"Kernels of Truth" : Favourite quotes from 'Writers in Black & White'

"Just get into the habit of writing. The more you write the better you get."  (Alex Wheatle)

"Don't worry about who you're directing to, instead think about what enchants you and seduces you"  (Barbara Trapido)

"(Writing) involves such a degree of self-sufficiency and personal determination and such long periods of not having anyone validate you."  (Edmund Conway)

"It's like twisting a huge piece of metal into a different shape: you think you just don't have the strength, but then you find you do, especially if you do it bit by bit."  (Esther Freud)

"A lot of people who want to be writers don't want to do the writing. A lot of people don't realise how difficult it is to get published and make a living. You always find that you can do better. You have to keep experimenting."  (Elizabeth Laird)

"The only thing to do is write. There's no external criterion that determines whether you're a writer or not- it's only whether you've done it"  (Jeffrey Lewis)

"I think there is something about having to spend hours and hours and hours writing. It is a skill, like learning to be a concert pianist. It's not like going on the X Factor and getting immediate praise. You have to learn all sorts of crafts, and techniques in order to develop the skills needed to create fiction worthy of being read."  (Vestal McIntyre)

"Barring miracles- it takes ten years to really get anywhere."  (Lee Child)

"Don't do it the way I did it. Don't write long books to start with; leave that until the end. Write a short one with lots of killing and sex."   (Paul Hoffman)

"You have to remember that the best thing about writing is writing. It's not having the book published, or the launch party. It isn't the reviews. It's writing the book and if you don't enjoy that then forget it, give up now. If you don't long to sit down and write, when you wake up in the morning and the first thing you want you do isn't write your book, give it up. It isn't important enough for you."    (Philip Hoare)

"There are no short-cuts to writing. You have to recognise that it's hard work and you just have to dedicate yourself. Inspiration is really less important than your absolute stamina and desire to finish." (Minette Walters)