Top 10 Quotes by Ralph Keyes

Fear is felt by writers at every level. Anxiety accompanies the first word they put on paper and the last.

Fear is felt by writers at every level. Anxiety accompanies the first word they put on paper and the last.

Fear, Anxiety, Paper

Ralph Keyes (2003). “The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear”, p.17, Macmillan

Anxiety is not only an inevitable part of the writing process but a necessary part. If you’re not scared, you’re not writing.

Ralph Keyes

Writing, Anxiety, Scared

Ralph Keyes (2003). “The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear”, p.22, Macmillan

One thing I like about writing is that it provides such a wonderful opportunity for confidential chats with readers. In the privacy of writing, and reading, we can discuss topics that are a little touchy, a bit embarrassing, and feel less alone in the process. Feeling consumed by memories from high school. Feeling wimpy. Feeling time-obsessed. Yearning for our fathers. Wishing we were taller, or shorter, or less average. To name just a few.

Ralph Keyes

Memories, Father, Reading

Source: writerunboxed.com

Be as creative in your tactics as you are in your writing. Find what gets your engine going, no matter how peculiar it may seem to others.

Ralph Keyes

Writing, Creative, Peculiar

Source: writerunboxed.com

Serious writers write, inspired or not. Over time they discover that routine is a better friend than inspiration.

Ralph Keyes

Inspiration, Writing, Serious

Ralph Keyes (2003). “The Writer's Book of Hope: Getting from Frustration to Publication”, p.49, Macmillan

...wrote Lawrence Block. "Someone once told me that fear and courage are like lightning and thunder; they both start out at the same time, but the fear travels faster and arrives sooner. If we just wait a moment, the requisite courage will be along shortly." (quoted from Write for Your Live by Lawrence Block)

Ralph Keyes

Block, Writing, Waiting

Writing can be wonderful therapy, and cheap at the price. At the very least, you eventually get bored by thinking about anxious topics and move on.

Ralph Keyes

Moving, Writing, Thinking

Ralph Keyes (2003). “The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear”, p.91, Macmillan

I think that simply nudging yourself into unfamiliar settings - physical or emotional - can produce surprising results on the writing front.

Ralph Keyes

Writing, Emotional, Thinking

Source: writerunboxed.com

I'm tempted to say that the top three reasons for hopelessness are rejection, rejection, rejection. But let's cast our net wider. 1) Not being able to write as well as we hoped we could. 2) Not being able to write at all. 3) Rejection.

Ralph Keyes

Writing, Rejection, Three

Source: writerunboxed.com