Today's quote is by Vladimir Nabakov.

The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.

One of my favorite feelings in the world is when I feel inspired to write a poem.  With fiction, although I will have moments of inspiration, I will also have times of writer's block and lapses in concentration.  With poetry, it's like the words form in my head.  The poem already exists.  I just need to write it down. 

On average, it takes me less than five minutes to write a poem. 

What inspires you?

Today's quote is by William Wordsworth.

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.

Do you keep a journal or a diary?  How often do you write in it?

Today's quote is by Anton Chekhov.

Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.

I don't think I've ever read a better metaphor for how to describe "showing" versus "telling."  As a  fiction writer, this can be one of the easiest mistakes to make.  I constantly have to remind myself to show, not tell.

Do you have any bad writing habits?

Today's quote is by Sylvia Plath.

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.

As a writer, it's so easy to doubt ourselves.  For the longest time, I would show NO ONE what I wrote out of fear of rejection.  I would have never kept a blog like this.  The mere idea would be too terrifying. 

I am still young and inexperienced.  Not everything I write is beautiful.  However, I must continue to remind myself that my writing doesn't have to be excellent to touch someone's heart.

Are you confident or shy about the things you write?

Today's quote is by Charles Peguy.

A word is not the same with one writer as with another.  One tears it from his guts.  The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket.

And you know, I don't think either is wrong.  With some things I write, they seem to come out of nowhere.  It's like they were already in my head and all I had to do was write them out.  And then other times, when I write, it's like my heart is being ripped to shreds.  It's difficult and emotionally exhausting, but I learn a lot from the experience.  Both ways can produce fantastic writing, I believe.

Does writing tend to tear you apart or does it come to you without much effort? 

Today's quote is by E.L. Doctorow.

Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.

This made me laugh so much that I couldn't help but share it today.  It's so true.  Half the time, I walk around with characters speaking inside my head.  They're made up, sure, but they have voices and personalities of their own.  I walk around and see a world other than the one before my eyes.  I experience the emotions of people who don't exist.

Perhaps writing is a socially acceptable form of multiple personality disorder as well.

Have you ever gone through a day while subconsciously narrating your life?

As she wakes up, she stretches.  She gazes out the window, breathing in a sigh of relief at the sight of the gently rising sun...

Today's quote is by Anais Nin.

The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.

No matter what kind of fiction you're writing, you should be able to express something that makes your reader say, "Wow.  I never thought of it that way before."

What have you been writing lately?

Today's quote is by Walter Wellesley Smith.

There's nothing to writing.  All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.

This is a pretty popular quote, so you may have heard of it before.  It's a bit graphic in nature, but in a way, it's very true.  In order to write something beautiful, you must give a piece of yourself. 

What's been the most difficult thing for you to write?

Today's quote is by E.L. Doctorow.

Writers are not just people who sit down and write.  They hazard themselves.  Every time you compose a book your composition of yourself is at stake.

This is true in my case.  When I'm working on a novel, my insomnia intensifies.  I stop sleeping, I become immersed in the lives and emotions of my characters, and I lose focus on other things.  At times, I accidentally call the people around me by the names of my characters.  In a few instances, I've gone downstairs while trembling, only to frighten my mother or Ali... but no, nothing bad happened to me.  I just finished writing an especially emotional scene.

Writing fiction is hard on me emotionally.  However, it's a beautiful experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

What's the most emotionally distraught you've become over a character?

Today's quote is by Arthur Polotnik.

You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what's burning inside you.  And we edit to let the fire show through the smoke.

I don't even need a blog post to express my feelings for this quote.  It's just beautiful.  I'm officially inspired for the day.

What is your passion you hope to show through your writing?

Today's quote is from a movie called Finding Forrester.

Write your first draft with your heart.  Re-write with your head.

When you first begin a story, don't focus on spelling and grammar and plot holes and outlines... write what is beautiful to you.  Write because you love to write.  When you are ready to share your story with the world, then it's time to focus on the technicalities.  (And that's when writing can get not-so-fun).

You know, I say these things, but as I write, I am constantly correcting my little grammar mistakes.  I cannot stand to leave a chapter unedited.  But even as I fix these small things, I still know I will have many things to correct in the future.

Have you ever finished a novel?

Today's quote is by Saul Bellow.

You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.

Have you ever done that?  I can't count the number of time I've been in bed, trying uselessly to sleep, until I finally gave in, turned on the light, and started pounding away at my computer until the words empty out of my head and I can finally stop thinking enough to sleep.

And you know, it's true... the things I write late at night seem much more inspired than what I write during the day.

Once I was talking about how I'd stayed up until 4:30 writing the night before and my friend Stephanie said, "Wow, when I talk to you, I feel like I'm talking to a writer.  You stay up all night writing, your poetry 'writes itself'..." 

Are you a night owl or a morning person?  When do you write your best?

Today's quote is by Mignon McLaughlin.

There's only one person who needs a glass of water oftener than a small child tucked in for the night, and that's a writer sitting down to write.

This made me laugh.  At times when you know you must write but you aren't filled with inspiration (especially if you have a deadline of any sort), procrastination becomes a huge part of your day.

Sit down to write...

Hang on.  I might have an important email.

Okay, back to writing.

Is that the ice cream truck I hear outside?

About to begin...

I'm cold.  I'd better go find a blanket.

Writing again...

I think I need some music.  Let me browse through my list of songs.

And by this time, only five minutes have passed.

Are you a procrastinator when it comes to writing?

Today's quote comes from Jean Luc Godard.

A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end... but not necessarily in that order.

Okay, first of all... I do realize that the meaning of this quote isn't exactly what I'm about to say, but it reminded me of this:

When I write fiction, I tend to start from the beginning and then skip around from there.  I wait until the last five chapters before I allow myself the excitement of writing the last scene.  (I don't have the will power to wait until I've actually reached the end.)

Do you write in order or do you skip around like me?

Today's quote is by Alfred Kazin.

The writer writes in order to teach himself, to understand himself, to satisfy himself; the publishing of his ideas, though it brings gratification, is a curious anticlimax.

This quote reminds me why writing is so beautiful.

Do you write for yourself or do you write in hopes to publish one day?

First of all, I'd like to say that this will be my only post today.  I'm currently spending the weekend with my parents and don't have time to write anything else.  I'm so happy to have this weekend to spend with family.  I'll be back again tomorrow.

---------------------------------

Today's quote is by Rainer Maria Rilke.

Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depth of your heart; confess to yourself you would have to die if you were forbidden to write.

I find this quote to be absolutely beautiful.

I have had a passion and a longing for writing for as long as I can remember.  My writing doesn't have to be high-quality or in-depth.  Sometimes all I need to feel relief is just to sit down and write for hours and hours at a time.  It is beautiful to see that someone else feels the same way.

I cannot imagine life without writing.

What was the longest period of time you ever experienced writer's block?

Today's quote is by George Orwell.

Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness.  One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.

I think all writers have been plagued by this now and again.

When I write fiction, I often sleep for less than five hours a night for weeks at a time.  I become immersed in the emotions and struggles of my characters.  I cry when they cry and I grieve when they grieve.  When I'm writing fiction, my heart is often torn in two by the effort of writing... but when I'm finished, I feel sad that I can no longer write about my characters.

And don't get me started on editing.

And writer's block.

Do you have the "writing demon"?  What is the most difficult part of writing for you?

Today's quote is by John Updike.

I want to write books that unlock the traffic jam in everybody's head.

Let this be your inspiration today as you write.

What is the most inspiring book you've ever read?

Today's quote is by William Makepeace Thackeray. 

There are thousands of thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up the pen and writes.

This is very true.  Have you ever attempted the writing exercise where you write nonstop without thinking of any particular topic for thirty minutes (or even an hour)?  After you finish and read over what you wrote, you will often discover feelings and thoughts you didn't even know you had until you started writing. 

At times when I'm feeling particularly confused or upset about something and I'm not sure how to express what I feel, all I need to is sit down and write.  Eventually, I write out all of my heartache and I feel much better in the end.

How do you vent: with writing or another way?

In honor of those doing NaNoWriMo this month, I'll be sharing a quote about writing every day through the month of November, so enjoy.

"Books want to be born: I never make them. They come to me and insist on being written, and on being such and such." -Samuel Butler

I can identify with this quote.  When people ask me, "How do you come up with your stories and poetry?", I honestly don't know how to explain it.  The words are already there, written out in my head.  All I do is put them onto paper.

Sometimes when I'm lying awake late at night, I can't shut off the words dancing around in my head.  Sometimes all it takes for me to be able to go back to sleep is to sit down and write for an hour until everything that was tangled in my head is now untangled in front of me on a sheet of paper.

And when I'm writing fiction, it's like the characters write themselves.  Once I was mourning bitterly over the death of one of my beloved characters.  A friend came to me and said, "Can't you just write him back?  After all, he's your character." 

"I'm afraid I can't," I said sadly.  "I may be the author, but my character has a mind of his own."

Do your characters write themselves or have you mastered them?