Every now and then you need a boost of inspo from some incredible bookish people. They see the world different and can give you a rush of motivation with their insight. Let these quotes from badass female authors inspire you to be brave, bold, and daring—today and every day.
“I want to discourage you from choosing anything or making any decision simply because it is safe. Things of value seldom are.” —Toni Morrison (10 Toni Morrison Quotes That Will Never Stop Inspiring Us | Equal Rights Advocates)
“Like food, I really think it’s important to have a balanced literary diet.” —T.J. Newman (Exclusive Interview with T.J. Newman | She Reads)
“I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.” —Joan Didion, Why I Write (Joan Didion, In Her Own Words: 23 of the Best Quotes | The Guardian)
“I’m grateful to be a woman. I must have done something great in another life.” —Maya Angelou (20 Maya Angelou Quotes to Inspire You | Girls’ Globe)
“You just never know when you’re going to be a messenger with the right message at the right time.” —Lucy Score (Exclusive Interview with Lucy Score | She Reads)
“Only you know who you are. People can tell you who they think you are, but it is up to you to find the truth.” —Rachel Howzell Hall (Exclusive Interview with Rachel Howzell Hall | She Reads)
“Fail early and often.” —Kiley Reid (Kiley Reid Interview | Pigeon Pages)
“I never saw anyone like me reading fantasy. Everyone was always already a badass or ready to do their training montage and then be awesome. Whereas I break constantly, my kids break constantly and I wanted to see someone with that particular chronic illness succeed by using her brain and I wanted to see the power dynamic flip the second she bonds the most powerful dragon. Because we are never the most powerful people in the room, but our brains can be.” —Rebecca Yarros (Rebecca Yarros Dishes on Onyx Storm, Her Life and the Fourth Wing Roller Coaster | She Reads)
“My real advice is that you need to write the story that is personal to you, and that you’re excited to write…Write the book that you were meant to write and that you would want to read.” —Annabel Monaghan (Exclusive Interview with Annabel Monaghan | She Reads)
“I love love. I believe in it. I believe in love at first sight, all of that. I’m a very romantic person. I romanticize life. How grim and sad is your life if you can’t mythologize it?” —Tia Williams (Tia Williams Is a Romantic at Heart. Her Books Are Proof. | Today)
“Emily [Henry] is everything you’d hope for in a creative partner, as a filmmaker adapting an author. She understands her characters and her audience so well, and advocates for them both with such grace.” —Yulin Kuang (Exclusive Interview with Yulin Kuang | She Reads)
“A lot of people tend to think of romance as purely escapist: “It’s silly; it’s brain candy. So even if I approve of someone reading it, I don’t think that it’s got real merit.” Maybe there are writers out there who approach their books that way, and that’s great. But the thing that I love about writing love stories is that I think love is the thing that has the most power in the world to change a person.” —Emily Henry (Emily Henry on the Wisdom of Modern Romance Novels | Elle)
“Be bad! Let your first drafts be trash. Look that terrible page right in the eye and know that it does not define you. Your best pages define you. And you may not be able to get to them without the trash.” —Taylor Jenkins Reid (Taylor Jenkins Reid Makes the Case for “Chick Lit” | Interview Magazine)
“There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.” —Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (12 Jane Austen Quotes for Women Who Take Up Space | Book Riot)
“I have so much fun experimenting with different voice. I like when artists take risks and try on new personalities. I don’t think I’ll ever stop reinventing myself with every new album.” —R.F. Kuang (A Conversation with R.F. Kuang | She Reads)
“Courage is the resolution to face the unforeseen.” —Agatha Christie, Death Comes at the End (15 of the Best Agatha Christie Quotes of All Time | Murder & Mayhem)
“A book is a dream that writer and reader dream together. The writer provides the scaffolding and holds the reader’s hand to lead them in – while the reader provides the daydreams and memories and wishes that fill out the structure, so that the book takes on somewhat the shape of the reader’s mind.” —Donna Tartt (Donna Tartt, The Writing Life | Rivista Studio)
“I’ve been a feminist since I was old enough to think, really. I’ve always been the kind of person who thinks that men and women are equal, full stop.” —Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (The Best of Chimamanda Adichie’s Quotes on Feminism | HarperBroadcast on Medium)
“So long as you write what you wish to write, that is all that matters, and whether it matters for ages or only for hours, nobody can say.” —Virginia Woolf, “A Room of One’s Own” (9 Quotes from Virginia Woolf’s Must-Read Essay | Books Are My Third Place)
“There are very few real villains in the world, just like I think there are very few heroes. Most people are trying to do their best.” —Celeste Ng (An Interview with Celeste Ng | F(r)iction)
“For years, we have seen and read about men’s friendships that are forged in the fire of battle, and women are no different. So many women keep up those friendships, lean on them, for the whole of their lives, and I love to show that.” —Kristin Hannah (Author Interview: Kristin Hannah | The LibraryThing Blog)
“I always want people reading my books to come away with joy and hope that tomorrow can be better. That tomorrow’s worth fighting for.” —Sarah J. Maas (“ACOTAR” Author Sarah J. Maas Tells All About Her Romantasy Universe | Today)
“What I try to celebrate the most with [my characters] is that it’s okay to feel vulnerable. I try to let my characters voice their struggles and insecurities–it’s okay if they have to go through a long journey before fully understanding who they really are and what they need to be!” —Ali Hazelwood (Exclusive Interview with Ali Hazelwood on Her Spotify-Exclusive Novella | She Writes)
“It’s easy to be cynical, and I am, but we need hope and optimism too, and we need a reminder that not everything sucks. There are still good things in this world.” —Carley Fortune (How Carley Fortune Is Reinventing the Romance Novel | Toronto Life)
“Every single year I feel like I write a book about friends. I love sharing my characters with my readers. It’s such a thrill because I’m equally as invested.” —Abby Jimenez (Romance Author Abby Jimenez Talks New Novel | The Seattle Times)
“Every partner you meet in real life won’t be the “swoony” book boyfriend, but they SHOULD respect you and consider you and make you feel cared for. That is not “the bar” or “the blueprint”. That is basic, and I think it’s healthy for women to look in our stories and see that as possible.” —Kennedy Ryan (High Stakes, Big Feelings: An Interview with Romance Author Kennedy Ryan | Musing)
“Keep writing. That’s what’s going to make you a better writer. Focus on your words, because at the end of the day, that’s all you can control.” —Ashley Herring Blake (Interview with Author Ashley Herring Blake | Geeks OUT)
“I am also endlessly inspired and in awe of Jennifer Egan, especially her novel The Candy House. She tells stories in ways I didn’t think stories could be told, breaking all the rules, and it’s breathtaking.” —Rebecca Anne Nguyen (Exclusive Interview with Rebecca Anne Nguyen | She Reads)
“Sometimes, the stories or memories attached to otherwise mundane or everyday items carry the greatest value.” —Charmaine Wilkerson (Interview with an Author: Charmaine Wilkerson | Los Angeles Public Library)
“A voice is a human gift; it should be cherished and used, to utter fully human speech as much as possible. Powerlessness and silence go together.” —Margaret Atwood (10 Times Margaret Atwood Spoke Up About Women’s Rights, Equality & Climate Change | Equality Now)
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