In case you’re wondering, November 1, 2016 is National Calzone Day, National Author’s Day, National Deep Fried Clams Day, National Vinegar Day, National Cook for Your Pets Day, National Brush Day, and National Family Literacy Day. Guess whichbrush.jpg one I’m going to write about? Brushes of course! Brushes are so versatile. Here are my top 10 favorite brushes. Alright, I’m joking. Obviously, since I am a newly published author (The Travelers, check it out!) and avid reader, I am more excited about National Author’s Day than National Brush Day. (Sorry forks!)

Since it’s National Author’s Day, I want to celebrate authors and their fantastic thoughts and ideas. Therefore, here is a list of some wonderful wisdom and advice from authors that works whether you are a writer or you just write a lot of texts or emails. (Take note people, like me, who enjoy a well-placed exclamation point!)

Writing Wisdom for Everyone

“Do not use semicolons…All they do is show you’ve been to college.” – Kurt Vonnegut (Finally someone who shares my hatred of semicolons.)

reasons-to-use-a-semicolon“Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.” – Elmore Leonard

“Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.” – Mark Twain

“Writing is really a way of thinking — not just feeling but thinking about things that are disparate, unresolved, mysterious, problematic or just sweet.” – Toni Morisson

Wisdom on Writing Technique

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” – Anton Chekhov

“The reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator.” — Jonathan Franzen

“Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.” – Neil Gaiman

“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” – Stephen King

“Write drunk, edit sober.” – Ernest Hemingway

Wisdom for Aspiring Authors

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”- Maya Angelou

“I would advise anyone who aspires to a writing career that before developing his talent he would be wise to develop a thick hide.” – Harper Lee

“You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.” – Octavia E. Butler

“An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose.” – Langston Hughes

“Beginning writers must appreciate the prerequisites if they hope to become writers. You pay your dues – which takes years.” – Alex Haley

Wisdom on Inspirationmotivation

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” – Jack London

“Write the kind of story you would like to read. People will give you all sorts of advice about writing, but if you are not writing something you like, no one else will like it either.”- Meg Cabot

“You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page.” – Annie Proulx

“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”- Sylvia Plath