I'm so disturbed when my women students behave as though they can only read women, or black students behave as though they can only read blacks, or white students behave as though they can only identify with a white writer.
Bell Hooks

The responsibility of a writer is to excavate the experience of the people who produced him.
James Baldwin

Until the 20th century it was generally assumed that a writer had said what he had to say in his works.
John Updike

I tend to have an odd split in my mind: I tend to look at it as a writer and when the writing thing is OK and I'm happy with it, then I put on my actor's hat.
John Cleese

I never knew a writer yet who took the smallest pains with his style and was at the same time readable.
Samuel Butler

So I went out and bought myself a copy of the Writer and Artist Yearbook, bought lots of magazines and got on the phone and talked to editors about ideas for stories. Pretty soon I found myself hired to do interviews and articles and went off and did them.
Neil Gaiman

As far as I'm concerned, the entire reason for becoming a writer is not having to get up in the morning.
Neil Gaiman

I'm a fairly undisciplined writer.
Neil Gaiman

Above all, a query letter is a sales pitch and it is the single most important page an unpublished writer will ever write. It's the first impression and will either open the door or close it. It's that important, so don't mess it up. Mine took 17 drafts and two weeks to write.
Nicholas Sparks

I suppose I'm most influenced by any good, commercial writer. I learn from everyone.
Nicholas Sparks

Everything a writer learns about the art or craft of fiction takes just a little away from his need or desire to write at all. In the end he knows all the tricks and has nothing to say.
Raymond Chandler

It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer.
E. B. White

I can only assume that your editorial writer tripped over the First Amendment and thought it was the office cat.
E. B. White

A writer is like a bean plant - he has his little day, and then gets stringy.
E. B. White

I only sound intelligent when there's a good script writer around.
Christian Bale

I wrote the script of Patton. I had this very bizarre opening where he stands up in front of an American flag and gives this speech. Ultimately, I was fired. When the script was done, they hired another writer and that script was forgotten.
Francis Ford Coppola

I don't know much about creative writing programs. But they're not telling the truth if they don't teach, one, that writing is hard work, and, two, that you have to give up a great deal of life, your personal life, to be a writer.
Doris Lessing

In a mood of faith and hope my work goes on. A ream of fresh paper lies on my desk waiting for the next book. I am a writer and I take up my pen to write.
Pearl S. Buck

A writer is not a confectioner, a cosmetic dealer, or an entertainer.
Anton Chekhov

Action, reaction, motivation, emotion, all have to come from the characters. Writing a love scene requires the same elements from the writer as any other.
Nora Roberts