If you love to write, you probably also love to read. Why not combine the two? These quotes about writing and books give you the best of both worlds!

1. “Don’t classify me, read me. I’m a writer, not a genre.”--Carlos Fuentes

Writers are often locked into boxes based on their "specialization"-- if someone writes poems, it is assumed that he/she is a poet, but not necessarily a novelist. However, this can be limiting and is a stereotype that can get pretty annoying. This quote nails it.

2. “Writing is like tearing out your own heart and placing it in the hands of a stranger.”-- Ramn Grewal

When I write, I write uninhibited, and most writers tend to do the same. Allowing people to see this raw piece of ourselves can be a very vulnerable and scary experience; this quote speaks to that.

3. “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”
-- W. Somerset Maugham

Sitting down to write can be the hardest thing sometimes. It isn't as simple as people assume. This quote reminds us of that.

4. “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”
-- Albert Einstein

Reading fairy tales can spark critical and creative thinking-- a necessary life skill. The more fairy tales you read, the better off you are, trust me.

5. “I can’t imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once.”
-- C.S. Lewis

If you truly love a book, you'll probably come back to it. The great thing about re-reading is you can see things in a different light, focus on details that you may not have picked up on before. Some books are so good that they become a staple of your personal library.

6. “And by the way, everything in life is writeable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”
-- Sylvia Plath

This quote is a good one to think about when facing writer's block. I don't know a single writer who hasn't been tormented by a creative block; in many cases it leads to projects being abandoned. It's good to come back and realize that one of the main aspects of writer's block is self-doubt; have faith in yourself, and the words will start flowing again.

7. “The thing about writing is I can’t tell if it’s healing or destroying me.”
-- Rupi Kaur

Writing can be a very cathartic process, but it can also open old wounds. The stereotype that writers tend to drink a lot is not objectively correct, but it does have some grounds in reality for a reason. Sometimes the writing process gets a little too real.

8. “It is a most wonderful comfort to sit alone beneath a lamp, book spread before you, and commune with someone from the past whom you have never met.”
-- Kenko

Reading connects you to every time, place, and person imaginable, depending on the particular story. Reading also connects you to the author who wrote the story. These connections can spark creativity and introspection in the reader.

9. “It’s the best way to write poetry, letting things come.”
- A.A. Milne

Writing poetry is sometimes done best when you just let the words come out as you think them, even if it doesn't seem to make any sense at the time. That's what the editing process is for. Thinking too hard about it can constrict the creative process.

10. “I want someone to read these words and understand me for just one second so I’m not alone with my thoughts.”
-- Christy Ann Martine

Writing can be a good way to express your harder feelings. It is easy to feel misunderstood-- particularly through the spoken word-- so writing can make thoughts easier to understand and alleviate the burden of the difficult thoughts from the writer.

11. “Write what should not be forgotten.”
-- Isabel Allende

As humans, we all tend to want to leave our mark on the world, to secure our place in human history. What better way to do that than in writing? If something is particularly important to a writer, it will probably show up in his/her writing.

12. “Artists are people driven by the tension between the desire to communicate and the desire to hide.”
-- Donald Winnicott

Writers are artists. Writers have some sort of story that we want to share with the world; yet, so often, writers are introverted (though it's not the case for everyone).

13. “How odd I can have all this inside me and to you it’s just words.”
-- David Foster Wallace

Depending on the subject, writers often get pretty personal with their work. What we write is often more than just words, but to others, that is all that it is.

14. “It’s funny how artistic we become when our hearts are broken.”
-- Hotel Books

Everyone knows heartbreak is one of the best catalysts for creativity. Enough said.

15. “Writing is safer, somehow, because my pen cannot stutter like my lips do, and words get stuck in throats, not fingertips, can’t stumble on paper trails of blue lines, because writing is definite and clear and no one can tell If I am crying or laughing through written words alone.”
-- Unknown

It may not be the case for every writer, but I am certain that it is true for me: writing is the medium of communication with which I am the most comfortable. I find it so much easier to express myself through written word than through spoken word. This quote is perfect.

16. “Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.”
-- J.K. Rowling

True for reading and writing, this Rowling quote is right on the money. Words can hurt, but they also have the ability to heal. As they say, the pen is mightier than the sword.