Sometimes I act like a coach and sometimes like a cozy mentor, but the quotes I live by fall into categories: motivation, craft, and consolation. Motivation-wise, Benjamin Franklin's 'Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing' is a daily kick — it helps me choose projects that matter. For craft, Stephen King's observation in 'On Writing' about reading being the tool of the trade is my constant calibration; if I stop reading widely, my sentences go flat.
For consolation I turn to simpler, kinder words: 'Be patient with yourself' (paraphrased from many teachers) and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's 'What is essential is invisible to the eye' from 'The Little Prince' — both soothe my perfectionism. I also collect neat technical prompts as mini-quotes: 'Prefer the specific to the general' and 'Show, don't tell' — they make editing faster. Each quote becomes a sticky note, a pocket talisman, or a line I say aloud before diving into a stubborn paragraph.
On hurried days I keep things bite-sized: three lines that pull me back to why I love words. First is Borges: 'I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library' — it reminds me that desire for books is never silly. Then Benjamin Franklin's call to meaningful action, 'Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing,' which is a little stern but fair. Last is a comfort from 'The Little Prince': 'What is essential is invisible to the eye' — it helps me trust subtlety over flash.
I also stash playful prompts like 'Try one sentence tonight that scares you' as micro-challenges. These quotes make me both brave and gentle with my drafts, and sometimes they turn a bad writing hour into a surprising paragraph.
My favorite little boosts are short and sharp: 'I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library' (Borges) for pure desire, and 'Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing' to jolt me into action. When revision drags, I repeat 'Cut the unnecessary' like a tiny editor's prayer.
I also love borrowing lines from stories I adore: from 'The Little Prince' the thought that 'What is essential is invisible to the eye' reminds me to value feeling over flashy language. These few phrases keep me centered and make mornings feel like the start of an unwritten chapter.
I have a little ritual: a notebook, a pen that smells like ink, and three lines I read when motivation feels thin. The quotes that stick with me are practical sparklers. For instance, 'Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it' keeps my reading wide and forgiving. Then there's the blunt, useful Benjamin Franklin line: 'Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing' — it forces me to ask whether I'm adding anything new.
I also keep a short list of micro-quotes for editing: 'Cut the unnecessary' (a principle that saves me hours) and 'Keep your verbs vigorous' (a reminder to prefer action over fluff). Lately, I'm inspired by a line from an old teacher: 'Words are tools; use them, sharpen them, and put them away clean.' That one makes me tidy my drafts like I tidy a workbench, and it's oddly calming.
Some mornings I wake up and the first thing I do is whisper a favorite line into my coffee steam — it feels like putting a tiny bookmark in the day.
The quotes that feed me daily are a mixed bag of comfort and provocation: Borges' 'I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library' reminds me that curiosity is a landscape, not a pit stop. Stephen King's point from 'On Writing' that if you don't have time to read you don't have the tools to write nudges me to protect my half hour of fiction at night. I also like Benjamin Franklin's nudge: 'Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing' — it fires my lazy afternoons into motion.
Beyond the famous lines, I tuck shorter mantras into my pocket: 'Choose the word that says what you mean' and 'Cut the unnecessary' — both keep my drafts honest. On rough days I borrow Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's 'What is essential is invisible to the eye' from 'The Little Prince' and remember why I started loving words in the first place.
2025-09-03 18:30:52
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A Second Life Inside My Novels
elstar1358
10
6.6K
Her name was Cathedra. Leave her last name blank, if you will.
Where normal people would read, "And they lived happily ever after," at the end of every fairy tale story, she could see something else. Three different things.
Three words: Lies, lies, lies.
A picture that moves.
And a plea: Please tell them the truth.
All her life she dedicated herself to becoming a writer and telling the world what was being shown in that moving picture. To expose the lies in the fairy tales everyone in the world has come to know.
No one believed her. No one ever did.
She was branded as a liar, a freak with too much imagination, and an orphan who only told tall tales to get attention. She was shunned away by society. Loveless. Friendless.
As she wrote "The End" to her novels that contained all she knew about the truth inside the fairy tale novels she wrote, she also decided to end her pathetic life and be free from all the burdens she had to bear alone.
Instead of dying, she found herself blessed with a second life inside the fairy tale novels she wrote, and living the life she wished she had with the characters she considered as the only friends she had in the world she left behind.
Cathedra was happy until she realized that an ominous presence lurks within her stories. One that wanted to kill her to silence the only one who knew the truth.
This book gathers different love stories, yes, love stories.
All these stories that I collected over time, that were told to me by friends, acquaintances, relatives and others from my own imagination ink.
And perhaps, there is some coincidence.
William Graham and Jasmine Spencer had been at odds since they were kids.
But that year, fate played a trick on them—out of all the eligible matches in their circle, only the two of them were left.
William swore he would rather die than marry Jasmine.
That piqued her interest. She said, "Great. Then I guess I'm definitely marrying you. Go ahead and drop dead."
On their wedding day, William humiliated her by releasing dozens of chickens at the ceremony.
With a flat look, Jasmine picked one up and called it "Darling".
Just like that, William lost all interest in the joke. He looked at the woman who insisted on marrying him and sneered.
"You'll regret this."
Three years into the marriage, Jasmine caught William cheating for the ninety-ninth time.
It was only then that she finally understood—
So this was the kind of regret William had meant.
Love is something to never be ashamed of, it's okay to fall in love even if that person is someone of the same sex.
That's the way I feel towards the person who showed me how to love.
I love him, I want him and I want to hold him but the problem is... His married.
Leslie Campbell is a young omega who is married to a beta. He is a book enthusiast who became an editor for a successful publishing company and he is assigned to his favorite author, Azrael Mitsuki Bethan, a Japanese American writer who paints the world in white and black.
However, there is one serious problem... Azrael hates omegas especially male omegas.
Leslie is determined to be Azrael's editor but their relationship becomes complicated when forbidden emotions start to develop leaving Leslie in a state to choose between his marriage and his soulmate while Azrael battles with his heart and his conscience.
Heartwarming relationship between the alpha who desires to hate and the omega who knows only how to love.
My mother-in-law could not understand me.
Before my business trip, I repeatedly told her not to touch anything in my study, but she mixed up the contract I needed. As a result, I lost a million-dollar order and was fired from my company.
To make up for her mistake, she promised she would take care of my child and help me find another job.
I froze my milk, labeled everything with notes, and gave her detailed instructions on timing and measurements.
However, when my baby ended up in the hospital, I found out that she had thrown out all the milk and fed my baby expired formula instead.
Even worse, she fed my baby peanuts behind my back, causing my baby to suffocate and die.
Afterward, she wailed, "That was my granddaughter! How could I not care? If I could, I'd die with her..."
My husband slapped me, shouting, "My mom worked so hard to take care of the child, and you want to drive her to her death? She's an old woman. It's not easy for her!"
My sister-in-law came over too, calling me ungrateful and blaming me for treating an elderly woman badly. She claimed I deserved to be childless and alone.
However, they did not know how many times I had stopped my mother-in-law from causing trouble and harm to them.
I was driven to depression by them and eventually sent to a mental institution, where I was tortured to death.
If I had the chance to do it again, I would protect my child and myself and stop preventing my mother-in-law from causing chaos for others.
I would watch her bring equal destruction to each one of them!
Raquel needed an outlet when her heart was broken when her first love abandoned her. And she found it in writing. She wrote a book as her last hail Mary to her first love for him to find her. She became famous because of it.
Rustin came in to her life when she wanted to hide away from the reality why the man she loved left her. They couldn't deny the attraction they have for each other. Would he be the man she longed for or just the man she met on vacation?
Find out all of the answers to this as we journey together with Raquel in this story.
There are books that feel like someone taught you a new color for the sky — those are the ones that impress me most as a lover of words.
For pure musicality I keep coming back to 'The Waves' by Virginia Woolf and 'Ulysses' by James Joyce. Woolf's sentences ripple like tides; I used to read a paragraph on my morning commute and watch the city blur into something dreamlike. Joyce is a different workout: dense, playful, exhausting in the best way. Both reward slow, out-loud reading and frequent re-reading.
On the other end, I adore writers who make language feel like craft and mischief at once: 'Invisible Cities' by Italo Calvino for its tiny, lyrical worlds; 'Beloved' by Toni Morrison for its poetic compression and emotional force; and the strange typographical playground of 'House of Leaves' if you like experiments. If you want something to teach technique, 'On Writing' by Stephen King and a battered copy of 'The Elements of Style' are my bedside companions — one for heart, one for trimming. These books changed how I hear sentences, and more importantly, how I try to write my own.
Reading fuels the imagination, and I find that the most inspiring quotes about books really echo that potential. One quote that always sticks with me is from George R.R. Martin: 'A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.' I mean, think about that! Every time we pick up a book, we dive into a new perspective, and the world expands in ways we never thought possible. This quote just reminds us of the magic books bring into our lives.
Another gem I cherish comes from C.S. Lewis: 'We read to know we are not alone.' It resonates so deeply, especially during those lonely moments we all face. When I lose myself in a story, I feel connected to characters, their struggles, and triumphs, which creates a bond that’s hard to beat.
Finally, I can’t overlook the encouraging words from J.K. Rowling: 'I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book.' That encapsulates the feeling of getting lost in fantasy worlds or deep narratives where anything is possible. Whether I’m embarking on spells at Hogwarts or unravelling tales of bravery, these quotes inspire not just a love for reading, but also the emotional journey each book offers us. Sharing quotes like these with friends always sparks such lively discussions, and it makes me want to dive into my next read with enthusiasm!