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The Write Advice

Inspirations, Observations and Affirmations

from Classic & Contemporary Writers




Learn from the Masters of Writing


The act of writing ... the art of rewriting ... what to do when the flow stops ... how to re-ignite the creativity ... how to develop technique ... how to ensure discipline ... the joy of accomplishment.

This is the stuff of writing.

This is the stuff that concerns all writers at some point in their career. And The Write Advice covers these and other important issues affecting today's wordsmith.

One of the most important things about literary quotes is not just the insight they give us into famous and favorite authors. The real value is the insight they give us into the challenges, the triumphs and the trials that face each and every writer.

This book of writers' quotations is different from any other.

In addition to more than 520 poignant observations from classic and contemporary wordsmiths, it features over 210 positive affirmations designed to inspire and motivate you in your own literary journey. Also, there are brief biographies on each of the writers quoted. Plus in-depth profiles and rare photos of many well-known scribes, detailing their early inspirations, successes and failures as well as their body of work. You'll read about the lives of:
    • Isaac Asimov
    • James Baldwin
    • Henry Ward Beecher
    • Ray Bradbury
    • Raymond Chandler
    • Anton Chekov
    • Arthur C Clarke
    • Emily Dickinson
    • William Faulkner
    • Henrik Ibsen
    • Stephen King
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    • Norman Mailer
    • Somerset Maugham
    • John Steinbeck
    • James Thurber
    • Gore Vidal
    • P G Wodehouse


    Every Writing Subject is Covered


    The Write Advice contains hundreds of inspirations, observations and affirmations which have been categorized under the following chapters:

    1. Why We Write
    2. The Value of Literature
    3. The Joy of Writing
    4. Sparking Creativity
    5. Developing Discipline
    6. Managing Deadlines
    7. Dealing with Critics and Criticism
    8. Handling Rejection
    9. Finding Inspiration
    10. The Need for Readers
    11. The First Line
    12. The Process
    13. The Role of Editing
    14. Writer's Block
    15. Writer by Profession
    16. Publishers and Publishing
    17. The Art of Writing
    18. Technique
    19. What makes Great Writing
    20. The Life of a Wordsmith
    21. The Write Approach
    22. Habits and Rituals
    23. Writers on Writers
    24. Last Words




    Read Poignant Quotations from 300 Authors including ...


    Douglas Adams (1952-2001)
    Scott Adams (1957-)
    Isabel Allende (1942-)
    Mark Alvarez
    Judith Appelbaum (1939-)
    Aharon Appelfeld (1932-)
    Matthew Arnold (1822-88)
    Isaac Asimov (1920-92)
    Margaret Atwood (1939-)
    Elizabeth Ayres
    Richard Bach (1936-)
    James Baldwin (1924-87)
    Richard Balkin
    Bill Barich (1943-)
    Donald Barthelme (1949-89)
    Samuel Beckett (1906-89)
    Henry Ward Beecher (1813-87)
    Brendan Behan (1923-64)
    Saul Bellow (1915-2005)
    Ludwig Bemelmans (1898-1962)
    Robert Benchley (1889-1945)
    Alan Bennett (1934-)
    Thomas Berger (1924-)
    Leonard S Bernstein
    Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914)
    Jim Bishop (1907-87)
    Edward Blishen (1920-96)
    Lawrence Block (1938-)
    Christopher A Bohjalian (1960-)
    F F Bosworth (1877-1958)
    Catherine Drinker Bowen (1897-1973)
    Gerald Warner Brace (1901-78)
    Ray Bradbury (1920-)
    Gyles Brandreth (1948-)
    Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956)
    Maeve Brennan (1917-93)
    Jimmy Breslin (1930-)
    Charlotte Brontë (1816-55)
    Rita Mae Brown (1944-)
    Rosellen Brown (1939-)
    Jimmy Buffett (1946-)
    William Burroughs (1914-97)
    Frederick Busch (1941-2006)
    Samuel Butler (1612–80)
    Charles Buxton (1823-71)
    Lord Byron (1788-1824)
    Richard Bye
    Robert Byrne (1930-)
    Erskine Caldwell (1903-87)
    Joseph Campbell (1904-87)
    Truman Capote (1924-84)
    Frank Capra (1897-1991)
    Dale Carnegie (1888-1955)
    Lewis Carroll (1832-98)
    Raymond Carver (1938-88)
    Raymond Chandler (1888-1959)
    Paddy Chayefsky (1923-81)
    John Cheever (1912-82)
    Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)
    Charles Churchill (1731-64)
    Marchette Chute (1909-94)
    Arthur C Clarke (1917-2008)
    Jean Cocteau (1889-1963)
    Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
    Jackie Collins (1937-)
    Richard Condon (1915-96)
    Confucius (551-479 BCE)
    Cyril Connolly (1903-74)
    Hart Crane (1899-1932)
    Michael Crichton (1942-)
    Quentin Crisp (1908-99)
    Richard Curtis (1956-)
    Gabriele D’annunzio (1863-1938)
    Clarence Day (1844-1927)
    Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850)
    Richard de Bury (1287-1345)
    Inigo de Leon
    Patrick Dennis (1921-76)
    Lope Felix de Vega Carpio (1562-1635)
    Peter de Vries (1910-93)
    Emily Dickinson (1830-86)
    William Diehl (1924-2006)
    Annie Dillard (1945-)
    E L Doctorow (1931-)
    John Dos Passos (1896-1970)
    Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-81)
    Rita Dove (1952-)
    Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945)
    John Gregory Dunne (1932-2003)
    Lawrence Durrell (1912-90)
    Philip Dusenberry (1936-2007)
    Bernard Edmonds
    Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
    George Eliot (1819-80)
    T S Eliot (1888-1965)
    Ralph Waldo Ellison (1914-94)
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82)
    Epictetus (55-135 CE)
    Louise Erdrich (1954-)
    Leonhard Euler (1707-1783)





    Here's what writers are saying about The Write Advice ...



    "Far exceeded my expectations ... I recommend this book to any

    writer both the seasoned pro and the rank novice"



    'The Write Advice' could easily be re-titled 'Hey Kid, You're Not Alone'.

    I bought this book while struggling through a nasty case of writers block. I was hoping it would give me some motivation, pump me up enough to plant my bottom in the chair and write. What I found far exceeded my expectations.

    As writers, we tend to isolate ourselves ~ it's the very nature of the business. Unfortunately, this often leads to feelings of despair ("nobody understands me"; "I'm the only one this has ever happened to"; "I'll never make it as a real writer"; etc., etc.). Knowing some of the greatest names in the business ~ Charlotte Bronte, William Faulkner, and Longfellow to name a few ~ had some of the exact same feelings about their work as I do went a long way toward defeating my slump.

    I recommend this book to any writer, both the seasoned pro and the rank novice, who's ever doubted himself or asked the question, "Now what?"

    Sara Bell
    USA
    Novelist, 'The Devil's Fire', 'Aquamarine' and 'Justice'



    "A great source of inspiration for any aspiring writer"



    This book is a great source of inspiration for any aspiring writer and definitely one that I would recommend to others interested in improving their writing skills.

    At present, I am involved in teaching creative writing rather than writing, but in the near future I hope to be able to publish in one or more of the following genres: poetry, short stories and non-fiction works on religion.

    Markus Lindstedt
    Sweden
    Creative Writing Teacher






    300 Writers give you The Write Advice including ...


    William Faulkner (1897-1962)
    Edna Ferber (1887-1968)
    F Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940)
    Gustave Flaubert (1821-80)
    Thomas C Fleming (1907-2006)
    Henry Ford (1863-1947)
    E M Forster (1879-1970)
    Gene Fowler (1890-1960)
    Anatole France (1884-1924)
    Benjamin Franklin (1706-90)
    Lucy Gannon
    Serge Gavronsky (1932-)
    Campbell Geeslin (1925-)
    Elizabeth George (1949-)
    David Gerrold (1944-)
    Frank J Giblin II
    André Gide (1869-1951)
    Goethe (1749-1832)
    Natalie Goldberg (1948-)
    Oliver Goldsmith (1730-74)
    Nadine Gordimer (1923-)
    Mary Gordon (1949-)
    Theresa Grant
    Andrew Greeley (1928-)
    Graham Greene (1904-91)
    Arthur Hailey (1920-2004)
    Sir Peter Hall (1930-)
    William H Hallahan (1926-)
    Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804)
    Dag Hammarskjold (1905-61)
    Christopher Hampton (1946-)
    Joy Harjo (1951-)
    Robert Hass (1941-)
    William Hazlitt (1778-1830)
    Shirley Hazzard (1931-)
    Heinrich Heine (1797-1856)
    Lillian Hellman (1905-84)
    Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)
    O Henry (1862-1910)
    Frank Herbert (1920-86)
    Oliver Herford (1863-1935)
    John Hersey (1914-93)
    Gilbert Highet (1906-78)
    Raymond Hill
    Cecelia Holland (1943-)
    Horace (65-8 BCE)
    R H Hutton (1826-97)
    Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915)
    Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906)
    John Irving (1942-)
    Audre Lorde (1954-92)
    Charles R Jackson (1903-1968)
    Jacqueline Jackson
    John Jakes (1932-)
    Alice James (1848-92)
    Samuel Johnson (1709-84)
    Henry Arthur Jones (1851-1924)
    James Jones (1921-1977)
    Erica Jong (1942-)
    Joseph Joubert (1754-1824)
    Michael Kanin (1910-93)
    Valentin Katayev (1897-1987)
    Alfred Kazin (1915-98)
    Clarence B Kelland (1881-1964)
    Stephen King (1947-)
    W P Kinsella (1935-)
    William Kittredge (1932-)
    Edward Koch (1924-)
    Jon Krakauer (1954-)
    Judith Krantz (1928-)
    John Kremer
    Anne Lamott (1954-)
    D H Lawrence (1885-1930)
    Fran Lebowitz (1950-)
    Michael Lee
    Madeleine L’Engle (1918-2007)
    Maria Lenhart
    Elmore Leonard (1925-)
    Doris Lessing (1919-)
    C S Lewis (1898-1963)
    A J Liebling (1904-63)
    Liz Lochhead (1947-)
    George Lois (1931-)
    Jack London (1876-1912)
    Longfellow (1807-82)
    Alison Lurie (1926-)
    Russell Lynes (1910-91)
    Carolyn MacKenzie
    Norman Mailer (1923-2007)
    Nancy Mairs (1943-)
    Bernard Malamud (1914-86)
    Thomas Mann (1875-1955)
    Richard Marius (1933-99)
    Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1927-)
    John Marsden (1950-)
    Karl Marx (1818-83)
    Brander Matthews (1852-1929)
    Somerset Maugham (1874-1965)




    Here's what the media is saying about The Write Advice ...



    "An interesting collection of affirmations and sayings that you can

    enjoy whenever you need a little inspiration"



    I'm in two minds about affirmations. On the one hand, my ‘child-of-hippies' pragmatic self wants to reject the whole idea as new age claptrap. Just get on with your writing, already. You don't need a mantra. On the other hand, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone, especially writers, who didn't have some kind of negative self-talk going on in his or her head. It's a part of our culture. We're constantly beating ourselves up about our appearance, the quality of our work, our overall abilities, and on and on until it's no wonder that paralysis sets in.

    The idea of affirmations is that we replace the negative soundtrack in our heads with a positive one. Do it often enough and it becomes a habit. Model your affirmations on those of successful people and you may also become successful. It's the basis of just about every major self-help program out there, from Neurolinguistic Programmers, to 'The Secret', to the work of Anthony Robbins. Affirm that you can do it well often enough and it becomes embedded in your subconscious mind, and ultimately a reality.

    Michael Meanwell's book 'The Write Advice' is based on that notion ~ that in order to achieve something positive we need to be positive about ourselves ~ affirming our capabilities, replacing negative thoughts with positive ones, and modeling ourselves on the successful. Updated, expanded and re-released this year with a new title, the book was originally published in 2001 as 'Writers on Writing'. It now contains over 520 quotations, and over 210 affirmations specifically chosen to help writers. Meanwell has taken those quotations and headed them with affirmations. There are 24 different sections, each focused on an aspect of writing, such as why we write, how we generate creativity, developing that all important daily discipline, dealing with criticism and rejection, developing a regular process/schedule, techniques and so on. At the end of each chapter is a profile of a famous, well respected author. It's a nicely laid out book with good pictures, plenty of white space, and crisp, non-intimidating fonts that work well on-screen. The interactive links makes it easy to browse in a targeted way.

    You could read the book straight through, but I don't think it would be an easy thing to do. There are too many voices to be able to absorb it all linearly. It's better to take it slowly – perhaps using a quote a day at the start of your writing process. There's enough to keep you going through a full novel or so (not at my rate I'm afraid, but most people can write a novel in under 2 years). Or you can use it to attack an issue that's affecting your work. If you're struggling with time management (who isn't?), then click on "I always have time to write" in the index and you will come across Charles Buxton's "You will never ‘find' time for anything. If you want time you must make it." Had a bad review? Then scroll down to "I don't take criticism personally," and read Faulkner's "It wasn't until the Nobel Prize that they really thawed out. They couldn't understand my books, but they could understand $30,000." (so you aren't alone). Not sure where to begin? Go ask Lewis (Carroll that is): "Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop." It's not bad advice, though, like most affirmations and quotations, it may seem just a little too glib and obvious. Obvious maybe, but just getting on with it is probably the biggest part of most writer struggles.

    This isn't really a book to teach you how to write, although there are gems amongst the quotes which go deeper than Carroll's tongue-in-cheek quip. Instead, it's a book that you can dip into, at leisure, for inspiration or to help replace the negative talk with positive talk. Instead of saying that you aren't writing because you have writer's block or because you have nothing to say, why not try telling yourself "I have a terrific imagination," or "I write today and every day" without getting too caught up in the quality of it. Because quality is something that can't always be easily identified. Don't believe it? Try scrolling to the end of the book and reading what writers have written about each other. Keats called Byron's work a "bedlam vision produced by raw port and opium." Capote called Updike (and just about every other writer) a bore. There are even famous last words ("I Die" was one of my favourites).

    'The Write Advice' is an interesting collection of affirmations and sayings that you can enjoy whenever you need a little inspiration, to get yourself going, or just for a laugh. This is a neatly presented, well chosen group of sayings that can prove valuable for both changing your mindset, and finding camaraderie and support from the most lofty sources.

    Maggie Ball
    Australia
    Author, 'Sleep Before Evening', 'The Art of Assessment' and 'Quark Soup'
    Editor, CompulsiveReader.com, Reviewer, Blogcritics Magazine




    See what makes 300 Novelists, Dramatists, Essayists and Poets tick ...


    Francois Mauriac (1885-1970)
    André Maurois (1885-1967)
    William Maxwell Jr (1908-2000)
    Heather McHugh (1948-)
    Larry McMurtry (1936-)
    Michael Meanwell (1963-)
    Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956)
    James A Michener (1907-97)
    Henry Miller (1891-1980)
    Yukio Mishima (1925-70)
    Wilson Mizner (1876-1933)
    Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762)
    Sir Thomas More (1478-1535)
    V S Naipaul (1932-)
    Andrea Newman (1938-)
    Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)
    Nostradamus (1503-66)
    Joyce Carol Oates (1938-)
    Edna O’Brien (1930-)
    Sean O’Brien (1952-)
    Flannery O’Connor (1925-64)
    Eugene O’Neill (1888-1953)
    George Orwell (1903-50)
    John Osborne (1929-94)
    Cynthia Ozick (1928-)
    Dorothy Parker (1893-1967)
    Robert B Parker (1932-)
    Boris Pasternak (1890-1960)
    Jayne Anne Phillips (1952-)
    Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
    Harold Pinter (1930-)
    Plutarch (46-120 CE)
    Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)
    Lawrence Clark Powell (1906-2001)
    Dan Poynter
    J B Priestley (1894-1984)
    Francois Rabelais (1494-1553)
    Sir Walter Raleigh (1554-1618)
    Ayn Rand (1905-82)
    Santha Rama Rau (1923-)
    Burton Rascoe (1892-1957)
    Mordecai Richler (1931-2001)
    Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926)
    Harold Robbins (1916-97)
    Phillip Roth (1933-)
    William Saroyan (1908-1981)
    M Lincoln Schuster (1897-1970)
    Richard Selzer (1928-)
    Mary Lee Settle (1918-2005)
    Anne Sexton (1928-74)
    George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
    Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
    Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
    Claude Simon (1913-2005)
    Walter ‘Red’ Smith (1905-82)
    Socrates (469-399 BCE)
    Susan Sontag (1933-2004)
    Sir Stephen Spender (1909-95)
    Gertrude Stein (1874-1946)
    John Steinbeck (1902-68)
    William Strunk Jr (1869-1946)
    Jacqueline Susann (1918-1974)
    Karin Taylor
    John Tessitore
    Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
    James Thurber (1894-1961)
    Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910)
    P L Travers (1899-1996)
    Mark Twain (1835-1910)
    Anne Tyler (1941-)
    Kenneth Tynan (1927-80)
    Brenda Ueland (1891-1985)
    John Updike (1932-)
    Leon Uris (1924-2003)
    Gore Vidal (1925-)
    Mary Heaton Vorse (1874-1966)
    Tennessee Williams (1911-83)
    August Wilson (1945-2005)
    Jack Warner (1892-1978)
    David Weisman (1942-)
    H G Wells (1866-1946)
    Jessamyn West (1902-84)
    E B White (1899-85)
    Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
    P G Wodehouse (1881-1975)
    Ed Wood Jr (1925-78)


    Explore your Craft


    Above all else, The Write Advice will show you that you are not alone in your thoughts, fears or frustrations any more than your desire, courage or determination to excel in your craft. And, with the help of a variety of unique writers' affirmations, you will have a new-found ability to overcome obstacles in your work.

    I wish you every success in writing!

    Warmest regards,
    page18_6
    Michael Meanwell, MPRIA, AMAMI, AIMM
    The Wealthy Writer (since 1980)

    Past / Present Associations:
    • Member - Australian Society of Authors
    • Member - Australian Institute of Management
    • Member - Public Relations Institute of Australia
    • Member - Australian Journalists Association
    • Member - Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance
    • Associate - Australian Marketing Institute

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