Writing isn't easy. I can vouch, as I just rewrote this first few sentences three or four times before deciding what was a good beginning. Even though it isn't easy, it's so rewarding when someone else reads your work -- even if you're terrified to show it off.

But, like I said, writing is definitely not an easy process. It can be difficult, confusing, and comprised of a lot of rewriting, editing, and revising again. It's hard when you scrap something you've been working on for years because it no longer fits in the story. For those of you who don't know where to start, are discouraged, or just want to see what other authors recommend -- this is for you. I went and found advice about writing from other authors, to encourage those of us who are still aspiring authors.

"I wrote my first novel because I wanted to read it." - Toni Morisson

"My inspiration tends to come from two words. The two most important words to a writer: 'What if?'" - Beth Revis

"Be courageous and try to write in a way that scares you a little" - Holley Gerth

"Abandon the idea that you are ever going to finish. Lose track of the 400 pages and write just one page for each day, it helps. Then when it gets finished, you are always surprised." - John Steinbeck

"A little talent is a good thing to have if you want to be a writer. But the only real requirement is the ability to remember every scar." - Stephen King

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

"Being a writer is a very peculiar sort of a job: It's always your versus a blank sheet of paper (or a blank screen) and quite often the blank piece of paper wins." - Neil Gaiman

"Be willing to write really badly. It won't hurt you to do that." - Jennifer Egan

"The worst enemy to creativity is self doubt." - Sylvia Plath

"Find your best time of day for writing and write. Don't let anything else interfere. Afterwards, it won't matter to you that the kitchen is a mess." - Esther Freud

"I believe myself that a good writer doesn't really need to be told anything except to keep at it." - Chinua Achebe

"So the writer who breeds more words than he needs is making a chore for the reader who reads." - Dr. Seuss

"If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word." - Margaret Atwood

"Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it's the only way you can do anything really good." - WIlliam Faulkner

"You can't blame a writer for what the characters say." - Truman Capote

"Write from the heart as well as the head. Write about what makes you angry, what moves you to tears, the things about which you feel passionately. If you feel it when you write, others will feel it when they read." - Malorie Blackman

"If you get stuck, get away from your desk. Take a walk, take a bath, go to sleep, make a pie, draw, listen to ­music, meditate, exercise; whatever you do, don’t just stick there scowling at the problem. But don’t make telephone calls or go to a party; if you do, other people’s words will pour in where your lost words should be. Open a gap for them, create a space. Be patient." - Hilary Mantel

"Do what I did: Pretend you want to do something else and write on the sly until you're free to do whatever you want!" - J.K. Rowling

"Finish your book. Whatever is your writing process, ensure that you have got to the very end of it and are satisfied before you begin to think about the whole other process of publication. Publication does not turn you, as if by magic, into a writer. You are already a writer. It’s important not to forget that." - Ross Raisin

"Remember you love writing. It wouldn’t be worth it if you didn’t. If the love fades, do what you need to and get it back. Remember writing doesn’t love you. It doesn’t care. Nevertheless, it can behave with remarkable generosity. Speak well of it, encourage others, pass it on." - A.L. Kennedy

"Don’t write for the market. Clue yourself up about what’s out there and what sells – and then forget it. The best novels are written with passion, not calculation. Your writing has to come from your heart, not from your desire to be the Next Big Thing." - Sarah Waters

"Be unkind to your characters when you are exploring who they are. Challenge them, put them in difficult situations and see how they respond, present them with strong choices and show us their development. Interrogate them. Do they have any transgressions? Once you see the world from your characters’ point of view, their emotional logic will be authentic." - Jenny Downham

"Finish everything you start." - Colm Toibin

"Drop the aspiring and just write. No one can tell you when you're ready to tell your story but you, and you'll never know what you can write until you get words on the page. Bottom line: writers write." - Jen McConnel

So remember: You can do this. Writing is a passion, so feed the fire. Read books to be inspired, write through the writers block, and just keep writing. Don't quit. From one writer to another, don't stop writing.