Quotes for writers
These quotes — and my responses to them — were originally published in my Write Directions newsletter “Write Quotes.” They are updated monthly.
Feel free to share or post them. Please include the following: Beth Mende Conny © 2000-2026
September 2026
When you accept imperfection, you create movement. Your writing moves beyond mere thoughts to actual words on a page. Is life not a hundred times too short for us to stifle ourselves? — Friedrich Nietzsche
Corollary: Let yourself, your words go, flow. Why write if you’re not going to share what’s truly on your mind or in your heart? — Beth Mende Conny
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Originality does not consist in saying what no one has ever said before, but in saying exactly what you think yourself. — James Fitz-James Stephen
Corollary: Why write if not to hear yourself think, to communicate what you know to be true and important? Any other kind of writing is merely transcribing. — Beth Mende Conny
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You must have long-range goals to keep you from being frustrated by short-range failures. — Charles C. Noble
Corollary: The writing road is full of twists and turns, detours and occasional dead ends. All the more reason to keep our eyes on the horizon and that distant point that draws our words and hearts forward. — Beth Mende Conny
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Don't be afraid of opposition. Remember, a kite rises against, not with, the wind. — Hamilton Mabie
Corollary: Let your purpose and joy in writing help you rise above negativity, be it real or imagined. — Beth Mende Conny
August 2026
Inspiration may be a form of superconsciousness, or perhaps of subconsciousness—I wouldn’t know. But I am sure it is the antithesis of self-consciousness. — Aaron Copland
Corollary: Let your self-consciousness go. How else can your creative spirit soar? — Beth Mende Conny
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Rest is not a matter of doing absolutely nothing. Rest is repair. — Daniel Josselyn
Corollary: Even writers need a day or week off to rest their fingers, their minds, their hearts. How else can they come to their work refreshed? — Beth Mende Conny
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Begin—to begin is half the work. Let half still remain; again begin this, and thou wilt have finished. — Ausonius
Corollary: In the beginning of a writing project, there is only the beginning. When you keep your thoughts and energy there, all else unfolds effortlessly. — Beth Mende Conny
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The road to someday leads through a town called nowhere. — Anonymous
Corollary: Why put off writing that book, short story, or poem? Why put so important a part of you on permanent hold? — Beth Mende Conny
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The quest for perfection is spelt paralysis. — Winston Churchill
Corollary: When you accept imperfection, you create movement. Your writing moves beyond mere thoughts to actual words on a page. — Beth Mende Conny
July 2026
Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today, because if you can enjoy it today, you can do it again tomorrow. — James Michener
Corollary: Why put off writing until another day when that day, and all the joy it brings, can just as easily be today. — Beth Mende Conny
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Nothing determines who we will become as much as those things we choose to ignore. — Sandor McNab
Corollary: Are the squeaky wheels that distract you from your writing moving you closer to who you want to become? If not, isn’t it time to turn a deaf ear? — Beth Mende Conny
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What we play is life. — Louis Armstrong
Corollary: What we write is life as well. So be lively, have fun; let your words bring out the child in you. — Beth Mende Conny
June 2026
There is a period of life when we go backwards as we advance. — Jean Jacques Rousseau
Corollary: And so it is with writing. Sometimes we have to step back, rest a spell, take a deep breath, think a bit. It's our way of gaining the strength and perspective we need to move our work forward. — Beth Mende Conny
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A problem well stated is a problem half solved. — Charles Kettering
Corollary: A writing block is a problem yet to be put into words. Form the words and you form the solution. — Beth Mende Conny
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The force is within you—force yourself. — Harrison Ford
Corollary: Sometimes you have to force yourself to write, but that doesn't mean the writing itself will be forced. On the contrary: Like a bird in a cage, your writing simply needs you to open the door. — Beth Mende Conny
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You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take. — Wayne Gretzky
Corollary: Don't let fear of rejection stop you from circulating your work. Sure you may fail — but you might just succeed. So give yourself and your work–a shot. — Beth Mende Conny
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Angels fly because they take themselves lightly. — G.K.Chesterton
Corollary: Words fly when writers take themselves lightly. — Beth Mende Conny
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