Writing Through Roadblocks

Ernest Hemingway once said the scariest thing he ever encountered was a blank page.

Strong words from a guy who ran with the bulls, hunted big cats, and survived more than one place crash.

Writing is nerve-wracking, frustrating, and heart-breaking work. That's what makes it great. And whoever said it would be easy?

If you want to be a writer you have to apply butt to chair, because the only difference between a published writer and an unpublished one is perseverance. That means let the laundry pile up, the dishes sit, and feed the kids PBJs. They’ll all still be there in an hour.

I don’t write every day, I admit. But I do work on something writing-related daily. My website, my blog, research. Even when I'm in a restaurant, a coffee shop, the grocery store, my writing hat is on, because you never know when something will spark an idea.

But I also don't let the written work sit too long. If it sits too long, it gets cold and stale and like a moldy loaf of bread, you just won’t want to touch it.

But if you are at that stage, here’s a few quotes to inspire you to get cracking:


The way you define yourself as a writer is that you write every time you have a free minute. If you didn't behave that way you would never do anything.
John Irving

Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time... The wait is simply too long.
Leonard Bernstein

In twenty years I've never had a day when I didn't have to think about someone else's needs. And this means the writing has to be fitted around it.
Alice Munro

Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else.
Gloria Steinem

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

If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster.
Isaac Asimov

I'm much faster now. When you only have a certain amount of time to write, after a while you learn to use your time well or you stop writing.
Alice Hoffman

If I waited till I felt like writing, I'd never write at all.
Anne Tyler

Scott took LITERATURE so solemnly. He never understood that it was just writing as well as you can and finishing what you start.
Ernest Hemingway