"The very first thing I tell my new students on the first day of a workshop is that good writing is about telling the truth. We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are. Sheep lice do not seem to share this longing, which is one reason they write so very little. But we do. We have so much we want to say and figure out."

Writing, Truth, Humanity, Expression

1

Create Your Own Wallpaper

Standard

Customized

"The very first thing I tell my new students on the first day of a workshop is that good writing is about telling the truth. We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are. Sheep lice do not seem to share this longing, which is one reason they write so very little. But we do. We have so much we want to say and figure out."

Exlpore more Writing quotes

"It just happens to be the way that I'm made. I have to write things down to feel I fully comprehend them."

Haruki Murakami, Japanese Writer

Writing, Understanding, Expression

"Writing is my pleasure and the play,where I find myself again and again."

Debasish Mridha, American Author

Writing, Pleasure, Play, Self

"Writing is the most fun you can have by yourself."

Terry Pratchett, English Author

Writing, Fun

"There are days when writing is within my power and a story unfolds along a course I've already chosen. And then there are days when the words breathe on their own and take me by the hand, leading me along unfathomed paths. Either way, the end result is this author's fairytale."

Richelle E. Goodrich, American Poet

Writing, Truth, Inspirational, Power, Wisdom

"My writings are my letters to the universe, who loved me like a mother."

Debasish Mridha, American Author

Writing, Writings, Letters, Universe

"Love is easy, and I love writing. You can't resist love. You get an idea, someone says something, and you're in love."

Ray Bradbury, American Writer

Writing, Love, Idea

"Writing is a disease of the mind, which is expressed through a pen."

Debasish Mridha, American Author

Writing, Mind, Pen, Disease

"A writer's primary goal is to make sense. The bookstore's is to make cents."

Mokokoma Mokhonoana, South African Philosopher

Writing, Truth, Power, Wisdom, Life

"What makes a writer a prophet is his ability to speak truth..."

John Geddes, Canadian Author

Writing, Truth, Word, Expression

"The eloquence of the pen is just as sharp as the point of a sword."

Matshona Dhliwayo, Zimbabwean Philosopher

Writing, Expression, Power, Impact

Explore more quotes by Anne Lamott

"Laughter is carbonated holiness."

Humor

"The clipping said forgiveness meant that God is for giving, and that we are here for giving too, and that to withold love or blessings is to be completely delusional."

Forgiveness

"These two things are almost all I want, but unfortunately, neither one is my strong suit. I am very strong on blame, and wish this were one of God's values, but trust, surrender? Letting go, forgiveness? Maybe just after a period of prayer, but then when the mood passes and real life rears its ugly head again? Not so much. I hate this, the fact that life is usually Chutes and Ladders, with no guaranteed gains.I cannot will myself into having these qualities, so I have to pray for them more often, if I want to be happy. I have to create the habit, just as I had to do with daily writing, and flossing."

Faith

"We learn from pain that some of the things we thought were castles turn out to be prisons, and we desperately want out, but even though we built them, we can't find the door. Yet maybe if you ask God for help in knowing which direction to face, you'll have a moment of intuition. Maybe you'll see at least one next right step you can take."

Healing

"Seeing yourself in print is such an amazing concept: you can get so much attention without having to actually show up somewhere... You don't have to dress up, for instance, and you can't hear them boo you right away."

Attention

"Most humbling of all is to comprehend the lifesaving gift that your pit crew of people has been for you, and all the experiences you have shared, the journeys together, the collaborations, births and deaths, divorces, rehab, and vacations, the solidarity you have shown one another. Every so often you realize that without all of them, your life would be barren and pathetic. It would be Death of a Salesman, though with e-mail and texting."

Gratitude

"God can't clean the house of you when you're still in it."

Ego

"We stitch together quilts of meaning to keep us warm and safe, with whatever patches of beauty and utility we have on hand."

Meaning

"When hope is not pinned wriggling onto a shiny image or expectation, it sometimes floats forth and opens."

Hope

"I wish I had thrown out the bathroom scale at age 16. Weighing yourself every morning is like waking up and asking Dick Cheney to validate your sense of inner worth."

Self