writing quotations about why you write

It's time to figure out why you want to write and why you're not writing. Then, you can clarify your writing dreams. Here's why the great writers Anne Tyler, Maurice Sendak and E.B. White write.
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Writing quotation: “For me, writing something down was the only road out…I hated childhood, and spent it sitting behind a book waiting for adulthood to arrive,” says Anne Tyler. “When I ran out of books I made up my own. At night, when I couldn’t sleep, I made up stories in the dark.”

Maurice Sendak said, “You write or paint because you have to. THERE IS NO CHOICE.”

“I haven’t told why I wrote the book [Charlotte’s Web], but I haven’t told why I sneeze either. A book is a sneeze,” says E.B. White.

Writing tip: Maybe you write to escape, or because you have no choice, or because it’s a natural part of who you are. But even a natural inclination to write can be smothered by the inanities of everyday life (chores, tv, self-grooming, paid employment). Read Annie Dillard’s writing quotation about not letting stuff distract you from your writing goals.

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Figuring out why you write will increase your writing motivation. Me, I write because I...now that I think about it, I don't really know why I write. It just feels right, and I can't stop. Why do you write? Even more important, why AREN'T you writing?
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These writing quotations came from Shoptalk: Learning to Write With Writers by Donald Murray.