A Plethora of Writing Quotes

Did you know that even writers run out of things to blog about? Well, that is me....again...shhhh! So what's a girl to do when that happens and she has to have a post up in less than 8 hours?

She shares her favorite quotes out of her favorite writing books, that's what! An added plus is the link to where you can buy the book from which the quote is listed. That way you can highlight your own favorite quotes!

A word of warning: because writing and editing are two different skills, they require two different mind-sets. Don't try to do both at once. The time to edit is not when you're writing your first draft.  Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King

Examples of dangling or unattached participles abound in today's newspapers and broadcast media and even in books from respected publishers. Once recognized, they should be instantly zapped by the laser beam of common sense. Between You and I, a little book of bad english by James Cochrane

I want to suggest that to write to your best abilities, it behooves you to construct your own toolbox and then build up enough muscle so you can carry it with you. Then, instead of looking at a hard job and getting discouraged, you will perhaps seize the correct tool and get immediately to work. Stephen King on Writing, by Stephen King

Before you can stretch anything, of course, you need the raw material. You don't fashion a a clay pot without clay. The clay for a novelist is trouble. The question you have to keep asking is this: What problem has the potential to lay some serious hurt on my character? Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell

You don't have to see where you're going, you don't have to see your destination or everything you will pass along the way. You just have to see two or three feet ahead of you. This is right up there with the best advice about writing, or life, I have ever heard.  Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott

The last paragraph or line of your scene has one purpose: to get the reader to read on. It gets the reader forward in some fashion.  Revision and Self-Editing by James Scott Bell

Fiction weaves truth into slice-of-life depictions to which readers can relate. It provides a touchstone to common experiences of humanity and a way to examine those experiences. When Jesus sat on a grassy slope surrounded by the hurting, he painted word pictures--salt, lamps, bread, rusting treasure.   by Sharon Hinck in A Novel Idea, with contributions from best-selling authors.

I know I sound like some yogi from the land of easy answers, but I do have a point. You can either be defeated by your desperation, or you can use it. Revision and Self-Editing by James Scott Bell

My dad always told me, "Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you are right." This is especially true for us writers. We must work hard and we must pray, believing that God is taking our writing to the place  where he alone can showcase it.  Wherever that place is, and however many people eventually read what we've written--we must always be hardworking and hopeful. by Karen Kingsbury in A Novel Idea, with contributions from best-selling authors.

Desire. It's got to be a hunger inside you. You're going to have to sacrifice time and money and endure frustrations galore. If you don't have the desire, you won't last long out there on the battlefield.  The Art of War for Writers, by James Scott Bell

Storytellers are different. Storytellers look not to publishers to make them successful, but to themselves. They wonder how to top themselves with each new novel. Their grumbles are not about getting toured but about getting more time to deliver. Story tellers take calculated risks with their fiction. Mostly they try to make their stories bigger. The Fire in Fiction, by Donald Maass

I know people "write when they can," but if you are serious about wanting to finish something, create a writing time every day, and discipline yourself to sit down for say, thirty minutes, or an hour to write....You need to decide: Is writing for you Profession or Playtime? The answer will determine how you approach your time. From the Inside ...Out, by Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck

What is your favorite writing quote? Or what is your favorite go-to writing resource?
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This post is brought to you by
 Sherrinda Ketchersid

Sherrinda is wife to "Pastor John" and mother to three giant sons and one gorgeous daughter. A born and bred Texan, she writes historical romance filled with fun, faith, and forever love.