Robert Cormier Quotes

I learned by reading an awful lot and by writing a half a million words of stuff nobody would do anything with except wrap old fish.

The fools who write articles about me think that one morning I suddenly decided to write and began to produce masterpieces. There is no special trick about writing, or painting either. I wrote constantly for 15 years before I produced anything with any solidity to it.

I would give them (aspiring writers) the oldest advice in the craft: Read and write. Read a lot. Read new authors and established ones, read people whose work is in the same vein as yours and those whose genre is totally different. You've heard of chain-smokers. Writers, especially beginners, need to be chain-readers. And lastly, write every day. Write about things that get under your skin and keep you up at night.

What I try to do is write. I may write for two weeks ‘the cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat,’.... And it might be just the most boring and awful stuff. But I try. When I’m writing, I write. And then it’s as if the muse is convinced that I’m serious and says, ‘Okay. Okay. I’ll come.

The best training is to read and write, no matter what. Don't live with a lover or roommate who doesn't respect your work. Don't lie, buy time, borrow to buy time. Write what will stop your breath if you don't write.

Write even when the world is chaotic. You don’t need a cigarette, silence, music, a comfortable chair, or inner peace to write. You just need ten minutes and a writing implement.

Trust your imagination. Don't be afraid to fail. Write. Revise. Revise. Revise.

I think writing well takes a little bit of talent and an awful lot of work.

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

You become a great writer by writing.

When you're writing fiction or poetry... it really comes down to this: indifference to everything except what you're doing... A young writer could do worse than follow the advice given in those lines.

I learned how to draw from being bored in school. I would doodle on the margins of my paper.

Writing is my love. If you love something, you find a lot of time. I write for two hours a day, usually starting at midnight; at times, I start at 11.

The only advice I can give to aspiring writers is don't do it unless you're willing to give your whole life to it. Red wine and garlic also helps.

Every single day, I write something new and record it.

The writing part of my life never changes, because that's just when the inspiration comes.

Writing is total grunt work. A lot of people think it's all about sitting and waiting for the muse. I don't buy that. It's a job. There are days when I really want to write, days when I don't. Every day I sit down and write.

I kept on writing and illustrating, for this is what I did well because I loved it.

The way you get better is putting words on the page and getting them behind you.

On a good day I write, all day.

I know that to write you have to have stories you want to tell. You have to keep your mind alive, and you have to work hard.

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

Better that you should take the chance of trying something that is close to your heart, you think is what you want to write, and if they do not publish it, put it in your drawer. But maybe another day will come and you will find a place to put that.

Creating fantasy is a very personal thing, but you can't take the process too personally.

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