by Beth K. Vogt, @bethvogt
“Most collectors collect tangibles. As a quotation collector, I collect wisdom, life, invisible beauty, souls alive in ink.”
– Terri Guillemets (1973-), quotation anthologist
I’m going to say this straight up: I’m a quote aficionado.
That’s just a fancy way of saying I’m crazy about quotes.
I spend quite a bit of time each week researching quotes to use for my various social media venues: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and yes, my once-a-week-on-Wednesday blog post.
Every writer can utilize quotes on social media, as well as in nonfiction or fiction books. Consider using a quote to grab your readers’ interest or to introduce a topic, or to sum up your chapter.
Recently another writer asked me how I find my quotes. The question surprised me because I do it all the time – on a daily basis – and I just figured everyone else does it, too. Just in case you’re wondering how to dive into the fun of quote collecting, here are some basic tips:
- Google the phrase “quotes about (subject)” to get started. This is the simplest way to discover more quotes then you could ever need. My One Word for 2021 is “listen.” Each Thursday I post a quote about listening on my Instagram account, so each month, I’m compiling an ongoing list of quotes. When I googled “quotes about listening” for this blog post, I pulled up 1,040,000,000 results in 0.55 seconds – both images and links.
- Check reliable quote sites. I’ve come to rely on certain quote sites as my go-to sources for quotes. Brainyquote.com and quotegarden.com are two of my favorite sites. Magazines like Forbes.com and RealSimple.com also have quotes, and WritersDigest.com has – you guessed it – quotes for writers.
- Develop both a traditional and a virtual quote library. My friends know that one of my favorite gifts is a book of quotes, so I have a diverse collection of books filled with quotes on my bookshelves. One friend even finds quote books for me at thrift stores. I also utilize the organizational app Evernote and have a virtual notebook titled “Quotes” filled with both quotes and links to specific quotes by subject matter.
- Double Check the source of your quotes. I’m very careful about verifying who said what. Sometimes a quote will be attributed to more than one person. If I can’t drill a quote down to one definitive source, I do one of two things: I don’t use the quote or I opt to say “Unknown.”
- Be thorough with your 3 Ws. Who, When, What = 3 Ws. If you’re going to quote someone, then you should, at the very least, tell people Who you are quoting. I also believe you should tell them When the person was born and if they have died, and What they do, i.e. their profession. Why are the 3 Ws important? They put your quote in context. Yes, this is a bit of a pet peeve for me because I get a bit irked when I read a wonderful quote with no attribution and am left wondering, “Who said this?”
There you have it – five easy steps to get you into the quote game. Now you tell me: Do you have a favorite quote?
The Thatcher Sisters Series, published by Tyndale House, is a three-book “Little Women gone wrong” women’s fiction collection. Examining the complicated relationships between sisters, the series includes Things I Never Told You, which won the AWSA 2019 Contemporary Novel of the Year, Moments We Forget, and The Best We’ve Been, a 2021 Selah finalist.
Beth K. Vogt is a non-fiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice) who said she’d never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of four who said she’d never have kids. Now Beth believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.”
Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, a 2016 ACFW Carol Award winner, and a 2015 RITA® finalist. Her 2014 novel, Somebody Like You, was one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Books of 2014. A November Bride was part of the Year of Wedding Series by Zondervan. Having authored 10 contemporary romance novels or novellas, Beth believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us.
An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people. Connect with Beth at bethvogt.com.