None of the authors and writers who are famous for their craft became so overnight. They worked diligently, obsessively, sometimes for years before anyone valued their words as much as they did.

Writing is a wonderful, painful and confusing passion to have; a roller coaster of emotions that comes with many ups, downs, and do-overs. Sometimes all we need is to be reminded that our work is bigger than we give it credit for, and it deserves our absolute undivided attention, commitment and nurturing.

Here are some of the best quotes I have found that keep me inspired and dedicated to my more lacking moments.

1. “Write hard and clear about what hurts." -Ernest Hemingway

2. “Sometimes you have to go on when you don't feel like it, and sometimes you're doing good work when it feels like all you're managing is to shovel shit from a sitting position.” - Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

3. “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” - Anton Chekhov

4. “You can edit a bad page but you can't edit a blank page.” – Jodi Picoult

5. “Be ruthless about protecting writing days, i.e., do not cave into endless requests to have "essential" and "long overdue" meetings on those days." – J.K Rowling

6. “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things about all others: read a lot and write a lot…reading is the creative center of a writer’s life…you cannot hope to sweep someone else away by the force of your writing until it has been done to you.” -Stephen King

7. “Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader—not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.” - E.L. Doctorow

8. “Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down. Rewrite in process is usually found to be an excuse for not going on. It also interferes with flow and rhythm which can only come from a kind of unconscious association with the material” -John Steinbeck