We lost a lot of wonderful artists, athletes, and thinkers in 2016. I’m not usually one to get too worked up over celebrity deaths. However, there is a lot us writers can glean from some of these greats.

With that purpose in mind, I went looking for quotes from some of the folks we lost last year to inspire every step of your writing journey. Enjoy!

For when you’re about to try something you’ve never done before.

I feel confident imposing change on myself. It’s a lot more fun progressing than looking back. That’s why I need to throw curve balls. -David Bowie

For when a new plot bunny tries to derail you while you draft.

Sometimes ideas are coming so fast that I have to stop doing one song to get another. But I don’t forget the first one. If it works, it will always be there. It’s like the truth: it will find you and lift you up. And if it ain’t right, it will dissolve like sand on the beach. -Prince

For when that voice whispers, “You aren’t a REAL writer.”

Stay afraid but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.  -Carrie Fisher

For those days when you need to lighten up.

I do take my work seriously and the way to do that is not to take yourself too seriously. -Alan Rickman

For when you let go of your work and send it into the world.

I gave it all that I had, and it’s gratifying that others seem to be receiving it so well. -Debbie Reynolds

For when you don’t think you can do it.

It’s lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself. -Muhammad Ali

For days you need to focus on all the positives.

I don’t consider myself a pessimist. I think of a pessimist as someone who is waiting for it to rain. And I feel soaked to the skin. – Leonard Cohen

For when you get a really hard critique.

The thing I love about making movies is the peace of mind that I know I don’t have to be perfect the first time. I can be perfect the second time or the third time. -Gene Wilder

For when you need to remember why you write.

I write to understand as much as to be understood. -Elie Wiesel

For those who think it’s “too late” to start writing.

Old folks have dreams and ambitions too, like everybody else. Don’t sit on a couch someplace. -John Glenn

For when you need to remember the importance of what you’re doing.

Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing. -Harper Lee
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