Gertrude Stein’s Quotes about Writing

I think that Mrs. Stein’s style was overly repetitive and that her disregard for punctuation can be confusing, but that doesn’t mean that her insights aren’t useful to authors. What do you think? Can you make good use of them? “You will write if you will write without thinking of the result in terms of

Get inspired by Jack London

The Call of the Wild made London the highest-paid writer of his time. However, he is also the writer with probably the most rejections in history: as much as 664 in the first five years of writing. Jack impaled every rejection letter on a spindle in his room. The column of paper soon rose to a

Writing prompts: Movies and trailers

Ever feel stuck when writing? Or, even worse, during editing? Sure you do. That particular spirit haunts us all. My favorite remedy is to write something unrelated to my work to get the three F-s ‒ fog, foolishness, and frustration ‒ out of my system. Since I write stories, at times like these, I try

Stephanie Garber on writing

Everyone who has read the Caraval series knows that Stephanie Garber is a master for creating fantasy worlds, from the colors and smells of emotions, plot, and narrative. Even the names of her characters and places are perfect. The descriptions are just right to pull the reader into her carefully devised world, but not too

Christopher Moore’s writing tips

A modern muse of comedy decided to please picky readers on January 1st, 1957, in Toledo, Ohio. When I think of Christopher Moore, the first thing that comes to mind is funny. However, unlike many writers who believe that jokes are enough to compensate for a ghost of a story, mister Moore knows how to

Start writing

Want to be a writer? Well, that’s cool. But you have to start writing, you know? I have met so many people who told me they want to be writers and that they are writing a book ‒ in their heads. Sorry, but that doesn’t count. Unless it’s on paper ‒ or a screen ‒

Edna O’Brien on writing

A woman who is a literary titan and a magician with words was born on December 15th, 1930. Edna O’Brien. A woman who writes about female inner worlds and hidden desires. An author who writes about victims so vividly that you feel their pain. But Edna’s victims become victorious in the end, even though her

Gustave Flaubert on writing

“The one way of tolerating existence is to lose oneself in literature as in a perpetual orgy.” Gustave Flaubert, born 12.12.1821, was the leading French exponent of literary realism. He started writing at an early age, as an eight-year-old. Young Flaubert won a prize for his essay about mushrooms when he was only fifteen. However,

Bill Bryson’s writing advice

Happy Birthday, Mr. Bryson! Bill Bryson is most famous for his books on travel, although he also wrote about science, the English language, and other non-fiction topics. He gained widespread recognition after publishing his exploration of Great Britain: Notes from a Small Island. On World Book Day in 2003, British voters chose Notes from the Small Island as the