Inspiring Quotes

I am kind of obsessed with minimalism blogs (which maybe contradicts the essence of minimalism, but oh well) and I recently saw a great list of inspiring quotes on Wake Up Cloud. Some of them were too wonderful to keep to myself, so I'm sharing my favorites that seem especially relevant as NaNoWriMo winds down.

A Cloud by ShutterSparks

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
– Jim Rohn

Let NaNo be your motivation, and afterward you'll be in the habit of writing daily. Or just in the habit of writing, period. Whether you write every day or cram it all in at the end (cough me cough) the more you practice the more natural the act of writing will feel.

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
 – Confucius

While we are all caught up in NaNo's 1667 words per day right now, that is not the only way to go. I have a writing friend who joined a 100 words a day group, where the only requirement was that she write at least 100 words each day. She almost always wrote more and ultimately finished her first book. If 1667 words sounds too intimidating, try 100 words.

“A jug fills drop by drop.”
– Buddha

Or, more appropriately, a novel fills word by word. This goes along with the previous quote. Writing a novel is simple the act of putting one word after another until you reach the end.

“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”
– Thomas A. Edison

As previously discussed, writing is hard work. Think of the idea, the initial spark of your soon-to-be story, as the one percent inspiration. Crafting that idea into a novel-length manuscript is the ninety-nine percent perspiration.

“If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.”
– Bruce Lee

This is the thing I love most about NaNo. When you have to write quickly, your brain stays out of the way. I'm a firm believer in letting the subconscious lead the way in figuring out plot and story, and the faster you have to write the more the subconscious takes over. Trust me, your subconscious knows a lot more about your book than you do.

Do you have any inspiring quotes that keep you going? Please share.

Hugs,
TLC