsels in Distress' kinds of films, since that's the kind of comedy being written at the time.
Is there advice here about writing versus publishing?
Yes. One quote advises students that writing a poem and publishing it are two quite separate things, encouraging them to write what they have to write rather than holding back out of fear it might upset someone. It's solid, honest advice for anyone starting out. For more encouraging quotes, see Good quotes.
Is there a quote about avoiding repetitive songwriting?
Yes - one quote says: "I hate it when bands keep making the same record over and over, so we're pushing ourselves to try new things and experiment in our writing approach." It's a statement about wanting to keep creative work fresh. Browse Like quotes for more on personal taste.
Is there a quote about balancing songwriting with other band responsibilities?
Yes. One quote recalls that in the early years of Static-X, a pattern emerged where the speaker spent all free time writing songs for the band, while the other guys spent their free time working on other things. It's a glimpse into how creative labor can be divided unevenly within a group. For more quotes on consistent habits, see Always quotes.
What different sides of "writing" does this page cover?
Early comedic influences, honest advice about writing versus publishing, the drive to avoid repetitive songwriting, and the reality of who does the writing work within a band. For more on the reading side of writing, see Book quotes.

A band's account of pushing past repetition into new territory sits alongside a memory of writing songs alone while bandmates focused elsewhere. Continue with Good or Always.