Hey friends! I’ve always been a fan of inspirational quotes about writing, and sometimes, funny quotes can be the most inspirational of all. I thought you might enjoy some of these quotes for writers. Writing can be challenging, but there’s a comfort in knowing that most of us are dealing with the same things.

It’s funny, but just putting this post together made me feel more like writing. I’m just finishing up a nonfiction project, and I’m feeling excited about making fiction writing part of my life again!

I hope you’ll find one or two motivational writing quotes in here, too…or maybe they’ll just make you smile.

 

 

“Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.”

– Gene Fowler

When I worked at the writing studio at Hallmark Cards, a mixed media art piece featuring this quote hung in one of the conference rooms. A similar quote has been attributed to Ernest Hemingway, though there’s no evidence whatsoever that he said it. You can’t always be positive about Internet attributions! One greeting card quote I wrote while at Hallmark is now popularly attributed to Angelica Jolie, and I doubt Ms. Jolie ever claimed it for her own.

 

“The first draft of anything is s***.”

– Ernest Hemingway

I bet he actually did say this. In a weird way, it’s one of the great inspirational quotes for writers, because it’s so reassuring!

 

“You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer.”

– Isaac Asimov

That’s such a great image, isn’t it? He goes on to encourage writers to keep sending out their work, saying persistence will lead to success.

 

“Once you get to naming your laptop, you know that you’re really having a deep relationship with it.”

– Cory Doctorow

I’ll be honest: I love my laptop (a rose gold Mac) and this quote made me want to name it. You can check out Cory’s website here.

 

“Language was invented for one reason, boys – to woo women – and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do.”

– John Keating (played by Robin Williams), Dead Poets Society, screenplay by Tom Schulman

Of course, women aren’t the only people getting wooed by writers!

 

“Sure, it’s simple, writing for kids… Just as simple as bringing them up.”

– Ursula K. LeGuin

I think any writer of children’s books or YA can appreciate that one.

 

“Nothing’s a better cure for writer’s block than to eat ice cream right out of the carton.”

– Don Roff

I don’t know if this is true, but it sounds like it’s worth a try.

 

“A person who publishes a book appears willfully in public eye with his pants down.”

– Edna St. Vincent Millay

It does take a lot of confidence to be that vulnerable.

 

“When writing a novel, that’s pretty much entirely what life turns into: ‘House burned down. Car stolen. Cat exploded. Did 1500 easy words, so all in all it was a pretty good day.”

– Neil Gaiman

This is one of those funny quotes about writing that’s so motivational, too.

 

“Easy reading is damn hard writing.”

– Nathaniel Hawthorne

It’s probably not surprising that as an editor, I quote this one all the time. Clear prose takes a lot of work!

 

“When someone is mean to me, I just make them a victim in my next book.”

– Mary Higgins Clark

We’ve all done it…right?!

 

“Writing is a way of talking without being interrupted.”

– Jules Renard

I never thought about this before I read this quote, but it’s true.

 

“You always get more respect when you don’t have a happy ending.”

– Julia Quinn

This is so true! I see this in book reviews and in the way some critics and readers dismiss whole genres. The truth is, a convincing happy ending is much harder to write than a tragic or inconclusive one.

 

“Writing is the most fun you can have by yourself.”

– Terry Pratchett

Well, it’s one of the most fun things you can do, anyway. I can’t believe that I still haven’t read anything by Terry Pratchett. I know his fans still miss him!

 

“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.”

– Douglas Adams

I believe a line in Pirates of the Caribbean echoed this. I’ve never even seen the movie—just the memes. If someone else sets a deadline for me, I hit it. If it’s a self-imposed deadline, though? Ehh.

 

“When in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand.”

– Raymond Chandler

Not recommended for every story, of course.

 

“Use your imagination. Trust me, your lives are not interesting. Don’t write them down.”

– W.P. Kinsella

Actually, I know a lot of writers with interesting lives, but I am not one of them, so I think this is pretty funny.

 

“If you can’t annoy somebody, there is little point in writing.”

– Kingsley Amis

 

“A blank piece of paper is God’s way of telling us how hard it is to be God.”

– Sidney Sheldon

I felt like this belonged on any list of funny quotes for writers. When I used to teach beginning poetry classes, I would tell the students they could write about anything at all…except how hard it was to write a poem! That’s because I would always get about ten poems with first lines like, “Blank screen, staring back at me.” So I know the struggle is real. Personally, though…I like writing longhand for a first draft, and there is almost nothing I love better than a blank page. Unless it’s a whole blank notebook!

 

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

– W. Somerset Maugham

 

Did you find some new favorite writing quotes here? Did any of them annoy you? Let us know in the comments section! If you know of any other funny quotes about writing, I’d love to read them. For that matter, share any motivational quotes for writers that you like, even if they’re serious. We could all use more inspiration!

And if you want to write a novel—or have a messy first draft that needs editing—consider getting my book Blank Page to Final Draft. A lot of authors can use more structure, so this is a step-by-step guide to planning, writing, and editing a novel—without falling into any of the pitfalls I see all the time at my publishing house. Check it out!

 

Thanks for reading, and happy writing!

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