Octavia E. Butler Quotes

If you want to be a writer, just write. There's no magic to it.

But the ultimate lesson is just sit down and write. That's all.

I would say, number one, don't worry about getting published. Just write. Number two, just write. Three is make sure you read.

My priority is my books, at least at this point. What I have to do is write the narrative of this time.

If you wish to be a writer, write.

As a writer, you need a strong sense of self-belief. And when it comes to writing, I've always had that.

I was reading a lot of books I admired, and thought that I would like to write something like that someday.

A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.

Ever since I was twelve, I dreamed of being an author. I just never had the fortitude to see any of my stories through to completion. I would start a book, get a few chapters in, and grow bored or get distracted by something else.

The secret to being a writer is that you have to write. It's not enough to think about writing or to study literature or plan a future life as an author. You really have to lock yourself away, alone, and get to work.

I'm clearly not a writer, but I'm always a fan of them.

I wrote a novel, so now they can call me a novelist. I tell stories; that's it.

I have met so many people who say they've got a book in them, but they've never written a word. To be a writer - this may seem trite, I realize - you have to actually write.

The main thing about writing is... writing. Sitting your butt down in the chair and doing the work.

In my younger days, I was trying to write sophisticated prose and fantastic stories.

For any writers at all, read everything you can and then put your butt in the chair and write. That's all there is to it.

I started writing when I was about 20, 21 maybe.

I don't even know how to define myself. I'm a person who writes. It's something I enjoy, and hopefully people enjoy it as well.

I tell people you should write what you love to read because that's where your passion is.

I will try to write books until I drop dead.

I love writing. I've pursued it with a passion.

An author is somebody who writes a story. It doesn't matter if you're a kid or if you're a grown-up, it doesn't matter if the book gets published and lots of people get to read it, or if you make just one copy and you share that book with one friend.

Finding the discipline, the motivation, the focus, the passion to sit down in front of a blank piece of paper or a blank computer screen every day and then to make it come alive with characters and with plot is incredibly exciting and at the same time terrifying and frustrating, and sometimes it comes easy and sometimes it comes really hard.

Being a writer involves writing. You've got to commit to sitting down and writing instead of Xbox or Netflix.