Brenda Ueland

1) Know that you have talent, are original, and have something important to say.
2) Know that it is good to work. Work with love and think of liking it when you do it.
3) Write freely, recklessly in first drafts.
4) Tackle anything you want to: novels, plays, anything.,
5) Don't be afraid of writing bad stories. To discover what is wrong with a story, write two new ones and then go back to it.
6) Don't be ashamed of what you've written in the past.
7) Try to discover your true self.
8) Think of yourself as incandescent power.
9) If you are never satisfied with what you write, that is a good sign. It means your vision can see so far that it is hard to come up to it.
10) Quote from Van Gogh: If you hear a voice within you saying: You are no painter, then paint by all means lad, and that voice will be silenced, but only by working.
11) Don't be afraid of yourself when you write.
12) Don't always be appraising yourself, wondering if you are better or worse than other writers.

-Brenda Ueland, If you Want to Write