1.  The life of the professional writer – like that of any freelance, whether she be a plumber or a podiatrist – is predicated on willpower. Without it there simply wouldn’t be any remuneration, period.

-Will Self

2.  History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.

-B. C. Forbes

 
3.  We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.

—Ernest Hemingway

4.  Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely essential.

– Jessamyn West

5.  It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.

—Ernest Hemingway

6.  I think all writing is a disease. You can’t stop it.

—William Carlos Williams

7.  Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.

-Thomas A. Edison

8.  Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration. The rest of us get up and go to work.

-Stephen King

9. You do not need to wait for inspiration to write. It is easier to be inspired while writing than when not writing.

-Josip Novakovich

10. Exercise the writing muscle every day… Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.

-Jane Yolen