10 Procrastination-Killing Quotes by Writers, for Writers

Editor’s note; This post was written by Jennifer Parris, career writer at FlexJobs, the award-winning site for telecommuting and flexible job listings. FlexJobs lists thousands of pre-screened, legitimate, and professional-level work-from-home jobs and other types of flexibility like part-time positions, freelancing, and flexible schedules. Jennifer provides career and job search advice through the FlexJobs Blog and social media. Learn more at www.FlexJobs.com.

You promised your editor that you would have your article in by the end of the week. But despite having a looming deadline, you’ve kept yourself busy clicking and commenting on your Facebook friends’ photos, playing with your pug, and visiting the fridge every half hour on the hour. In short, you’ve done everything except write.

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Procrastination hits even the best of writers. If you find yourself in a writing funk, get some inspiration from these 10 prolific writers, all of whom have battled—and won—the war against procrastination!

Procrastination Quotes by Writers

1. “You can’t think yourself out of a writing block; you have to write yourself out of a thinking block.” –John Rogers
2. “I’ve often said that there’s no such thing as writer’s block; the problem is idea block. When I find myself frozen–whether I’m working on a brief passage in a novel or brainstorming about an entire book–it’s usually because I’m trying to shoehorn an idea into the passage or story where it has no place.” –Jeffery Deaver
3. “I think writer’s block is simply the dread that you are going to write something horrible. But as a writer, I believe that if you sit down at the keys long enough, sooner or later something will come out.” –Roy Blount, Jr.
4. “Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.” –Barbara Kingsolver
5. “It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does.” –William Faulkner
6. “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
7. “Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say ‘infinitely’ when you mean ‘very;’ otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.” –C.S. Lewis
8. “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere.” –Anne Lamott
9. “Don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.” –Pearl S. Buck
10. “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” –Ernest Hemingway

Sometimes it takes a little extra effort to put pen to paper. But as long as you try to minimize the distractions, the words will eventually flow, producing a great piece that you’ll be proud of.