Thursday, August 6, 2009

A Few of My Favorites


Please forgive the short post, but I am in the middle of non-fiction chapter chaos. So I thought I would share a few of my favorite quotes about writing.

Take out another notebook, pick up another pen, and just write, just write, just write. In the middle of the world, make one positive step. In the center of chaos, make one definitive act. Just write. Say yes, stay alive, be awake. Just write. Just write. Just write.
~Natalie Goldberg

It is the deepest desire of every writer, the one we never admit or even dare to speak of: to write a book we can leave as a legacy. And although it is sometimes easy to forget, wanting to be a writer is not about reviews or advances or how many copies are printed or sold. It is much simpler than that, and much more passionate. If you do it right, and if they publish it, you may actually leave something behind that can last forever.
~Alice Hoffman

To sum it all up, if you want to write, if you want to create, you must be the most sublime fool that God ever turned out and sent rambling. You must write every single day of your life. You must read dreadful dumb books and glorious books, and let them wrestle in beautiful fights inside your head, vulgar one moment, brilliant the next. You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon crazy heads. I wish for you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon you. May you live with hysteria, and out of it make fine stories – science fiction or otherwise. Which finally means, may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.

~Ray Bradbury

15 comments:

Scott said...

Great quotes. Thanks for sharing.

S

Anonymous said...

I like those...have fun with the chapters. I'll be reading soon!

Jen said...

Michelle, these quotes are beautiful. They sum up the writing life perfectly and are exactly what I needed to read today. Thank you for sharing. Good luck with your book!

Jen

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

"Out of that love remake a world."

Oh my. These are wonderful quotes. Thank you so much and good luck with your writerly tasks today.

B.J. Anderson said...

Love the quotes! And I had a great time yesterday, Michelle. It was so awesome to discover more writers in my itty bitty town. Thanks for inviting me!

Eileen Astels Watson said...

That last one is sad, but true!

Jennifer said...

I like those! Thanks for sharing. :)

Tess said...

Yes, I agree...some keepers here.

Tana said...

Great quotes! Love the last one!!!

Roni Loren said...

Love the Ray Bradbury quote. I am now off to resume the wrestling match with my muse.

Jennifer Shirk said...

Love the Alice Hoffman one. Something I think about with my child.

Michelle McLean said...

I'm glad everyone is enjoying them! I have files full of these wonderful quotes...I'll have to share them more often :)

And Bonny, I had a great time as well! I really am truly shocked there are so many of us in this tiny little town...although really, what else is there to do but write ;-D

Liza said...

Natalie Goldberg was my blog inspiration today also, thank goodness! Excellent quotes.

Susan R. Mills said...

Thank you so much for sharing these quotes! They are great. good luck with your non-fiction!

* said...

Ahhh, N. Goldberg & R. Bradbury, two inspiring writers. Excellent quotes, as I'm a quote girl, myself...