by Beth K. Vogt, @bethvogt
Writers love words … and I’m a writer who also loves quotes. All kinds of quotes. Today, I’ve rounded up some favorite quotes about writing for you. Read ’em, write ’em down, pick a favorite. But most of all, learn from them.
- “I would never write about someone who is not at the end of his rope.” Stanley Elkin (1930-1995), American novelist
- “If you want to know your characters better, ask yourself ‘How would they behave in a quarrel?'” Barnaby Conrad (1922-2013), American author
- “The artists who want to be writers, read reviews; the artists who want to write, don’t.” William Faulkner (1897-1962) American writer & a Nobel Prize laureate
- “Fiction has a unique role in conveying Truth. In fact, only fiction that is Truth with a capital T is worthwhile.” Jerry B. Jenkins (1949- ), bestselling novelist
- “Advice to aspiring writers: Fasten your seat belts – it’s going to be a bumpy ride.” Christopher Buckley (1952-), American novelist & political satirist
- “Believe in your own identity and your own opinions. Proceed with confidence, generating it, if necessary, by pure willpower. Writing is an act of ego and you might as well admit it. Use its energy to keep yourself going.” William Zinsser (1922-2015), American writer & editor
- “Always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. Don’t bother to just be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.” William Faulkner (1897-1962) American writer & a Nobel Prize laureate
- “Remember that you should be able to identify each character by what he or she says. Each one must sound different from the others. And they should not all sound like you.” Anne Lamott (1954-), American novelist & nonfiction writer
- “The secret of good writing is telling the truth.” Gordon Lish (1934- ), American writer
- “Write even when you don’t want to, don’t much like what you are writing, and aren’t particularly writing well.” Agatha Christie (1890-1976), English crime novelist
- “Find out what your hero or heroine wants, and when he or she wakes up in the morning, just follow him or her all day.” Ray Bradbury (1920-2012), American science fiction and fantasy author
- “My job is to allow the character to live and breathe – and to become as real to the reader as he or she is to me.” Francine Rivers (1947- ), bestselling novelist
- “Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now.” Annie Dillard (1945- ), Pulitzer-Prize winning author
- “The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart.” Maya Angelou (1928-2014), American poet & civil rights activist
- “A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” Thomas Mann (1875-1955), German novelist & a Nobel Prize laureate
Things I Never Told You by Beth K. Vogt
It’s been ten years since Payton Thatcher’s twin sister died in an accident, leaving the entire family to cope in whatever ways they could. No longer half of a pair, Payton reinvents herself as a partner in a successful party-planning business and is doing just fine—as long as she manages to hold her memories and her family at arm’s length.
But with her middle sister Jillian’s engagement, Payton’s party-planning skills are called into action. Which means working alongside her opinionated oldest sister, Johanna, who always seems ready for a fight. They can only hope that a wedding might be just the occasion to heal the resentment and jealousy that divides them . . . until a frightening diagnosis threatens Jillian’s plans and her future. As old wounds are reopened and the family faces the possibility of another tragedy, the Thatchers must decide if they will pull together or be driven further apart.
Includes discussion questions.
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’s first women’s fiction novel for Tyndale House Publishers, Things I Never Told You, releases May 2018. 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 nine 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 Novel Rocket 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, and their youngest daughter, Christa, who loves to play volleyball and enjoys writing her own stories. Connect with Beth at bethvogt.com.