Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money.
Moliere

Words ... seduce us in darkness, and the mind clothes and fleshes them to fashions of its own.
Sarah Waters

Writing only leads to more writing.
Colette

For a creative writer possession of the "truth" is less important than emotional sincerity.
George Orwell

The only rule I have found to have any validity in writing is not to bore yourself.
John Mortimer

Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery. Jane Austen