Writerly Wisdom

Friday, June 5, 2026, Orlando, Florida

“Repeat the mantra: Writing is when I make the words. Editing is when I make them not shitty.” ― Chuck Wendig, 500 Ways to Be a Better Writer

“Write without pay until somebody offers to pay.” ― Mark Twain

“My most important piece of advice to all you would-be writers: When you write, try to leave out all the parts readers skip.” ― Elmore Leonard, Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing

“You either have to write, or you shouldn’t be writing. That’s all.” ― Joss Whedon

“Becoming a writer is about becoming conscious. When you’re conscious and writing from a place of insight and simplicity and really caring about the truth, you have the ability to throw the lights on for your reader. He or she will recognize his or her life and truth in what you say, in the pictures you have painted, and this decreases the terrible sense of isolation that we have all had too much of.” ― Anne Lamott

“Prose is architecture, not interior decoration.” ― Ernest Hemingway

“Don’t ever write anything you don’t like yourself and if you do like it, don’t take anyone’s advice about changing it. They just don’t know.” ― Raymond Chandler

“Write. Start writing today. Start writing right now. Don’t write it right, just write it –and then make it right later. Give yourself the mental freedom to enjoy the process, because the process of writing is a long one. Be wary of ‘writing rules’ and advice. Do it your way.” ― Tara Moss

“Sometimes you have to go on when you don’t feel like it, and sometimes you’re doing good work when it feels like all you’re managing is to shovel shit from a sitting position.” ― Stephen King

“Imagination? It is the one thing beside honesty that a good writer must have. The more he learns from experience the more he can imagine.”― Ernest Hemingway