21 Quotes by Inspiring Women Writers

'“Every word a woman writes changes the story of the world, revises the official version.”

—Carolyn See

"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will."

― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

"You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select your clothes every day. This is a power you can cultivate."

— Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

"I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives."

― Jane Austen, Persuasion

"I believe great people do things before they are ready."

― Amy Poehler, Yes Please

"The beginning is always today"

— Mary Shelley

"When you can’t find someone to follow, you have to find a way to lead by example."

― Roxane Gay, Bad Feminist

"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

"My only advice is to stay aware, listen carefully, and yell for help if you need it."

― Judy Blume

"It is never too late to be what you might have been."

― George Eliot

"What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain."

― Maya Angelou, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now

"You should never be surprised when someone treats you with respect, you should expect it."

― Sarah Dessen, Keeping the Moon

"The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience."

— Emily Dickinson

"What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make."

― Jane Goodall

“You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.”

—Toni Morrison

“Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”

—Harper Lee

“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.”

—Ayn Rand

“It makes you wonder. All the brilliant things we might have done with our lives if only we suspected we knew how.”

—Ann Patchett, Bel Canto

“Next to trying and winning, the best thing is trying and failing.”

—L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

“If there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”

—Toni Morrison

"Forever is composed of nows.”

—Emily Dickinson, poem