You’re procrastinating from writing, and that’s okay. We all need a bit of productive procrastination once in a while. So let’s direct you on the road to actually writing by checking out these ten quotes about writing to give you that necessary push in the right direction. Ten quotes by writers about passion, inspiration, dedication and sex.

1. “I only write when I’m inspired, so I see to it that I’m inspired every morning at nine o’clock.” - Peter De Vries

I think this is the biggest misconception about becoming and being a writer: that you write when you’re inspired. If you only write when inspired, you’ll write very little in your life. Being a writer is writing even when you don’t want to, that’s the only major difference. But with that comes another misconception: that inspiration is out of our control. Building a writing habit is building the ability to inspire yourself. With walks or shower musings, with a steaming mug of coffee or a window view. If you want to be a writer, you have to write, so choose a time and stick to it.

2. “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” - Stephen King

You build your writing habit and you stick to it. You write on days you feel like it, you write on days that you don’t feel like it. You write Medium articles, you write novels, you write ideas. Words need to flow. And where do these words come from? Partially from reading other words. I truly believe that good writers read outside of their genre and read whatever they can get their hands on. There are ways to read more, and all of them will lead to you becoming a better writer.

3. “And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” - Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath had a difficult life, to the extent of having the Sylvia Plath Effect named after her, which focuses on the high rates of poets with depression. But above everything, she was an incredible writer. She had the guts and imagination required to capture the hearts of thousands. There is no room for doubt in writing, only pushing forward. What scares you most? Now write about it.

4. "If you write one story, it may be bad; if you write a hundred, you have the odds in your favor." - Edgar Rice Burroughs

It’s simple maths if you keep writing, eventually one will have to be good enough. Not only because you’ll improve each time but that you simply must hit gold with a story! Keep writing. Even when you doubt yourself, even when you feel like it is pointless, just keep writing. May the odds be ever in your favour - bonus Hunger Games reference thrown in!

5. "If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." -Toni Morrison

Stop writing what you think people want to read, firstly because you may be wrong and secondly because you won’t enjoy a minute of it. Write about what you want to read. I think of topics that I wish there was a book about, and then I make it my goal to write that story. I write to discover the ending. The day you write only for others is when you stop becoming a writer and become a typer.

6. "We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect." - Anaïs Nin

The best writing isn’t the fanciest terminology or craziest concept, it is the ability to capture the mundane in a beautiful way. It is the ability to make the reader feel like you’re inside their mind or writing only for them. That requires you to use real sensations and experiences, to truly taste life and describe that taste for your readers.

7. “I try to write a certain amount each day, five days a week. A rule sometimes broken is better than no rule.” - Herman Wouk

It’s been shown that you’re 42% more likely to do something if you write it down. So write down your writing goals, make a plan. When do you have time to write, or rather when will you make time? It’s okay to miss a day, but it isn’t okay to not have set times to even be missed. Make time for your writing, it deserves a firm slot in your schedule and not to be rendered an additional treat when time permits.

8. "Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." - Benjamin Franklin

You can write about places or things you haven’t experienced, every writer is permitted to some embellishment. But we both know that real experiences will always translate into better writing. Even the most mundane experiences can become exceptional through the written word. Become a consistent writer but never forget to keep living so that you have something to write about!

9. “Good writing is remembering detail. Most people want to forget. Don’t forget things that were painful or embarrassing or silly. Turn them into a story that tells the truth.” - Paula Danziger

The best stories make us feel something. Laughter, fear, sadness, regret, melancholy… the list goes on. Those feelings have to come from something real within the writer, they have to draw from their own pool of emotions. My most popular article is about my high-functioning depression and how it has affected my life. People related to that pain and struggle, the ache of hiding your unhappiness with a smile. Your honesty allows you to connect to your readers.

10. "Writing is like sex. First you do it for love, then you do it for your friends, and then you do it for money." - Virginia Woolf

A slightly more humorous quote to finish us off - no pun intended, I swear! For me, this quote is a reminder that writing is meant to be fun, it is supposed to be something that you enjoy. You liked writing for a reason and never forget what that reason is. You can live off of your passion, but you can’t live off of a hobby you sort of like. Try to find the joy in your writing again and again, whether you do it for friends or money.

Now stop procrastinating, open a new tab and start writing. You have everything you need to one day be an esteemed enough writer to have your quote join the ranks of the above. You have a story to share, so start putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and get it out. You are a writer, and so you write.

What would your writing quote be? Share it in the comments!

Want to read more quotes before you go? Check out 10 Quotes About Mental Health For World Mental Health Day.