20 Quotes That Will Make You a Better Writer
These will change the way you see writing
10X Writer #26
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20 Quotes That Will Make You a Better Write
A great quote doesn’t just inspire—it challenges the way you think.
Here are 20 powerful quotes that will reshape how you write, edit, and create.
Read them slowly. Let them sink in.
1. “The first draft of anything is shit.” — Ernest Hemingway
2. “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.” — Elmore Leonard
3. “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” — Anton Chekhov
4. “Easy reading is damn hard writing.” — Nathaniel Hawthorne
5. “A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences.” — William Strunk Jr.
6. “The more you say, the less people remember.” — François Fénelon
7. “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” — Mark Twain
8. “Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.” — Stephen King
9. “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.” — Robert Frost
10. “You can fix anything but a blank page.” — Nora Roberts
11. “Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very’; your editor will delete it, and the writing will be just as it should be.” — Mark Twain
12. “Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor.” — Anne Lamott
13. “If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.” — Martin Luther
14. “Most of the time, writing is rewriting.” — Calvin Trillin
15. “Writing well means never having to say, ‘I guess you had to be there.’” — Jef Mallett
16. “The only way to learn to write is to force yourself to produce a certain number of words on a regular basis.” — William Faulkner
17. “You don’t write because you want to say something, you write because you have something to say.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald
18. “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” — Stephen King
19. “What I like in a good author is not what he says, but what he whispers.” — Logan Pearsall Smith
20. “The more you leave out, the more you highlight what you leave in.” — Henry Green
Great writers don’t just write—they absorb, reflect, and refine.
Which quote resonated with you the most? Let me know—I’d love to hear your thoughts.