Quotes to Encourage, Motivate, and Reassure Writers

Would you believe that over 80 authors have appeared on Writing and Wellness over the last almost two years?

From those features have come a lot of inspiring, witty, and relatable quotes, so I thought it would be fun to include a collection of them here.

Of course I couldn’t choose a quote from every feature, so I picked those that have gotten the most traction on social media—the ones readers liked best. Enjoy!

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“If I don’t do it [write], I will feel tetchy, depressed and even—as odd as it sounds—guilty.”
~ Elizabeth Brooks

“Writing requires you to be brutally honest with yourself in a million different ways.”
~ Jac Jemc

“I learned to pick myself up each time someone tried to knock me down—each criticism simply a step in the process.”
~ Claudia White

“Getting published in 2014 is not as easy as Anne of Green Gables made it seem back in the 1900s.”
~ Whitney Boyd

“I am a writer; always have been, even when I was selling underpants in Topshop.”
~ Simon James Barron

“It’s comforting to know that even authors who make it look easy, go through the same tough process.”
~ Aviva Orr

“I told my friend I was working on a piece about writing & wellness and she said, ‘Fiction, right?'”
~ Kim Church

“Eventually, through writing, I was able to find myself again.”
~ Heidi Chandler

“… all the problems associated with being a #writer I consider good problems to have.”
~ Stacey Levine

“My advice is to not give up. Be honest with yourself, sit down, & write another book.”
~ Bethany Harar

“To a young person dreaming of becoming a writer: the biggest challenge will always be yourself.”
~ Elizabeth Maria Naranjo

“In the beginning, it’s close to impossible not to take rejection to heart.”
~ Amy Saia

“Getting published doesn’t change who you are. It doesn’t guarantee happiness.”
~ Charity Bradford

“…getting lost in something larger than myself always reminds me of the reasons why I write…”
~ Anne Valente

“Writing, for me, is a pleasure even when I hate it.”
~ Henning Koch

“People always think it’s exciting to be a writer—perhaps they’re picturing Hemingway on a big safari game hunt—but the reality is that it’s more like being Homer Simpson in front of the TV:  you sit and snack a lot on sugary, salty treats while your brain goes into overdrive.”
~ Holly Robinson

“Get weirder. There’s no one left to please.”
~ Todd Mitchell

“I don’t know if it’s luck or destiny or what, but being a professional writer has brought me happiness.”
~ Linda Egenes

“The stakes don’t get any higher than when you are chasing your heart’s desire.”
~ Melissa Hudson

“I think the biggest emotional challenge is remembering all the positives when the negatives come.”
~ Sarah Benson

“I’ve watched so many people fall prey to unhappy, caged-in lifestyles. Some are content in their cages but I don’t want to be content.”
~ S. B. Roozenboom

“Sometimes, I spend too much time trying to figure why I have writer’s block instead and of focusing on ways to get out around it. I let it get to me and end up making it worse by dwelling on it.”
~ April Moore

“It is surprising, though, when you are undertaking something so huge how many people will tell you that you can’t do it or that you shouldn’t do it.”
~ Melissa McDaniel

“Ups and downs have followed that moment, but I have overcome them by remembering that I do not indeed suck. I am a bonafide author and people love me.”
~ Sarah E. Boucher

“I only wish I had believed in my abilities sooner.”
~ Shelley Wilson

“Biggest physical challenge of being a writer? Not plowing my way through a bag of chocolate when I’m writing.”
~ Sydney Scrogham

“Regardless of one’s occupation, maintaining balance is key to staying mentally and emotionally healthy, and keeping everything balanced is one of the primary challenges of a writer.”
~ Karen Jones Gowen

“When I’m with other writers, I feel like a wandering space alien who has finally found her people.”
~ Suzanne Brazil

“For every person who dislikes my work, there may be ten other readers who love it. The trick is to find those people.”
~ Pamela McDowell

“It really isn’t ever over until you quit . . . ”
~ Susan Mary Malone

Thank you to all authors who’ve shared their thoughts on W&W!