Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach

  • Home
  • About
  • Books
    • On Being a Writer
      • Media Kit
  • Speaking
    • Book Ann as a Guest on Your Show
  • Podcast
  • Everything
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Work With Me

August 19, 2021 Leave a Comment

Writing Quote: writers write…to relive life (Donald Murray)

Donald Murray assures us that writing is a tool for personal reflection and insight. "The material for writing is in your head," he says. "It will be recovered, relived, understood, and shared through writing."1 In his book Write to Learn, he continues: One of the principal reasons that writers write is to relive life. (Donald Murray)2 I've heard variations on … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quotes for Writers, writing Tagged With: Donald Murray

August 12, 2021 Leave a Comment

Writing Quote: Writing is one of the most forceful ways of learning, perceiving, maturing, expanding (Ruth Vaughn)

Writing gets our words into the world. Writing helps us impact readers. Writing conveys ideas. But there's something else about writing...Ruth Vaughn explains it well in her book Write to Discover Yourself: I am convinced that writing creatively is a beautiful and rewarding experience for discovering one's self. For writing is one of the most forceful ways of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quotes for Writers Tagged With: Ruth Vaughn

August 3, 2021 Leave a Comment

Writing Quotes: A writer is here to describe things… (James Baldwin)

It's tempting to comment on whatever is hot and trending—to hashtag our way to visibility. It's harder to spot what others miss...to care about it, to bear witness. It's important to pay attention to what others pass by...to see it, capture it, describe it. James Baldwin knew this, practiced this. He wrote: "The importance of a writer is continuous…His importance, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quotes for Writers, writing Tagged With: James Baldwin, James Baldwin quote, writing quote, writing quotes

December 27, 2017 Leave a Comment

Gordon Lish: The secret of good writing

The secret of good writing is telling the truth. - Gordon Lish

Tell the truth (even if you have to tell it slant). "The secret of good writing is telling the truth." — Gordon Lish Source: Project Gutenberg Self-Publishing Press, which cites the source as a Dick Cavett television interview, Aug. 25, 1991. Browse the growing collection of Writing Quotes ___________________________________ 52 Creative Writing Prompts: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quotes for Writers

February 17, 2017 Leave a Comment

Dare to Write

A sheltered life can be a daring life as well. For all serious daring starts from within. (Eudora Welty, One Writer's Beginnings - via annkroeker.com)

Eudora Welty, in her book One Writer's Beginnings, recalls the striking of clocks and a gyroscope her father "kept in a black buckram box, which he would set dancing for us on a string pulled tight" (Welty 3). She remembers a summer trip in her family's "five-passenger Oakland touring car," with her mother's hat riding over the children's heads in the back seat, suspended … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quotes for Writers, writing

January 20, 2017 Leave a Comment

It’s Not Talent That Gets Books Written

In working with writers, I've learned it's not talent that gets books written, it's hard, slow, steady work. (Louise DeSalvo, The Art of Slow Writing)

It's easy to feel you don't have enough talent to succeed as a writer. Words seem to flow effortlessly from that blogger you admire, while you stare at the screen for hours with only two sentences to show for it. You second-guess everything: your ideas, your drafts, yourself. On overcast days, when rain smacks the windows and the gloom settles in, you conclude you … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quotes for Writers, writing

January 13, 2017 Leave a Comment

Our Work Will Flourish When We Consistently Help Others

"I believe that our own work will flourish if we find the support we need, but also if we consistently help other writers throughout our writing lives." - Louise DeSalvo, The Art of Slow Writing (via Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach)

So much of my growth as a writer has happened in the context of community. For years I tried to figure things out on my own, attending writing conferences and reading books to learn about the publishing world. This was during the 1990s, in the earliest days of the Internet, when websites were static pages and "You've Got Mail" was music to our ears. After years of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quotes for Writers, writing Tagged With: Louise DeSalvo, The Art of Slow Writing

January 6, 2017 Leave a Comment

On the careful choice of adjectives and adverbs

I recommend to all storytellers a watchful attitude and a thoughtful, careful choice of adjectives and adverbs... (Ursula K. Le Guin, Steering the Craft)

In her book Steering the Craft, Ursula Le Guin advises: I recommend to all storytellers a watchful attitude and a thoughtful, careful choice of adjectives and adverbs, because the bakery shop of English is rich beyond belief, and narrative prose, particularly if it's going a long distance, needs more muscle than fat. (45) Write freely in draft mode. Get the story out … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quotes for Writers Tagged With: Ursula Le Guin, Ursula Le Guin quote

December 23, 2016 Leave a Comment

Longfellow: I heard the bells on Christmas Day

I heard the bells on Christmas Day (Longfellow)

  I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, And wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men! –Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Source: "Christmas Bells," Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Browse the growing collection of Writing Quotes … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quotes for Writers

December 16, 2016 2 Comments

Want to shine on paper? Write your clearest, truest words

the clearest, truest words you can find...

Few people will author a bestseller, speak at conferences, or accept a Pulitzer Prize. Most of us will work steadily over the years, faithfully putting down word after word as best we can. We'll try to stay focused and motivated. We'll chew our fingernails, suck down countless cups of coffee or tea, attend more conferences than we can afford, and check our inbox every … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quotes for Writers, writing

December 2, 2016

The Slow-Writing Advantage in a Fast-Paced World

[C]reating fine work can only be achieved by a slow, consistent dedication to our craft. (Louise DeSalvo, The Art of Slow Writing)

There's a time to write fast. Just ask any journalist, blogger, or college student. But to improve our skills—or any given manuscript—we may want to stop rushing. When we slow down, we give ourselves the advantage of producing our best possible work. In her book The Art of Slow Writing, Louise DeSalvo claims that by taking our time with writing, we can improve our … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quotes for Writers, writing Tagged With: Louise DeSalvo, The Art of Slow Writing

November 17, 2016 2 Comments

Eleanor Roosevelt: None of us can afford to stop learning

None of us can afford to stop learning or to check our curiosity about new things, or to lose our humility in the face of new situations. - Eleanor Roosevelt, You Learn by Living

Eleanor Roosevelt nurtured an active, curious mind. She believed that "living and learning must go hand in hand," and her philosophy played out in life and in print. She wrote about curiosity itself and about things that reflected her curiosity. "This part of learning—learning as you go—gives life its salt. And this, too, comes back primarily to interest. You must be … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quotes for Writers Tagged With: curiosity

November 9, 2016 3 Comments

Mary Pipher quote: Writers can unite people or divide them

"Language imparts identity, meaning, and perspective to our human community. Writers are either polluters or part of the clean-up team. Just as the language of power and greed has the potential to destroy us the language of reason and empathy has the power to save us. Writers can inspire a kinder, fairer, more beautiful world, or incite selfishness, stereotyping, and violence. Writers can unite people or divide them." -- Mary Pipher, Writing to Change the World

Writers can unite people or divide them. Let’s use our words well to inspire a kinder, fairer, more beautiful world. Let's be part of the clean-up team. "Language imparts identity, meaning, and perspective to our human community. Writers are either polluters or part of the clean-up team. Just as the language of power and greed has the potential to destroy us the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quotes for Writers Tagged With: Mary Pipher

November 4, 2016 Leave a Comment

Bradbury Quote: without gusto, without love, without fun, you are only half a writer

[I]f you are writing without zest, without gusto, without love, without fun, you are only half a writer. - Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing

In Zen in the Art of Writing, Ray Bradbury warns us not to get distracted by the commercial market or by experimental, avant-garde work, because most likely we are veering from our true self and the writing most suited to our passions and opinions. He says the writer must be excited. "He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quotes for Writers Tagged With: Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing

October 21, 2016 2 Comments

Writing Quote: Ray Bradbury on How Art Can Revitalize Us

So while our art cannot, as we wish it could, save us from wars, privation, envy, greed, old age, or death, it can revitalize us amidst it all. - Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing

In the preface to Zen in the Art of Writing, Ray Bradbury explores what writing teaches us. He says that more than anything, it "reminds us that we are alive." In the midst of draining, depressing, stressful days, writing—which Bradbury broadens to "our art"—helps restore life to us. It's a way to regain stability after getting knocked flat by the death of a loved … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Quotes for Writers Tagged With: Bradbury quote, Ray Bradbury, Ray Bradbury quote, writing quote, Zen in the Art of Writing

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • Next Page »

Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach

Providing you with resources and inspiration to be more curious, creative, and productive.

Ad - SiteGround Web Hosting - Crafted for easy site management. Amazing Speed; Powerful Tools; Top-rated support. Learn more.
Make Your Sentences Sing: 7 Sentence Openers to Add Music to Your Prose (Mini Course from Ann Kroeker.Teachable.com)
TWL-100-best-websites-2016-2-300x300

Archives

Categories

Ann Kroeker is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Not every link leads to compensation, but assume that each does.
© 2006-2022 Ann Kroeker All Rights Reserved

instagram twitter facebook pinterest

Landing page graphic and other design elements by Sophie Kroeker.

Privacy Policy · Copyright © 2023

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkNoRead more
Revoke Cookies