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21 inspiring creativity quotes that’ll get your ideas flowing

These encouraging quotes about creativity will help you become your most inventive self.

creative quotes in english

While feeling stuck in an idea rut is never fun, these 21 creativity quotes from the greats remind you that you’re not alone—and that ruts are temporary . Hopefully a few of the inspiring wise words below can help spark your imagination, encourage you to consider a passion or a possibility , or push you to risk stepping outside your comfort zone for the sake of experimenting with something new. 

The best quotes about being creative

1. “Creativity doesn’t wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones.” — Bruce Garrabrandt

2. “Everything you can imagine is real.” — Pablo Picasso

3. “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.” — Steve Jobs

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

5. “Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will.” — George Bernard Shaw

6. “If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play. ” — John Cleese

7. “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” — Maya Angelou

creative quotes in english

8. “An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail.” — Edwin Land

9. “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination.”  — Albert Einstein

10. “ When learning is purposeful , creativity blossoms. When creativity blossoms, thinking emanates. When thinking emanates, knowledge is fully lit. When knowledge is lit, economy flourishes.” — A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

11. “There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.” — Edward de Bono 

creative quotes in english

 12. “Creativity is… seeing something that doesn’t exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God.” — Michele Shea 

13. “Everyone who’s ever taken a shower has had an idea. It’s the person who gets out of the shower, dries off, and does something about it who makes a difference.” — Nolan Bushnell 

14. “The creative person is willing to live with ambiguity. He doesn’t need problems solved immediately and can afford to wait for the right ideas.” — Abe Tannenbaum

creative quotes in english

15. “ Creativity can solve almost any problem . The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything.” — George Lois 

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16. “There’s room for everybody on the planet to be creative and conscious if you are your own person. If you’re trying to be like somebody else, then there isn’t.” — Tori Amos

17. “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” — Sylvia Plath

18. “Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void but out of chaos.” — Mary Shelley

19. “True alchemy lies in this formula: ‘Your memory and your senses are but the nourishment of your creative impulse.’” — Arthur Rimbaud

20. “Odd how the creative power at once brings the whole universe to order.” ― Virginia Woolf

21. “The precise role of the artist, then, is to illuminate that darkness, blaze roads through that vast forest, so that we will not, in all our doing, lose sight of its purpose, which is, after all, to make the world a more human dwelling place.” ― James Baldwin

This article was originally published on October 16, 2019, and has been updated throughout by the editors.

Kate Bratskeir is a journalist who covers food, health, and the environment. Her book A Pocket Guide to Sustainable Food Shopping was published in January 2021 by Tiller Press, an arm of Simon & Schuster.

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63 Best Creativity Quotes To Transform the World

Creativity Quote Graphic: "You can’t use up creativity. The more you use the more you have." — Maya Angelou

Creativity is a powerful force — a dynamic spark that drives innovation and progress.

It’s not just about creating art or producing novel ideas — it’s about envisioning new solutions to old problems, thinking outside the box, and daring to dream of a better future.

Whether it's an artist using their work to shed light on societal issues, a scientist thinking creatively to address environmental challenges, or a community leader innovating ways to uplift their neighborhood — creativity is at the heart of making a positive difference.

In fact, some of the world's most significant advancements and impactful initiatives have come from those who dared to think creatively — innovators, artists, and thinkers.

And we’ve gathered their words of wisdom here today.

Their insights illustrate the importance of creativity in forging a path towards a brighter, more just world.

These quotes will inspire you to unleash your own creativity and imagine new possibilities for a better future.

Whether you’re an artist, a problem solver, or anyone seeking inspiration to think more creatively, these quotes will light the spark within you. Dive in and let these powerful words fuel your creative spirit:

Best Quotes About Creativity

Famous quotes.

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use the more you have.” — Maya Angelou

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use the more you have.” — Maya Angelou

“Creativity is the language we use to communicate the urgency of our dreams for a better future.” — Audre Lorde

“Creativity is the language we use to communicate the urgency of our dreams for a better future.” — Audre Lorde

“Our dreams may seem impossible, but our creativity can turn them into reality.” — Malala Yousafzai

“Our dreams may seem impossible, but our creativity can turn them into reality.” — Malala Yousafzai

“The most creative people are motivated by the grandest of problems that are presented before them.” — Neil deGrasse Tyson

“The most creative people are motivated by the grandest of problems that are presented before them.” — Neil deGrasse Tyson

“Odd how the creative power at once brings the whole universe to order.” — Virginia Woolf

“Odd how the creative power at once brings the whole universe to order.” — Virginia Woolf‍

“The power of our dreams and the creativity we employ can break the chains of injustice and oppression.” — Desmond Tutu

“The power of our dreams and the creativity we employ can break the chains of injustice and oppression.” — Desmond Tutu

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” — Mary Lou Cook

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” — Mary Lou Cook

“The creative adult is the child who survived.” — ​​Ursula Le Guin

“The creative adult is the child who survived.” — ​​Ursula Le Guin

“Creativity is the heartbeat of activism, and dreams are the fuel that drives our determination.” — Jamie Margolin

“Creativity is the heartbeat of activism, and dreams are the fuel that drives our determination.” — Jamie Margolin

“The chief enemy of creativity is ‘good’ sense.” — Pablo Picasso

“The chief enemy of creativity is ‘good’ sense.” — Pablo Picasso

“True alchemy lies in this formula: ‘Your memory and your senses are but the nourishment of your creative impulse.’” — Arthur Rimbaud

“True alchemy lies in this formula: ‘Your memory and your senses are but the nourishment of your creative impulse.’” — Arthur Rimbaud

“Creativity is that marvelous capacity to grasp mutually distinct realities and draw a spark from their juxtaposition.” — Max Ernst

“Creativity is that marvelous capacity to grasp mutually distinct realities and draw a spark from their juxtaposition.” — Max Ernst

Inspirational Quotes

“Don’t wait for inspiration. It comes while working.” — Henri Matisse

“Don’t wait for inspiration. It comes while working.” — Henri Matisse

“Creativity is our most powerful tool to shape the world we want to live in.” — Isra Hirsi

“The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.” — Neil Gaiman

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.” — Ira Glass

“The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do.” — Sarah Ban Breathnach

“Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the quicker we will be able to treat life as art: to bring all our energies to each encounter, to remain flexible enough to notice and admit when what we expected to happen did not happen. We need to remember that we are created creative and can invent new scenarios as frequently as they are needed.” — Maya Angelou

“Dreams are the seeds of change. Nothing ever grows without a seed, and nothing ever changes without a dream.” — Debby Boone

“Dreams are the seeds of change. Nothing ever grows without a seed, and nothing ever changes without a dream.” — Debby Boone

“Be wild; that is how to clear the river. The river does not flow polluted, we manage that. The river does not dry up, we block it. If we want to allow it its freedom, we have to allow our ideational lives to be let loose, to stream, letting anything come, initially censoring nothing. That is creative life. It is made up of divine paradox. To create one must be willing to be stone stupid, to sit upon a throne on top of a jackass and spill rubies from one’s mouth. Then the river will flow, then we can stand in the stream of it raining down.” — Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run With the Wolves

“Our dreams and creativity can rewrite the narratives of our future.” — Mari Copeny

“A creative life is an amplified life. It’s a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life, and a hell of a lot more interesting life.” — Elizabeth Gilbert

“A creative life is an amplified life. It’s a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life, and a hell of a lot more interesting life.” — Elizabeth Gilbert

“A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince

“I believe that the most important single thing, beyond discipline and creativity is daring to dare.” — Maya Angelou

“Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work.” — Rita Mae Brown

“Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work.” — Rita Mae Brown

On Imagination

“That’s what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again.” — Walt Disney

“That’s what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again.” — Walt Disney

“Everything you can imagine is real.” — Pablo Picasso

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will.” — George Bernard Shaw

“Imagination is the source of all human achievement.” — Sir Ken Robinson

“Creativity begins to die when we fail to celebrate curiosity. We reward students for getting the right answer, but not for asking good questions. We promote managers for delivering results, but not for developing new ideas. Encouraging imagination is the mother of invention.” — Adam Grant

“Creativity fuels our imagination, and our imagination fuels our dreams of a better world.” — Greta Thunberg

“Creativity fuels our imagination, and our imagination fuels our dreams of a better world.” — Greta Thunberg

“The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible.” — Toni Cade Bambara

“The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible.” — Toni Cade Bambara

“To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.” — Kurt Vonnegut

“The precise role of the artist, then, is to illuminate that darkness, blaze roads through that vast forest, so that we will not, in all our doing, lose sight of its purpose, which is, after all, to make the world a more human dwelling place.” — James Baldwin

“Art is where what we survive survives.” — John Green , The Anthropocene Reviewed

“Art is where what we survive survives.” — John Green, The Anthropocene Reviewed

“You cannot teach creativity — how to become a good writer. But you can help a young writer discover within himself what kind of writer he would like to be.” — Mario Vargas Llosa

“The artist is the only one who knows that the world is a subjective creation, that there is a choice to be made, a selection of elements. It is a materialization, an incarnation of his inner world. Then he hopes to attract others into it. He hopes to impose his particular vision and share it with others. And when the second stage is not reached, the brave artist continues nevertheless. The few moments of communion with the world are worth the pain, for it is a world for others, an inheritance for others, a gift to others, in the end. When you make a world tolerable for yourself, you make a world tolerable for others.” — Anaïs Nin

“Art helps us envision a world in which all of our goals for society are right before us. Use your creativity to bolster and expand your attention. You’re in it for the long haul.” — Imani Barbarin

“We need musicians and storytellers to bring healing to our culture, and we need that now, more than ever.” — Chloé S. Valdary

“Some of [my memoir] — perhaps too much — has been about how I learned to do it. Much of it has been about how you can do it better. The rest of it — and perhaps the best of it — is a permission slip: you can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will. Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink. Drink and be filled up.” — Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

“Art isn’t optional for humans.” — John Green , The Anthropocene Reviewed  

“Art is a group of highly sensitive people reporting back what reality is like for them.” — Pete Holmes

“The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul.” — Dieter F. Uchtdorf

“The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul.” — Dieter F. Uchtdorf

On Innovation

“You can be creative in anything — in math, science, engineering, philosophy — as much as you can in music or in painting or in dance.” — Sir Ken Robinson

“You can be creative in anything — in math, science, engineering, philosophy — as much as you can in music or in painting or in dance.” — Sir Ken Robinson

“Your brain gets too comfortable in your everyday surroundings. You need to make it uncomfortable. You need to spend some time in another land, among people that do things differently than you. Travel makes the world look new, and when the world looks new, our brains work harder.” — Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

“Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void but out of chaos.” — Mary Shelley

“There is no innovation and creativity without failure.” — Brené Brown

“Dreams are the starting point of every revolution, and creativity fuels its fire.” — Gloria Steinem

“You are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true.” — Richard Bach

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” — Brené Brown , Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” — Brené Brown, Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

Short Creativity Quotes

“Creativity takes courage.” — Henri Matisse

“Creativity takes courage.” — Henri Matisse

“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” — George Scialabbe

“Creativity is the way I share my soul with the world.” — Brené Brown , The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” — C.S. Lewis

“Dreaming without action is merely a fantasy. Channel your creativity into real change.” — Jamie Margolin

“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” — Sylvia Plath

“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” — Sylvia Plath

“Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.” — Gustave Flaubert

“Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen.” — Oprah Winfrey

“Creativity involves breaking out of expected patterns in order to look at things in a different way.” — Edward de Bono

“You can’t schedule creativity, it just happens.” — Brittany Cabriales

“The dreamers are the saviors of the world.” — James Allen

“Our dreams are the canvas, and our creativity is the paint that brings them to life.” — Xiuhtezcatl Martinez

“Our dreams are the canvas, and our creativity is the paint that brings them to life.” — Xiuhtezcatl Martinez

On Creating

“Take your broken heart, make it into art.” — Carrie Fisher

“Take your broken heart, make it into art.” — Carrie Fisher

“People who live in fear of others stealing their ideas generally don’t have many good ideas. Creativity is abundant. Execution is scarce. What prevails is not the best idea but the best implementation.” — Adam Grant

“Creativity doesn’t wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones.” — Bruce Garrabrandt

“Lots of people want to be the noun without doing the verb. They want the job title without the work. If you pick the wrong noun to aspire to, you’ll be stuck with the wrong verb, too. When people use the word creative” as a job title, it not only falsely divides the world into ‘creatives’ and ‘non-creatives,’ but also implies that the work of a ‘creative’ is ‘being creative.’ But being creative is never an end; it is a means to something else. Creativity is just a tool.” — Austin Kleon, in a blog post

“Establish a daily practice and use it as a way of getting through your days. Sometimes creative work really is just going through the motions. You don’t necessarily need a vision. Stick to your practice, and things will appear. There’s a Sex Pistols song with the lyric, ‘Don’t know what I want, but I know how to get it.’ That’s where I am. I don’t have a grand vision for the future… but I have a practice, and I am curious to see what turns up, and that’s why I get up in the morning.” — Austin Kleon, in a blog post

“Begin by learning to draw and paint like the old masters. After that, you can do as you like; everyone will respect you.” — Salvador Dali

“Begin by learning to draw and paint like the old masters. After that, you can do as you like; everyone will respect you.” — Salvador Dali

On Being Creative

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

“I dream in fire but work in clay.” — Arthur Machen

“Overthinking the process will kill any career in the creative space. You just have to do, not think.” — Casey Neistat

“My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something creative to do with my life.” — Miles Davis

“My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something creative to do with my life.” — Miles Davis

“Sometimes the creativity is in the rest.” — Joshua Kissi

“Sometimes the creativity is in the rest.” — Joshua Kissi

“Resting is not a waste of time. It’s an investment in well-being. Relaxing is not a sign of laziness. It’s a source of energy. Breaks are not a distraction. They’re a chance to refocus attention. Play is not a frivolous activity. It’s a path to connection and creativity.” — Adam Grant 

“Rest nurtures creativity, which nurtures activity. Activity nurtures rest, which sustains creativity. Each draws from and contributes to the other.” — Kim John Payne

“Rest nurtures creativity, which nurtures activity. Activity nurtures rest, which sustains creativity. Each draws from and contributes to the other.” — Kim John Payne

More Quotes

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” — Sophia Loren

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” — Sophia Loren‍

“Creativity is problem-solving. Creativity is progress. Creativity is a tool. Harness yours.” — Alex Lieberman

“I’ve been having a long debate with myself about whether human creativity can exist absent problems to solve. I don’t think it can. Even if the problems are self-imposed (which they often are, at least in the beginning of the process) I think all creativity is problem solving.” — Hank Green ‍ ‍

“In the world of the dreamer there was solitude: all the exaltations and joys came in the moment of preparation for living. They took place in solitude. But with action came anxiety, and the sense of insuperable effort made to match the dream, and with it came weariness, discouragement, and the flight into solitude again. And then in solitude, in the opium den of remembrance, the possibility of pleasure again.” — Anaïs Nin

“The creative process is a process of surrender, not control.” — Bruce Lee

“The creative process is a process of surrender, not control.” — Bruce Lee

“Creative people need time to just sit around and do nothing. I get some of my best ideas when I’m bored, which is why I never take my shirts to the cleaners. I love ironing my shirts-it’s so boring, I almost always get good ideas. If you’re out of ideas, wash the dishes. Take really long walk. Stare at a spot on the wall for as long as you can. As the artist Maira Kalman says, ‘Avoiding work is the way to focus my mind.’” — Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

“But unless we are creators we are not fully alive. What do I mean by creators? Not only artists, whose acts of creation are the obvious ones of working with paint of clay or words. Creativity is a way of living life, no matter our vocation or how we earn our living. Creativity is not limited to the arts, or having some kind of important career.” — Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art

“But unless we are creators we are not fully alive. What do I mean by creators? Not only artists, whose acts of creation are the obvious ones of working with paint of clay or words. Creativity is a way of living life, no matter our vocation or how we earn our living. Creativity is not limited to the arts, or having some kind of important career.” — Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art‍

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180 Powerful Creativity Quotes to Motivate and Inspire You

Updated on: August 1, 2022 by Louise Myers 13 Comments

Craving creativity quotes?

An inspirational creativity quote can “rouse you into productivity and creativity.” (Mary Garden)

And if one doesn’t do it, the other hundred-plus will!

Find 180 motivating quotes:

  • Albert Einstein creativity quotes
  • Steve Jobs creativity quotes
  • More famous creativity quotes
  • Creativity quotes, short and sweet for tweets
  • Funny creativity quotes

Ready to get creative? Let’s go!

bubbly art in shades of purple says creativity quotes.

Creativity Quotes by and for Creatives

Don’t wallow in your creative block – get out there and make something! As Elizabeth Gilbert would say (and did), “It doesn’t have to be amazing, it just has to be authentic.”

NOTE: Feel free to pin my quote graphics to Pinterest while keeping the link to this page intact, but do not download for other uses. Read my copyright.

Illustrated quotes copyright of and used with permission of Positively Present . Follow, and become a Patreon!

benefits of creativity

Creativity Quotes by Einstein

Famous Einstein quotes abound online.

The only problem is – Einstein never said most of them!

Interestingly, I was able to find more definitive information on fake Einstein quotes than on ones he actually said! To my knowledge, the following group of quotes attributed to Einstein have yet to be debunked.

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. ~ Albert Einstein

The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. ~Albert Einstein

If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it. ~ Albert Einstein

Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions. ~ Albert Einstein

Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. ~ Albert Einstein

You can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created. ~ Albert Einstein

Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience. ~ Albert Einstein

Creativity is contagious, pass it on. ~ Albert Einstein

Creativity is contagious, pass it on. ~Albert Einstein

I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious. ~ Albert Einstein

Imagination is more important than knowledge. ~ Albert Einstein

A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new. ~ Albert Einstein

I never think of the future – it comes soon enough. ~ Albert Einstein

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. ~ Albert Einstein

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. ~ Albert Einstein

Fake Einstein quotes abound

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning. ~ Albert Einstein

For more, read fake Einstein quotes and learn a little about his life.

Our thanks to  MyMathDone  for the brilliant infographic at the end of this post – and also for introducing me to the awesome anagram  Albert Einstein = Ten Elite Brains.

Creativity Quotes by Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs was the visionary creator of Apple products. Read on for the best quotes from Mr. Jobs.

Creativity is just connecting things. ~ Steve Jobs

Creativity is just connecting things. ~Steve Jobs

If you want to live your life in a creative way, as an artist, you have to not look back too much. ~ Steve Jobs

Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected. ~ Steve Jobs

You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. ~ Steve Jobs

The way to ratchet up our species is to get better things to more people  – products with spirit and creativity. ~ Steve Jobs

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. ~ Steve Jobs

Stay hungry, stay foolish. ~ Steve Jobs

It’s really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them. ~ Steve Jobs

Things to make other than money

It’s more fun to be a pirate than to join the Navy. ~ Steve Jobs

Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful … that’s what matters to me. ~ Steve Jobs

Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. ~ Steve Jobs

I want to put a ding in the universe. ~ Steve Jobs

Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles. ~ Steve Jobs

Let’s go invent tomorrow rather than worrying about what happened yesterday. ~ Steve Jobs

Innovation is saying no to a thousand things. ~ Steve Jobs

I’m convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance. ~ Steve Jobs

Inspiration comes during work

Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. ~ Steve Jobs

If today were the last of your life, would you do what you were going to do today? ~ Steve Jobs

It takes a lot of hard work to make something simple, to truly understand the underlying challenges and come up with elegant solutions. ~ Steve Jobs

It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works. ~ Steve Jobs

To design something really well, you have to get it. You have to really grok what it’s all about. ~ Steve Jobs

Invest time in yourself to have great experiences that are going to enrich you. ~ Steve Jobs

The most important thing is a person. A person who incites and feeds your curiosity; and machines cannot do that in the same way that people can. ~ Steve Jobs

The most important thing is a person who incites and feeds your curiosity

Illustrated quotes used with permission of Positively Present . Follow, and become a Patreon!

Short Creativity Quotes

I love short, tweetable quotes. Short is also the perfect length to make picture quotes !

Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things. ~ Ray Bradbury

Creativity has got to start with humanity and when you’re a human being, you feel, you suffer. ~ Marilyn Monroe

The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. ~ Sylvia Plath

Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting. ~ Edward de Bono

The comfort zone is the great enemy to creativity. ~ Dan Stevens

The comfort zone is the great enemy to creativity. ~Dan Stevens

Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties. ~ Erich Fromm

The chief enemy of creativity is good sense. ~ Pablo Picasso

There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life. ~ Sophia Loren

An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail. ~ Edwin Land

Anxiety is part of creativity, the need to get something out. ~ David Duchovny

Creativity is not the finding of a thing, but the making something out of it after it is found. ~ James Russell Lowell

Anxiety is the handmaiden of creativity. ~ T. S. Eliot

Creativity makes a leap, then looks to see where it is. ~ Mason Cooley

Creativity makes a leap, then looks to see where it is. ~Mason Cooley

Normal means lack of imagination, lack of creativity. ~ Jean Dubuffet

This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity. ~ Edward de Bono

Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity. ~ Bo Bennett

Creativity is breaking out of established patterns to look at things in a different way. ~ Edward de Bono

If you go with your instincts and keep your humor, creativity follows. With luck, success comes, too. ~ Jimmy Buffett

Creativity comes from a conflict of ideas. ~ Donatella Versace

Creativity comes from a conflict of ideas. ~Donatella Versace

Let us be about setting high standards for life, love, creativity, and wisdom. ~ Greg Anderson

Making the simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity. ~ Charles Mingus

Creativity is a great motivator because it makes people interested in what they are doing. ~ Edward de Bono

When we are angry or depressed in our creativity, we have misplaced our power. ~ Julia Margaret Cameron

Creativity is a natural extension of our enthusiasm. ~ Earl Nightingale

Creativity is the greatest expression of liberty. ~ Bryant H. McGill

Creativity is the greatest expression of liberty. ~Bryant H. McGill

You might also like these freedom quotes .

Creativity is the ability to introduce order into the randomness of nature. ~ Eric Hoffer

Creativity takes courage. ~ Henri Matisse

It was anger more than anything else that had set me off, roused me into productivity and creativity. ~ Mary Garden

Creativity means to push open the heavy, groaning doorway to life. ~ Daisaku Ikeda

Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better. ~ John Updike

Energy is the key to creativity. Energy is the key to life. ~ William Shatner

Energy is the key to creativity. Energy is the key to life. ~William Shatner

Create whatever causes a revolution in your heart. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

Creativity is the sudden cessation of stupidity. ~ Edwin Land

People have a God-given right to use their creativity to produce things that improve our lives. ~ Paul Ryan

Creativity is what helps me escape a lot of my inner demons. ~ Demi Lovato

I go wherever my creativity takes me. ~ Lil Wayne

Clean out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it. ~ Dee Hock

Clean out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it. ~Dee Hock

I try to manage my day by my circadian rhythms because the creativity is such an elusive thing. ~ Scott Adams

The artistry and the creativity in a story are better than any drugs. ~ Wentworth Miller

Creativity comes from looking for the unexpected and stepping outside your own experience. ~ Masaru Ibuka

Originality is the essence of true scholarship. Creativity is the soul of the true scholar. ~ Nnamdi Azikiwe

Punishing honest mistakes stifles creativity. ~ Ross Perot

To be creative means to be in love with life. ~ Osho

To be creative means to be in love with life. ~Osho

You might want to check out these love yourself quotes .

The refusal to be creative is self-will and is counter to our true nature. ~ Julia Cameron

Can’t kills creativity! ~ Camille Paglia

Creativity itself doesn’t care at all about results – the only thing it craves is the process. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

Controversy is part of the nature of art and creativity. ~ Yoko Ono

The heart and soul of the company is creativity and innovation. ~ Robert Iger

You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. ~ Maya Angelou

You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. ~Maya Angelou

Politics is the art of the possible; creativity is the art of the impossible. ~ Ben Okri

We have the capacity for infinite creativity. ~ Jackie Gleason

Creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous. ~ Bill Moyers

Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work. ~ Rita Mae Brown

I’ve found constancy and balance between creativity and normality. ~ Julian Lennon

It is better to fail in originality, than to succeed in imitation. ~ Herman Melville

It is better to fail in originality, than to succeed in imitation. ~Herman Melville

Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties. ~ Gail Sheehy

A creative life is an amplified life. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

I don’t know what I think until I write about it. ~ Joan Didion

Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things. ~ Theodore Levitt

Creativity is the natural order of life. ~ Julia Cameron

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. ~ Scott Adams

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. ~Scott Adams

Without freedom, there is no creation. ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti

Creative living is where Big Magic will always abide. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

Every day is an opportunity to be creative. ~ Innerspace

Creativity can solve almost any problem. ~ George Lois

Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up. ~ Pablo Picasso

Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try. ~ Dr. Seuss

Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try. ~Dr. Seuss

Have you seen this huge collection of short motivational quotes ?

There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. ~ Edward de Bono

There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period. ~ Brene Brown

The creative person is willing to live with ambiguity. ~ Abe Tannenbaum

An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come. ~ Victor Hugo

If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old. ~ Peter F. Drucker

Creativity is a drug I cannot live without. ~ Cecil B. DeMille

Creativity is a drug I cannot live without. ~Cecil B. DeMille

By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it. ~ Nikos Kazantzakis

You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

You do not need anybody’s permission to live a creative life. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. ~ John F. Kennedy

An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea. ~ Edward de Bono

You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club. ~ Jack London

You can’t wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club. ~Jack London

Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric. ~ Bertrand Russell

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. ~ Joseph Chilton Pierce

Life is trying things to see if they work. ~ Ray Bradbury

The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones. ~ John Maynard Keynes

A truly creative person rids him or herself of all self-imposed limitations. ~ Gerald G. Jampolsky

It’s not where you take things from – it’s where you take them to. ~ Jean-Luc Godard

It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to. ~Jean-Luc Godard

If you’re alive, you’re a creative person. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all. ~ Oscar Wilde

Truly creative people care a little about what they have done, and a lot about what they are doing. ~ Alan Cohen

Creativity is God’s gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God. ~ Julia Cameron

Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist. ~ Pablo Picasso

Originality is nothing but judicious imitation. ~ Voltaire

Originality is nothing but judicious imitation. ~Voltaire

Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people. ~ Leo Burnett

Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a divine source. ~ Julia Cameron

Leap, and the net will appear. ~ Julia Cameron

Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing. ~ Salvador Dali

I dream my painting and I paint my dream. ~ Vincent Van Gogh

You might also enjoy these famous artist quotes .

pastel color watercolor painting with feather art and words create everyday.

Funny Creativity Quotes

A creative play on words can make you think – or laugh! Just like these creative funny quotes.

Art is anything you can get away with. ~ Andy Warhol

An idea that is not dangerous is not worthy of being called an idea at all. ~ Oscar Wilde

Doors are for people with no imagination. ~ Derek Landy

That’s the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you. ~ Ray Bradbury

hand holding ice cream cone full of clouds says trust your creativity.

Why fit in when you were born to stand out? ~ Dr. Seuss

When you reach for the stars, you might not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either. ~ Leo Burnett

Done is better than good. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

There is no such thing as a new idea. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. ~ Mark Twain

Have no fear of perfection. You’ll never reach it. ~ Salvador Dali

bright violet background with turquoise graphic of lightbulb made of face and brain seay creativity starts here.

Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. ~ John Steinbeck

The criminal is the creative artist; the detective only the critic. ~ G.K. Chesterton

I’ve always felt that the best whips and chains are in the mind. With a little creativity, the physical ones are hardly necessary. ~ Jim Butcher

Fiction is the lie that tells the truth. ~ Neil Gaiman

Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes and having fun. ~ Mary Lou Cook

pink and tan watercolor art with quote saying creativity is within.

There is no healthier drug than creativity. ~ Nayyirah Waheed

Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working. ~ Pablo Picasso

You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write. ~ Saul Bellow

The best way out is always through. ~ Robert Frost

Instead of thinking outside the box, get rid of the box. ~ Deepak Chopra

desktop flatlay with rainbow effect has quote, creativity is a wild mind and disciplined eye.

If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way. ~ Napoleon Hill

Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about. ~ Oscar Wilde

The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you. ~ David Foster Wallace

Every act of creation begins with an act of destruction. ~ Pablo Picasso

If a composer suffers from loss of sleep and his sleeplessness induces him to turn out masterpieces, what a profitable loss it is! ~ Antoine De Saint-Exupéry

Samuel Clemens was a master of wit! Laugh with these famous Mark Twain quotes .

colorful pastel art has quote, spend time creating.

Funny Sayings About Creativity

More funny words about creativity! I couldn’t trace the authors for these.

Creative minds are rarely tidy.

Creativity fills my life. … and my walls. … and my closets. … and my drawers…

The biggest ideas started on a cocktail napkin.

pastel colored watercolor art has quote, seek the space for creativity.

Creativity is messy and I am very creative!

Working on my PHD in creative arts. (Projects Half Done)

Creative people don’t have a mess. They have ideas lying around everywhere!

Weekend Forecast: Crafting with a chance of chocolate.

Creativity is magical, not magic!

Keep calm and craft on.

For more clever wordplays, check out 200 paraprosdokians .

colorful prismatic background has text, Keep calm and craft on, with scissors icon.

Creative Quotes on Life

Creativity isn’t just for artists! I believe everyone is creative, and should find their way to express it.

The world really need more creative thinkers.

Creativity is a way of living life, no matter our vocation or how we earn our living. Creativity is not limited to the arts, or having some kind of important career. ~ Madeleine L’Engle

Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable. ~ George Bernard Shaw

The only unique contribution that we will ever make in this world will be born of our creativity. ~ Brené Brown

What keeps life fascinating is the constant creativity of the soul. ~ Deepak Chopra

lavender, salmon, and gold color graphic has quote, creativity is the natural order of life.

Creativity Quotes About Being Different

If everyone is creative, how are creative people different?

Because everyone is different, if we express our true selves.

This first quote sums it up best:

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken. ~ Oscar Wilde

marbled art in light yellow, bue, pink and lavender says be unique.

The most talented, thought-provoking, game-changing people are never normal. ~ Richard Branson

If you’re not doing some things that are crazy, then you’re doing the wrong things ~ Larry Page

Creativity is the greatest rebellion in existence. ~ Osho

Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye. ~ Dorothy Parker

Creativity is more than just being different. ~ Charles Mingus

large letter I on purple background leads off words inspire, innovate, impress, influence, illustrate, individualize.

Creativity Quotes for Students & Educators

Schools should foster and encourage creativity in our bright young minds, not stifle it. They are our future!

We must be careful not to discourage our twelve-year-olds by making them waste the best years of their lives preparing for examinations. ~ Freeman Dyson

When learning is purposeful, creativity blossoms. When creativity blossoms, thinking emanates. When thinking emanates, knowledge is fully lit. When knowledge is lit, economy flourishes. ~ A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Creative activity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual. ~ Arthur Koestler

Routine kills creative thought. ~ Scarlett Thomas

pink clouds on aqua sky with creativity statistic that it's the most in demand job skill.

Quotes on Creativity: Conclusion

If you enjoyed these quotes, be sure to Pin or bookmark!

Here are more useful resources:

You might enjoy learning  how to use Inspirational Quotes on social media  to create posts that engage your audience.

To make your favorite quotes into graphics, try these best Canva Alternatives .

This page of the best quote sites has links to quotes collections for every reason and season.

Like these creativity quotes? Please share this post with your friends and followers!

Famous Einstein quotes infographic

About Louise Myers

Louise Myers is a graphic design expert whose designs have been featured by Disney, Macy's, WalMart and more. Her straightforward writing style empowers small business owners to make their own graphics for social media success!

January 23, 2022 at 11:03 PM

I just published content about fostering creativity and I should put one of the quotes here! My favorite is “Creativity comes from looking for the unexpected and stepping outside your own experience” from Masaru Ibuka.

Eldin Piere says

April 22, 2019 at 6:47 AM

Whenever you see a great achievement, someone once made a stout resolution.

Prof.Salam Al Shereida

April 21, 2019 at 3:08 PM

Innovation with the Universe is saying no to a million things.

Prof. Salam Al Shereida

Roslia Santamaria says

February 4, 2019 at 10:27 PM

Loved the quotes!! Some are so inspiring, Some touched my heart. Wonderful post. Thank you so much !!

Louise Myers says

February 8, 2019 at 9:20 AM

Glad you liked them!

Zahid Khan says

April 13, 2018 at 2:48 AM

Great collection of quotes on creativity! thanks for sharing!

August 29, 2017 at 1:16 AM

I like that creativity is a drug.

Lorraine Tymon says

January 16, 2016 at 1:18 AM

Love these quotes. Thank you

January 16, 2016 at 2:05 PM

You’re welcome, Lorraine! Thanks for being so kind to comment.

Frances Caballo says

January 15, 2016 at 8:35 AM

What a beautiful post filled with gorgeous images and sentiments. I adore your work. Kudos to you!

January 15, 2016 at 2:06 PM

Thanks so much, Frances!

Charlotte says

January 15, 2016 at 5:42 AM

These quotes are terrific! I especially like “Clean out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it.” Thank you for taking the time to give us all this inspiration. Charlotte

You’re welcome, Charlotte. Thanks for your kind comment!

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30 insightful creativity quotes to inspire innovation

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Articles and Insights

Inside linearity, get inspired, ben barnhart.

  • 02 September 2021
  • 17 min read

In this article

There are many voices on creativity, how to be creative, and the creative process itself.

We can draw inspiration from them as we look at their careers and achievements.

We’ve compiled a list of the most inspiring creativity quotes to help you think out of the box and find new solutions to problems.

And, spoiler alert—the list doesn't include Steve Jobs' famous words, “Creativity is just connecting things,” because you’ve probably already heard that one too many times. We’ve tried to be a little more diverse and hopefully offer you something new.

Whether you’re a lucky human who seems to have a source of constant creativity or you’re struggling with a creative block at the moment, these little nuggets of wisdom can guide and inspire you.

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A note on inspiration

Creative people need inspiration.

The creative process is one of human's most complex and beautiful parts. Creativity is messy, frustrating, enjoyable , and different for everyone. Being creative helps us understand ourselves and the world.

One of the essential components of creativity is inspiration. We’re not always going to have creative workers such as designers or writers, in particular, know that you’ve got to sit down and do the work even when you’re not inspired if you’re going to achieve anything.

We can ensure we remain inspired by surrounding ourselves with the right people, knowledge, places, and resources. Simply reading other people’s insights on creativity is integral to staying inspired.

The role of creativity in marketing, design, and problem-solving

Creativity is more than an abstract concept. It's a fundamental tool for success in marketing, design, and problem-solving.

In marketing , creativity can differentiate a brand, making it stand out in a sea of competitors. It's the magic ingredient that turns ordinary campaigns into viral sensations, capturing the public's attention and leaving a lasting impression.

In design , creativity breathes life into ideas, transforming abstract concepts into tangible realities. It empowers designers to innovate, pushing beyond the boundaries of the known and exploring new horizons.

Creativity also plays a pivotal role in problem-solving . It encourages us to look beyond conventional solutions and consider new approaches. It's about connecting the dots in unexpected ways, leading to effective and novel solutions.

Creativity quotes

Before you check out these inspiring quotes on creativity and read our thoughts on each quote, remember to take a moment to consider what each quote means to you.

Remember, the number one secret of creativity is originality (in our humble opinion), so it’s important to stay conscious of your own creative ideas when diving into the ideas of others.

1. "Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else ever thought." – Albert Einstein

creative quotes in english

This is one of Albert Einstein's musings on originality.

Originality is a topic of great discussion in the creative world, with many artists claiming that there is no such thing. Mark Twain once said, “There's no such thing as an original idea.”

Being creative is about presenting a piece of art, a design, an idea, or an innovation in a way that is filtered through your own unique perspective, talent, and skills. Perhaps that’s what Einstein meant by this.

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2. “Art is the elimination of the unnecessary.” – Pablo Picasso

creative quotes in english

Pablo Picasso had so much wisdom to share on creativity.

He also said that “art is chaos taking shape.” There seems to be a common idea between these inspiring creativity quotes: creativity is an evolutionary process of refinement.

A creative project, whether an illustration or a logo , a sculpture, a fashion item, or a user interface—whatever form it takes, the finished product was shaped by countless influencing factors. These include culture, colors, a brief, fonts, styles, emotions, politics, etc.

A creative carefully chooses what to include and exclude. It results in something beautiful that somehow makes sense amongst the chaos of the endless influencing factors around us at any time.

But it doesn't happen overnight. It takes courageous patience and an unrelenting drive to challenge the status quo, coming up with innovative ideas and refining them until they work.

Don't worry about asking the wrong questions—or perhaps giving the wrong answers. Putting brilliant ideas into action to see what happens is one of the best sources of creativity, because it helps you find the parts you need to improve.

3. "You use a glass mirror to see your face. You use works of art to see your soul." – George Bernard Shaw

creative quotes in english

This phrase is one of the many aphorisms by George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), a famous Irish playwright, critic, and polemicist. His work is characterized by satire and insightful commentary on societal issues.

Every human has a unique perspective of the world. Everyone can create something original. Just like every person has a unique reflection in the mirror, all our creative expressions can be unique, too.

To any creative type seeking authenticity and originality in their style, the more you connect with your inner world, the more you will support originality in your art instead of continuously looking outside for inspiration.

4. “A creative life is an amplified life. It's a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life, and a hell of a lot more interesting life” – Elizabeth Gilbert

creative quotes in english

The wonderful Elizabeth Gilbert has exploded as a thought leader on “the creative life” since her book Big Magic (2016) became a bestseller. Her Ted Talks have also reached millions of people.

This quote reminds us that creativity blossoms when your lifestyle supports it. You have to be inspired, connect with interesting people, learn new things, and see new people consistently.

You can keep expanding your way of thinking with art and culture, and satisfy your curiosity with travel and education. You can stay inspired by surrounding yourself with beautiful design, fashion, and food.

marketing power template

You must experience interesting things to know how to create anything interesting.

5. “Don’t wait for inspiration. It comes while working." – Henri Matisse

creative quotes in english

Matisse was quite the fountain of wisdom regarding insights into creativity.

This quote is an important reminder that you won’t always have an endless supply of inspiration. Even when you’re not feeling it, make things anyway. It doesn't mean that you have an uncreative mind—it just means that you must make a habit of creating things even when you don't feel inspired.

Matisse suggests that once you start working, you'll unlock your creativity, and inspiration will start flowing. It'll be fueled as you continue working.

6. “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” – Sylvia Plath

creative quotes in english

Creatives can often relate to having feelings of self-doubt.

A creative mind is riddled with self-doubt. It's this questioning nature that produces creativity. And we argue that it doesn’t need to be your enemy.

Self-doubt is normal—even the greatest leaders and artists experience it. The key to success is holding the tension of opposites and put yourself out there anyway.

Acknowledge that you're feeling self-doubt, and carry on creating.

7. “Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” – Mary Lou Cook

creative quotes in english

The creative process is messy, no doubt.

Mary Lou Cook reminds us that to be creative, we have to get messy, explore, and go against the grain. The most notable part of this quote is “making mistakes” and “having fun.”

8. “It's no good being too easily swayed by people's opinions. You have to believe in yourself.” – Donatella Versace

creative quotes in english

Madame Versace knows what she’s talking about.

Perhaps the chief enemy of creativity, even more so than self-doubt, is seeking others' approval. You’re never going to win everybody over.

The most successful people in any creative endeavor trust themselves and believe in their work so much that they don’t need anyone's approval or permission.

Staying laser-focused on your creative work will help you turn viable ideas into innovations.

9. “There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.” – Edward De Bono

creative quotes in english

Creativity isn't taken seriously enough in "serious" contexts like business and government.

But there's evidence that this is changing. If you look at business hubs like Silicon Valley, you’ll see how creativity and play are valued as an essential part of technological advancement. Larger corporate institutions in low-risk, horizontal industries also look to the Valley for inspiration and innovative practices.

The field of creativity is being studied as a type of learning process, and creative principles are being applied in business, education, policy-making, and beyond.

In business, you need to find ways to foster a culture of innovation in your team. This can be done by providing opportunities for creative collaboration between individuals and cross-departmental teams. Listening to your customers and taking calculated risks will also provide innovation opportunities.

A successful innovation strategy will lead to business progress and team growth.

10. "Begin by learning to draw and paint like the old masters. After that, you can do as you like; everyone will respect you." – Salvador Dalí

creative quotes in english

Reaching the level of the "old masters" may take a lifetime of dedication—and you might want to spend your lifetime focusing on other things, too.

But that doesn't make you any less creative.

There are many styles to experiment with . If you’re a designer or illustrator, you need to focus on honing your skills and experimenting with new mediums.

Salvador Dalí captured such incredibly imaginative imagery because he had incredible skills that afforded him this ability.

We also think that maybe Dalí meant you have to earn respect as a creative by studying the established rules and principles of art. Then, you have the privilege of breaking them.

Pablo Picasso had similar ideas evident in his quote, “Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist.”

11. “Create with the heart; build with the mind.” – Criss Jami

creative quotes in english

The thinking mind can get in the way when trying to be creative.

Overthinking is another blocker to creativity. Criss Jami’s quote reminds us to create from a place of emotion and inspiration. Your art and designs won’t always make logical sense and don’t need to.

12. “Deadlines and things make you creative.” – Jack White

creative quotes in english

Here's an intriguing perspective from White Stripes musician Jack White.

Many would argue that deadlines “and things” put pressure on you and hinder creativity. However, we believe many marketers and designers will agree that deadlines push us into action and force us to get creative.

The innovation process is often put into motion by external constraints that force us to reimagine modern society. Inflexible people may struggle to act creatively in constrained circumstances, as their natural bent leans towards keeping things the same.

But discomfort is oftentimes the birthplace of innovation and an instrument of entrepreneurship.

13. “You can be cautious or you can be creative, but there's no such thing as a cautious creative.” – George Lois

creative quotes in english

Art director and designer turned author, George Lois is most famous for designing almost 100 iconic magazine covers for Esquire between 1962 and 1973.

This is one of the most famous quotes about creativity of all time. Lois reminds us that we must get messy and break some rules when exerting creative effort.

Lois goes so far as to say that caution isn't an aspect of creativity. When faced with a conflict of ideas, throw caution to the wind and do something out of the ordinary.

14. "You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." – Maya Angelou

creative quotes in english

What a relief to know that your creativity can’t run out. It’s an endless resource that becomes more activated the more you unleash it.

Perhaps that’s why it’s often called a “ creative flow .” Everyone experiences “dry spells,” but this can be due to a lack of inspiration or too much stress. It doesn’t mean your creativity has been used up or lost.

The key to creativity is unlocking something within yourself so that the creativity can flow.

15. "There is no innovation and creativity without failure." – Brené Brown

creative quotes in english

What would any inspirational quote article be without a bit of wisdom from Brené Brown?

Failure is so important to learn from. It teaches us how to refine and where to improve, plus “failures” can guide us to something better, something unexpected. They can break us open to something we’ve never thought of before.

16. “The creative process is a process of surrender, not control.” – Bruce Lee

creative quotes in english

The control comes afterward, when we're refining. But to get to that point, we have to get out of our own way and allow creativity to flow through us.

Art is surrender. If you’ve ever dived into Eastern philosophies, you’ll know that people spend entire lifetimes simply learning the art of surrendering. You don’t need to become a monk, but you might want to consciously practice surrender while you're creating.

Often, the secret to creativity lies in the subconscious. By learning to surrender, we let go of rational thinking and the conscious mind to discover the gold that lies deeper within ourselves.

17. “The creative adult is the child who survived.” – ​​Ursula Le Guin

creative quotes in english

Some research shows that all humans start out creative as children, and creativity is simply neglected, or we’re trained out of it as we grow older.

Picasso had a similar opinion to Le Guin when he said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is to remain an artist once they grow up.” This is a reminder that, in order to access creativity, we have to let our inner child come out.

We have to play and be curious. A true sign of intelligence is allowing the child within to come out and play and understanding the value in this child-like point of view.

18. “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” – Vincent Van Gogh

creative quotes in english

This quote from painter Vincent Van Gogh reminds us that creative projects, especially larger projects, don’t happen overnight.

It takes working at it in a series of moments consistently. It also reminds us that a career, a portfolio, or even a hobby takes time to build. Every project you complete is a step closer to becoming great at what you do.

Your greatness is accumulated through a series of moments; it doesn’t happen in just one moment.

19. “Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen.” – Oprah Winfrey

creative quotes in english

Where would anyone be without the wisdom of Oprah Winfrey?

Expressing our creativity is an opportunity to shed light on something. This can take the form of solutions, inventions, and art. It comes back to that unique perspective, once again. Each person’s creative expression adds to the birth of new ideas in the world, variety, and diversity in perspective.

20. “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo Da Vinci

creative quotes in english

We’ve dedicated an entire post to the beauty of simplicity . Making something complex simple in art and design is often the most significant challenge.

It takes craft, intelligence, and experience. When trying to convey sophistication in a project, always keep the overall goal of simplicity at the center.

21. “Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run, play the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read, build the products you want to use – do the work you want to see done.” – Austin Kleon

creative quotes in english

When in doubt, create what you’d like!

We can get so caught up trying to create for an audience or a client that we neglect to create for ourselves.

The most impactful and beautiful creations come from artists and designers who personally love what they are creating.

22. “Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye.” – Dorothy Parker

creative quotes in english

This quote speaks to the balance that’s necessary for any creative project.

Yes, it requires freedom, letting go, letting your imagination run wild, and all the rest. But it also requires a refined eye that knows how to pull everything together in an aesthetically pleasing way that makes it enjoyable for a viewer to experience.

23. "Creativity doesn't wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones." – Bruce Garrabrandt

creative quotes in english

Bruce Garrabrandt, a self-taught artist, emphasizes the active nature of creativity with this quote. He believes that creativity does not depend on waiting for the perfect moment but making the most out of the ordinary ones.

As an artist who began with no inherent talent for drawing, Garrabrandt's perspective on creativity is rooted in his own journey of learning skills, overcoming frustrations and setbacks, and eventually becoming a professional artist.

He encourages the development of individual gifts into talents and abilities, fostering creativity.

24. "You can't wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a club." – Jack London

creative quotes in english

This quote is from a 1905 essay by Jack London titled "Getting Into Print." London was a prolific writer who depended on his literary skills for his livelihood. He encouraged other writers to proactively seek inspiration rather than waiting for it to come to them.

He saw the writing process as requiring discipline, persistence, and the willingness to learn from others.

25. "If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play." – John Cleese

creative quotes in english

John Cleese is an English actor, comedian, and writer. Cleese is known for his comedic work in Monty Python's Flying Circus and Fawlty Towers , and he has often spoken about the importance of creativity, play, and humor.

26. "Serious design, serious play, is something else. For one thing, it often happens spontaneously, intuitively, accidentally or incidentally." – Paula Scher

creative quotes in english

In her 2008 TED talk, Great Design is Serious, Not Solemn , designer Paula Scher describes the difference between serious and solemn design. Scher is most famous for the album covers she created at CBS records, and the large text-based designs she created in the span of her accoladed career.

Seriousness is a laser focus on the task at hand, and a full immersion in the creative process. Solemn design, on the other hand, is focused on perfection and quality.

It's this creative energy that has led to some of the most surprising, delightful, and effective designs of all time.

27. "My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status." – Sir Ken Robinson

creative quotes in english

We now know creativity is serious. And we understand that it's a form of play. But do we consider it to be as crucial in society as academic literacy?

Sir Ken Robinson is an educator and author of Creativity in Schools (2015) and other books on creativity and education. He argues that schools are killing creativity through merit-based education and "teaching to the tests."

It's this approach to education that has led to most people missing an essential aspect of everyday life: critical thinking.

28. "Belief in your creative capacity lies at the heart of innovation." – Tom and David Kelley

creative quotes in english

The brothers Tom and David Kelley are thought leaders in the design space. Together, they authored Creative Confidence (2014). David is the Founder of Stanford University's d.school, a multi-disciplinary school focused on innovation to solve real-world problems.

Many business leaders and "non-creative" roles at companies think of themselves as unartistic, and wouldn't place themselves in situations where they don't know how to perform the task at hand.

But allowing yourself to act creatively, and make mistakes, is essential for your personal and professional growth. And you may even discover a new passion and career path.

29. "Creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous." – Bill Moyers

creative quotes in english

Bill Moyers is an American journalist and political commentator, and former White House Press Secretary. He's been involved in public broadcasting for many years, producing documentaries and news journal programs.

Moyers' quote emphasizes the idea that creativity is about finding the extraordinary within the ordinary. This perspective encourages us to look at the world with a fresh perspective and to find inspiration in everyday life.

30. "True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new." – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

creative quotes in english

Antoine de Saint-Exupery was a French writer and aviator, best known for his novella, The Little Prince (1943).

This quote reflects his view that happiness isn't derived from the result of our actions, but from the process of creation itself. His idea of creation isn't limited to the arts, but extends to all kinds of human endeavors where something new is brought into existence.

Key takeaways: quotes about creativity

After reading these powerful quotes about innovation and creativity, you may have come to some of your own conclusions about the creative process.

We’ve also put together a few key takeaways that we’ve learned from getting lost in the world of creativity quotes:

  • Your unique perspective is your creative gold.
  • Bringing the spirit of fun, excitement, and child-like wonder is extremely valuable to being creative.
  • The more you live a life that inspires you, the more access you have to your creativity.
  • You’re not always going to be inspired. Sometimes you must sit down and work despite how you might feel.
  • Self-doubt is normal. Create anyway.
  • It takes time and effort. Small wins are stepping stones to success.
  • Create for yourself, not for the approval of others.
  • Be curious about life.
  • Creativity is not a moment—it's a flow.
  • Creativity can come from your inner world, or be inspired by things around you.
  • Refining and simplifying your creations lead to beautiful finished products. It’s a skill that must be learned.
  • Being creative is as important for solving real-world problems as literacy.

Creatives in all industries—marketers, designers, artists, business leaders, etc.—need to feed their inspiration to keep creativity alive.

What’s your favorite quote about creativity? Share and tag Linearity Curve on social media , and we'll reshare your post.

Looking for a new medium to unleash your creativity? Get started with Linearity Curve for free today and start designing your next big idea.

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Ben is a Content Lead for Linearity living in Berlin. His hobbies include board games, cooking, reading, and writing.

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68 Inspiring Creativity Quotes To Spark Fresh Thinking

Are you looking for some inspiring creativity quotes? If so, you’re in the right place.

Writing apps are nice, but we all need a little inspiration sometimes.

To be creative describes combining old and new ideas in ways people don’t expect. It’s less about originality than it is about interpreting what went before you.

When you’re stuck or feeling creatively drained, the best place to look is often in the writings of creative people you admire. I’ve gathered some great quotes about creativity that inspire other writers and me.

1. Maya Angelou

2. arthur ashe, 3. saul bellow, 4. paulo coelho, 5. anthony j. d’angelo, 6. emily dickinson, 7. albert einstein, 8. henry ford, 9. robert frost, 10. napoleon hill, 11. steve jobs, 12. tom wolfe, 13. oscar wilde, 14. david foster wallace, 15. mark twain, 16. john steinbeck, 17. gertrude stein, 18. aaron sorkin, 19. arthur schopenhauer, 20. george saunders, 21. anna quindlen, 22. pablo picasso, 23. anaïs nin, 24. charles mingus, 25. john maynard keynes, 26. pablo picasso − pablo picasso: metamorphoses of the human form: graphic works, 1895-1972, 27. sylvia plath , 28. derek landy − skulduggery pleasant, 29. jacob bronowski , 30. john steinbeck , 31. austin kleon , 32. madeleine l’engle , 33. ray bradbury , 34. deepak chopra , 35. chuck palahniuk , 36. freeman dyson, 37. g.k. chesterton , 38. julio cortázar , 39. jim butcher , 40. a.p.j. abdul kalam , 41. arthur koestler , 42. scarlett thomas , 43. charles baudelaire , 44. antoine de saint-exupéry , 45. haruki murakami , 46. pablo picasso, 47. joan miro, 48. richard branson, 49. larry page, 50. criss jami, 51. neil gaiman, 52. edward debono, 53. brené brown, 55. mary lou cook, 56. dr. seuss, 57. salvador dali, 58. scott adams, 59. jack london, 60. julia cameron, 61. kurt vonnegut, 62. george bernard shaw, 63. donatella versace, 64. steve jobs, 65. leo burnett, 66. vincent van gogh, 67. eric fromm, 68. elizabeth gilbert, the final word on these top creativity quotes.

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” Maya Angelou

Mary Angelou creativity quote

Creativity is contagious. As this quote shows, the more time you spend writing and working on your ideas, the more you’ll have. In other words, don’t worry about the well running dry of ideas.

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” Arthur Ashe

Arthur Ashe creativity quote

“You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.” Saul Bellow

Saul Bellow creativity quote

“One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted. Do it now.” Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho quote

“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.” Anthony J. D’Angelo

D\'Angelo Quote

“I dwell in possibility.” Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson quote

“Those who have the privilege to know have the duty to act.” Albert Einstein

I particularly like this creativity quote as Einstein had a brilliant scientific mind. But he still understood the creative process and often completed thought experiments to solve complex problems, akin to visualizing your work.

I also like his other quote, “Creativity is intelligence having fun.”

Albert Einstein quote

“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.” Henry Ford

Henry Ford quote

“The best way out is always through.” Robert Frost

This quote shows, if you have a conflict of ideas, that’s normal. Keep going; keep pressing forward with your work.

Robert Frost quote

“If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.” Napoleon Hill

Napoleon Hill creativity quote

“Quality is more important than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.” Steve Jobs

This is one of my favorite creativity quotes! It’s instructive for overcoming problems like self-doubt. Basically, it’s better to learn from a public failure than to try and perfect a masterpiece in private. Don’t let a fear of perfection hold you back.

Steve Jobs quote

“Put your good where it will do the most.” Tom Wolfe

Tom Wolfe quote

“Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about.” Oscar Wilde

In other words, stop waiting for the perfect moment to write, draw, or paint. Don’t let a fear of perfectionism hold you back either. Have fun with it.

Oscar Wilde quote

“The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you.” David Foster Wallace

This is a particularly popular creativity quote on social media, and for a good reason. Readers enjoy creative people who are honest and don’t hold themselves back.

David Foster Wallace quote

“There is no such thing as a new idea. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope.” Mark Twain

Mark Twain quote

“Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.” John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck quote

“One must dare to be happy. “ Gertrude Stein

As creativity quotes go, this one reveals the secret of many great creative people. They spend as much time on their personal life as their work. It’s impossible to create if another part of your life is on fire.

Gertrude Stein quote

“The world doesn’t care how many times you fall down, as long as it’s one fewer than the number of times you get back up.” Aaron Sorkin

Aaron Sorkin quote

“Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Genius hits a target no one else can see.” Arthur Schopenhauer

Schopenhauer quote

“What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.” George Saunders

As creativity quotes go, Saunders shows that small thing’s matter. Perhaps you can help a reader or fan of your work in some unexpected way?

George Saunders quote

“You cannot be really first rate at your work if your work is all you are.” Anna Quindlen

Sometimes we’re our own worst enemy. Unless you like burnout, it makes good sense to cultivate interests and pursuits outside of creative work.

Anna Quindlen quote

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” Pablo Picasso

Along with Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso is one of my favorite creative people. I had the pleasure of seeing some of his paintings while holidaying in Barcelona. His commitment to lifelong creative projects is inspiring. I bought a magnet with this quote and stuck it on my wall in my office.

Pable Picasso quote

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” Anaïs Nin

As this quote shows, living a creative life is often deeply personal and interpreted through our own experiences and viewpoint of the world. There is no such thing as a single correct viewpoint of the world.

Anais Nin quote

“Making the simple complicated is commonplace. Making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.” Charles Mingus

Charles Mingus quote

“The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.” John Maynard Keynes

John Maynard Keynes quote

“Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not. ” Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso quote

“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” Sylvia Plath

Sylvia Plath quote

“Doors are for people with no imagination.” Derek Landy

Derek Landy quote

“It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it.” Jacob Bronowski

Jacob Bronowski − The Ascent of Man

“Our species is the only creative species, and it has only one creative instrument, the individual mind and spirit of man. Nothing was ever created by two men. There are no good collaborations, whether in music, in art, in poetry, in mathematics, in philosophy. Once the miracle of creation has taken place, the group can build and extend it, but the group never invents anything. The preciousness lies in the lonely mind of a man.” John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck − East of Eden

“Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run , play the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read, build the products you want to use – do the work you want to see done.” Austin Kleon

Austin Kleon − Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

“But unless we are creators we are not fully alive. What do I mean by creators? Not only artists, whose acts of creation are the obvious ones of working with paint of clay or words. Creativity is a way of living life, no matter our vocation or how we earn our living. Creativity is not limited to the arts , or having some kind of important career.” Madeleine L’Engle

Madeleine L'Engle − Walking on Water

“That’s the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.” Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury − Zen in the Art of Writing

“What keeps life fascinating is the constant creativity of the soul.” Deepak Chopra

Deepak Chopra − Life After Death: The Burden of Proof

“Anymore, no one’s mind is their own.” Chuck Palahniuk

Chuck Palahniuk − Lullaby

“We must be careful not to discourage our twelve-year-olds by making them waste the best years of their lives preparing for examinations.” Freeman Dyson

Freeman Dyson − Infinite in All Directions

“The criminal is the creative artist; the detective only the critic.” G.K. Chesterton

G.K. Chesterton − The Blue Cross: A Father Brown Mystery

“All profound distraction opens certain doors. You have to allow yourself to be distracted when you are unable to concentrate.” Julio Cortázar

Julio Cortázar − Around the Day in Eighty Worlds

“I’ve always felt that the best whips and chains are in the mind. With a little creativity, the physical ones are hardly necessary.” Jim Butcher

This quote shows that creative people sometimes use their inner demons, worries, and fears to inform their work. A creative mind is sometimes a troubling place!

Jim Butcher − Blood Rites

“When learning is purposeful, creativity blossoms. When creativity blossoms, thinking emanates. When thinking emanates, knowledge is fully lit. When knowledge is lit, economy flourishes.” A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam − Indomitable Spirit

“Creative activity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual.” Arthur Koestler

Arthur Koestler − Drinkers of Infinity: Essays 1955-1967

“Routine kills creative thought.” Scarlett Thomas

Creative people must find a balance between having solitude to work on their ideas and seeking new experiences to inform them. Finding that balance is a learning process.

Scarlett Thomas − PopCo

“Genius is no more than childhood recaptured at will, childhood equipped now with man’s physical means to express itself, and with the analytical mind that enables it to bring order into the sum of experience, involuntarily amassed.” Charles Baudelaire

Charles Baudelaire − The Painter Of Modern Life And Other Essays

“If a composer suffers from loss of sleep and his sleeplessness induces him to turn out masterpieces, what a profitable loss it is!” Antoine De Saint-Exupéry

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry − Night Flight

“Artists are those who can evade the verbose.” Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami quote

The chief enemy of creativity is good sense Pablo Picasso

The chief enemy of creativity is good sense

The works must be confused with fire in the soul but executed with clinical coolness Joan Miro

The works must be confused with fire in the soul but executed with clinical coolness

The most talented, thought-provoking, game-changing people are never normal Richard Branson

As inspirational quotes go, this is a good one, particularly considering that Branson has set up over 40 virgin companies.

The most talented, thought-provoking, game-changing people are never normal

If you’re not doing some things that are crazy, then you’re doing the wrong things Larry Page

If you’re not doing some things that are crazy, then you’re doing the wrong things

Create with the heart; build with the mind Criss Jami

Create with the heart; build with the mind

Fiction is the lie that tells the truth. Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman was quoting Albert Camus here, demonstrating that the creative process involves learning from your peers.

Neil Gaiman creativity quote

“An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.” Edward DeBono

An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea

“The only unique contribution that we will ever make in this world will be born of our creativity.” Brené Brown

The only unique contribution that we will ever make in this world will be born of our creativity

“Creativity is the greatest rebellion in existence.” Osho

Creativity is the greatest rebellion in existence

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes and having fun” Mary Lou Cook

Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes and having fun

“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try! Dr. Seuss

Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try

“Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.” Salvador Dali

Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” Scott Adams

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep

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

You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club

“Leap, and the net will appear.” Julia Cameron

Leap, and the net will appear

“Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, “It might have been.” Kurt Vonnegut

Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, “It might have been"

“Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.” George Bernard Shaw

Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable

“Creativity comes from a conflict of ideas.” Donatella Versace

Creativity comes from a conflict of ideas

“Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly and get on with improving your other innovations.” Steve Jobs

Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly and get on with improving your other innovations

“When you reach for the stars, you might not quite get one, but you won’t come up with a handful of mud either.”  Leo Burnett

When you reach for the stars, you might not quite get one, but you won't come up with a handful of mud either

“I dream my painting and I paint my dream.” Vincent Van Gogh

I dream my painting and I paint my dream

“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.” Eric Fromm

Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties

“Done is better than good.” Elizabeth Gilbert

Done is better than good

Whether or not creativity can be taught is open to debate.

When I find a great creativity quote, I sometimes use it as a writing prompt to overcome problems like writer’s block .

I write the quote at the top of the page and spend a little time freewriting what the creativity quote means to me.

When I’m done, I remove the quote and keep what I’ve written.

I also keep a file with some of the best quotes about creativity in my computer that I draw upon when looking for something special to sprinkle over a piece of writing.

If you enjoyed these quotes about creativity, please share this post with a friend or check out my Pinterest board of quotes.

You can also check out our list of top author quotes .

creative quotes in english

Bryan Collins is the owner of Become a Writer Today. He's an author from Ireland who helps writers build authority and earn a living from their creative work. He's also a former Forbes columnist and his work has appeared in publications like Lifehacker and Fast Company.

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wisdom quotes trending all quotes

100 Creativity Quotes To Spark Your Best Ideas

By Maxime Lagacé

Maxime is the founder of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm and peaceful mind. Learn more about him on his about page .

Here are 100 of the most inspiring creativity quotes I could find. And the goal is simple: to inspire you, and boost your work and your life. You’ll discover quotes by Einstein, Picasso, Disney, and more. Enjoy!

creativity quotes chief enemy good sense pablo picasso wisdom

The chief enemy of creativity is good sense. Pablo Picasso

creativity quotes works must conceived with fire the soul executed with clinical coolness joan miro wisdom

The works must be conceived with fire in the soul but executed with clinical coolness. Joan Miró

creativity quotes who would be must therefore noncomformist ralph waldo emerson wisdom

He who would be a man must therefore be a nonconformist. Ralph Waldo Emerson

creativity quotes most talented though provoking game changing people never normal richard branson wisdom

The most talented, thought-provoking, game-changing people are never normal. Richard Branson

creativity quotes doing some things that crazy you doing wrong things larry page wisdom

If you’re not doing some things that are crazy, then you’re doing the wrong things. Larry Page

creativity quotes create with heart build mind criss jami wisdom

Create with the heart; build with the mind. Criss Jami

creativity quotes great things accomplished those who yield trends fads popular opinions jack kerouac wisdom

Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion. Jack Kerouac

creativity quotes most dangerous idea silencing people naval ravikant wisdom

The most dangerous idea is silencing people. Naval Ravikant

creativity quotes originality best form rebellion mike sasso wisdom

Originality is the best form of rebellion. Mike Sasso

creativity quotes vulnerability birthplace innovation change brene brown wisdom

Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change. Brené Brown

creativity quotes world always seems brighter have just something there before neil gaiman wisdom man painting graffiti

The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before. Neil Gaiman

creativity quotes art freedom will change society faster politics victor pinchuk wisdom woman laptop working

Art, freedom and creativity will change society faster than politics. Victor Pinchuk

creativity quotes obscured conscious mind naval ravikant wisdom

Creativity is obscured by the conscious mind. Naval Ravikant

creativity quotes there intelligence when afraid bruce lee wisdom man laptop working

There is intelligence when you are not afraid. Bruce Lee

creativity quotes art not trying letting maxime lagace wisdom

Creativity: the art of not trying, the art of letting go. Maxime Lagacé
  • 100 Business Quotes To Inspire Success In Your Workplace
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The Best Creativity Quotes

creativity quotes that few now dare eccentric marks chief danger time john stuart mill wisdom woman

That so few now dare to be eccentric marks the chief danger of our time. John Stuart Mill
If only we could pull out our brain and use only our eyes. Pablo Picasso
You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. Maya Angelou
The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose. James Baldwin
We adore chaos because we love to produce order. M. C. Escher
How to unlock creativity: slow down, study another field, get into nature, get out of office, music (lots), sketch, cardio before/after, nibble on small ideas, throw stuff away, atomize the work, look for orthogonal inspiration, breathe, learn about circadian rhythm, paint. Brian Norgard
If it doesn’t sell; it isn’t creative. David Ogilvy

creativity quotes regular orderly life violent original work gustave flaubert wisdom

Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work. Gustave Flaubert
An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all. Oscar Wilde
When you can do a common thing in an uncommon way; you will command the attention of the world. George Washington Carver
Great things are not done by impulse, but a series of small things brought together. Vincent van Gogh
The important thing for you is to be alert, to question, to find out, so that your own initiative may be awakened. Bruce Lee
Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit. E. E. Cummings
A busy calendar and a busy mind will destroy your ability to do great things in this world. If you want to be able to do great things, whether you’re a musician, or whether you’re an entrepreneur, or whether you’re an investor, you need free time and you need a free mind. Naval Ravikant
Intelligence uses what is known to solve problems. Creativity uses what is unknown to discover possibilities. Simon Sinek

creativity quotes shut eyes order see paul gauguin wisdom mountain cars nature landscape

I shut my eyes in order to see. Paul Gauguin
Social media has colonized what was once a sacred space occupied by emptiness: the space reserved for thought and creativity. Mahershala Ali
When we build, let us think that we build forever. John Ruskin
It may be that our cosmic curiosity is a genetically-encoded force that we illuminate when we look up and wonder. Neil deGrasse Tyson
The principal mark of genius is not perfection but originality, the opening of new frontiers. Arthur Koestler
Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart; confess to yourself whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write. Rainer Maria Rilke
So go on, get angry. But keep your mouth shut and go do your work . Austin Kleon

Part 2. Creativity Quotes That Are…

Inspirational creativity quotes.

creativity quotes art handicraft transmission feeling artist experienced leo tolstoy wisdom hand writing sheet paper

Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced. Leo Tolstoy
The richness I achieve comes from nature, the source of my inspiration. Claude Monet
Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. Carl Sagan
If you’re to create something powerful and important, you must at the very least be driven by an equally powerful inner force. Ryan Holiday
The main thing is to be moved, to love, to hope, to tremble, to live. Auguste Rodin
Absurdity and anti-absurdity are the two poles of creative energy. Karl Lagerfeld
The question is not if we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists. Martin Luther King Jr
Draw the art you want to see, start the business you want to run, play the music you want to hear, write the books you want to read, build the products you want to use – do the work you want to see done. Austin Kleon
When I am completely myself, entirely alone during the night when I cannot sleep, it is on such occasions that my ideas flow best and most abundantly. Mozart

creativity quotes insanity sanity normal psychotic normal means lack imagination jean dubuffet wisdom man jumping

For me, insanity is super sanity. The normal is psychotic. Normal means lack of imagination, lack of creativity. Jean Dubuffet
The question isn’t who is going to let me; It’s who is going to stop me. Ayn Rand
Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing. Georgia O’Keeffe
The ability to see order in chaos is called creativity. Simon Sinek ( Source )
If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced. Vincent van Gogh
Don’t think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art. Andy Warhol
If you want to destroy someone’s creativity, remove all their constraints. Tiago Forte ( Source )
The less scheduled you are, the more creative you’re going to be. Naval Ravikant
Perfection is no small thing, but it is made up of small things. Michelangelo

Short Creativity Quotes

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One-liners, short creativity quotes, sayings, thoughts, and captions for your bio, social status, self-talk, motto, mantra, signs, posters, wallpapers, and backgrounds.

Creativity takes courage. Henri Matisse
To be an artist is to believe in life. Henry Moore
The criminal is the creative artist; the detective only the critic. G.K. Chesterton
The urge to destroy is also a creative urge. Mikhail Bakunin
Good art inspires; Good design motivates. Otl Aicher
Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work. Chuck Close
When all think alike, then no one is thinking. Walter Lippman
Without freedom, there is no creation. Jiddu Krishnamurti
My humor is my creativity, and my skepticism is a gift. J. Tillman
If you want something new, you have to stop doing something old. Peter F. Drucker
Imitation is suicide. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Every new idea is just a mashup or a remix of one or more previous ideas. Austin Kleon
Creativity is as important as literacy. Ken Robinson

creativity quotes replace fear with curiosity steven spielberg wisdom path forest

Replace fear with curiosity. Steven Spielberg
Ideas come from everything. Alfred Hitchcock
It’s harder to create than to destroy. Angela Jiang ( Source )
Creativity increases when you have peace. Aaron Aalto
Everything is interesting. Look closer. Unknown

Funny Creativity Quotes

creativity quotes dont need time what deadline duke ellington wisdom man graffiti

I don’t need time. What I need is a deadline. Duke Ellington (By the way, did you know that deadlines can actually crush your creativity ?)
It’s no accident that AHA and HAHA are spelled almost the same way. Mitch Ditkoff
Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. John Steinbeck
I can always be distracted by love, but eventually I get horny for my creativity. Gilda Radner
Google everything. I mean everything. Google your dreams, Google your problems. Don’t ask a question before you Google it. You’ll either find the answer or you’ll come up with a better question. Austin Kleon
Keep your sense of humor, my friend; if you don’t have a sense of humor it just isn’t funny anymore. Wavy Gravy
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ but ‘That’s funny!’. Isaac Asimov
The stone age didn’t end because they ran out of stones.

Part 3. Creativity Quotes By The Most Creative People Ever

Thomas edison.

There’s a way to do it better – find it. Thomas A. Edison
There are no rules here – we’re trying to accomplish something. Thomas A. Edison
To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. Thomas A. Edison

Albert Einstein

Logic will get you from a to b. Imagination will take you everywhere. Albert Einstein
I never made one of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking Albert Einstein
The only way to escape the corruptible effect of praise is to go on working. Albert Einstein

Steve Jobs (Apple founder)

Stay hungry. Stay foolish. Steve Jobs
Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. Steve Jobs
The people who made Mac are sort of on the edge . Steve Jobs
Why fit in when you were born to stand out? Dr. Seuss
Think left and think right, and think low and think high; Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try. Dr. Seuss
I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. Dr. Seuss

Pablo Picasso

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. Pablo Picasso
Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working. Pablo Picasso
Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction. Picasso
Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery – celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “ It’s not where you take things from – it’s where you take them to “. Jim Jarmusch

Further Readings

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  • 100+ Powerful Motivational Quotes For Success
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  • 100 Entrepreneur Quotes To Help You Achieve More
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  • How to Be Original: 18 Ideas to Jump-Start Your Creativity (makealivingwriting.com)
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  • 100 Leadership Quotes To Inspire You (And Your Team)

Hope you enjoyed these beautiful creativity quotes. If you did, please share them with a friend today!

Are you creative? What’s your favorite creativity quote? And remember: words can transform your life, if you find the right ones.

Table Of Contents

Part 1 Top 15 Images Best Quotes

Part 2 Creativity Quotes That ARE Inspirational Short Funny

Part 3 Most Creative People Ever Thomas Edison Albert Einstein Steve Jobs Dr. Seuss Lady Gaga Walt Disney Osho Pablo Picasso William Shakespeare Ralph Waldo Emerson William James Oscar Wilde Salvador Dali

Part 4 Conclusion

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creative quotes in english

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47 Creativity Quotes To Inspire The Creator In You

Rochi Zalani

Table of Contents

Are you feeling stuck and can’t come up with new ideas?

Creative work adds value and meaning to a creative person’s life, so I can feel you.

Don’t worry, though.

Today I’ll help you feel inspired again. Through this article let’s introspect on a select few creativity quotes by seasoned and renowned artists, authors, and creative people, and what creating meant to them.

You can write down your favorite quote in a notebook and then free write what the words mean to you. It’s a great method to foster your artistic instincts and rekindle the joy of creation.

So are you ready to get your juices flowing? Here’s the first quote:

1. “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have”. – Maya Angelou

2. “Make an empty space in any corner of your mind, and creativity will instantly fill it”. – Dee Hock

creative quotes in english

3. “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” -Albert Einstein

4. “Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun”. – Mary Lou Cook

5. “Making the simple complicated is commonplace. Making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity”. – Charles Mingus

6. “Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things.” – Ray Bradbury

7. “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt”. – Sylvia Plath

8. “As is the case with most people in this game, I am driven by financial motives and creative motives; the question I had to answer is which motive I will give priority to?” -Nipsey Hussle

creative quotes in english

9. “What keeps life fascinating is the constant creativity of the soul”. – Deepak Chopra 

10. “An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail”. – Edwin Land

11. “Creativity involves breaking out of expected patterns in order to look at things in a different way.” – Edward de Bono

creative quotes in english

12. “Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort”. -Franklin D. Roosevelt 

13. “That’s the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.” – Ray Bradbury

14. “The chief enemy of creativity is “good” sense”. – Pablo Picasso

15. “Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.” – Erich Fromm

16. “In order to be creative, you have to be allowed to fail”. -Julie Walters 

creative quotes in english

17. “Creativity doesn’t wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones.” -Bruce Garrabrandt

18. “The comfort zone is a great enemy to creativity.” -Dan Stevens

19. “There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life”. – Sophia Loren

20. “There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period”. -Brene Brown

creative quotes in english

21. “Anxiety is the handmaiden of creativity.” -T. S. Eliot

22. “Anytime I have an idea, I’ll make sure that I put it down so that when we do sit down to write an album, I don’t have to dream it all out of thin air. I don’t have to be creative on the spur of the moment, or spontaneously artistic. I just take advantage of whenever creativity strikes.” -Neil Peart 

23. “Great indeed is the sublimity of the Creative, to which all beings owe their beginning and which permeates all heaven”. -Lao Tzu 

creative quotes in english

24. “I am an artist, you know. It is my right to be odd”. -E.A. Bucchianeri 

25. “What if the very reason you were created was to be creative?” -Michelle Dennis Evans

26. “Everyone has a creative impulse, and has the right to create, and should”. -Patti Smith

27. “Everybody has creative potential and from the moment you can express this creative potential, you can start changing the world.” -Paulo Coelho

creative quotes in english

28. “If it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative.” -David Ogilvy 

29. “One of the greatest necessities in America is to discover creative solitude.” -Carl Sandburg 

30. “Odd how the creative power at once brings the whole universe to order”. -Virginia Woolf

31. “The human spirit lives on creativity and dies in conformity and routine”. -Vilayat Inayat Khan

32. “The society based on production is only productive, not creative”. -Albert Camus 

creative quotes in english

33. “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination”. -Albert Einstein

34. “Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything”. -George Lois

35. “Nature is infinitely creative. It is always producing the possibility of new beginnings”. -Marianne Williamson 

36. “For a creative writer possession of the ‘truth’ is less important than emotional sincerity”. -George Orwell 

creative quotes in english

37. “The most creative people are motivated by the grandest of problems that are presented before them.” -Neil DeGrasse Tyson

38. “Rational thoughts never drive people’s creativity the way emotions do.” -Neil DeGrasse Tyson

39. “This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity”. -Edward De Bono

40. “There’s no one way to be creative. Any old way will work.” -Ray Bradbury

creative quotes in english

41. “Creativity doesn’t wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones.” -Bruce Garrabrandt

42. “The comfort zone is a great enemy to creativity.” -Dan Stevens

43. “There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life”. – Sophia Loren

44. “Routine kills creative thought.” – Scarlett Thomas

45. “Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people.” – Leo Burnett  

46. “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while”. – Steve Jobs

47. “Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye.” – Dorothy Parker

Want To Share Your Favorite Quotes On Creativity?

Then go ahead and use the comments box below. Look forward to reading them. Also, don’t forget to check out the writing quotes for more such inspiration!

creative quotes in english

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Additional reading.

Rochi Zalani

I'm a staff writer at Elite Content Marketer and a closet poet. When not whipping up high-quality SaaS content, I'm writing bookish essays on my website, rochizalani.com, and chatting with my newsletter community. She believes there’s nothing that can’t be cured by some fresh poetry and a F.R.I.E.N.D.S episode.

creative quotes in english

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30+ Quotes About Creativity to Inspire Your Process

November 20, 2020

No matter what field you’re in—be it art, writing, science, tech, or sales—coming up with creative ideas can be extremely frustrating, if not terrifying. But here’s the reassuring truth: every single creative in the history of the world has struggled with the same frustrations and fears. Fortunately, many have documented their experiences, leaving us the words we need to hear when we really feel stuck. We’ve compiled this handy list of creativity quotes from people in all different fields to help guide and inspire you—no matter where you are in the creative process.

Quotes for Finding Creative Inspiration

Need a little jumpstart to get the creative juices flowing? These words from famous creatives just might help.

1. “Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth.” —Rumi, The Essential Rumi

2. “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” —Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

3. “If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.” —Ken Robinson, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything

4. "To create one must be willing to be stone stupid, to sit upon a throne on top of a jackass and spill rubies from one’s mouth. Then the river will flow, then we can stand in the stream of it raining down." —Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run with the Wolves

5. “The road to creativity passes so close to the madhouse and often detours or ends there.” —Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death

6. "Our species is the only creative species, and it has only one creative instrument, the individual mind and spirit." —John Steinbeck, East of Eden

7. “What keeps life fascinating is the constant creativity of the soul.” —Deepak Chopra, Life After Death

8. "That’s what makes a god—or a mother. There’s nothing more intoxicating than creating something from nothing. Creating something from yourself.” —Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl

9. “Women have sat indoors all these millions of years, so that by this time the very walls are permeated by their creative force, which has, indeed, so overcharged the capacity of bricks and mortar that it must harness itself to pens and brushes and business and politics.” —Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own

10. “Reading, conversation, environment, culture, heroes, mentors, nature—all are lottery tickets for creativity. Scratch away at them and you’ll find out how big a prize you’ve won.” —Twyla Tharp, The Creative Habit

11. “One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.” —Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra

12. “For what matters in life is not whether we receive a round of applause; what matters is whether we have the courage to venture forth despite the uncertainty of acclaim.” —Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow 

13. "Nothing is more creative... nor destructive... than a brilliant mind with a purpose." —Dan Brown, Inferno

14. “That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.” —Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing

15. “Despite a lack of natural ability, I did have the one element necessary to all early creativity: naïveté, that fabulous quality that keeps you from knowing just how unsuited you are for what you are about to do.” —Steve Martin, Born Standing Up

16. “People like you must create. If you don't create... you will become a menace to society.” —Maria Semple, Where’d You Go, Bernadette

17. “The truth is that creative activity is one that involves the entire self—our emotions, our levels of energy, our characters, and our minds.” —Robert Greene, Mastery

18. “Throughout history, people with new ideas—who think differently and try to change things—have always been called troublemakers.” —Richelle Mead, Shadow Kiss

19. "The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will." —Chuck Palahniuk, Diary

20. “Ideas are like fish. If you want to catch little fish, you can stay in the shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you’ve got to go deeper. Down deep, the fish are more powerful and more pure. They’re huge and abstract. And they’re very beautiful.” —David Lynch, Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity

Quotes about Being Artistically Creative

Transforming a blank canvas or empty page into a work of art—for painters, writers, musicians, choreographers, and poets, that daunting challenge is part of the craft. These quotes on art and creativity can offer some perspective and help refresh your approach to your artistic practice.

21. "The primary math of the real world is one and one equals two. The layman (as, often, do I) swings that every day. He goes to the job, does his work, pays his bills and comes home. One plus one equals two. It keeps the world spinning. But artists, musicians, con men, poets, mystics and such are paid to turn that math on its head, to rub two sticks together and bring forth fire." —Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run

22. "Have pity on those who are fearful of taking up a pen, or a paintbrush, or an instrument, or a tool because they are afraid that someone has already done so better than they could, and who feel themselves to be unworthy to enter the marvelous mansion of art." —Paulo Coelho, The Pilgrimage

23. "Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow… Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.” —Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country

24. “Art and love are the same thing: It’s the process of seeing yourself in things that are not you.” —Chuck Klosterman, Killing Yourself to Live

25. “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” —Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island

26. “Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.” —C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

27. “Each of us is an artist of our days; the greater our integrity and awareness, the more original and creative our time will become.” —John O'Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us

Quotes on Creativity and Imagination

Although it’s easy to get caught up in the idea of the final product—the hit song, the published book, the gallery-hosted painting—it’s essential to remember the importance of imagination in the creative process. These quotes remind you to cherish the freedom to dream, explore, and take bold leaps without worrying about the end result. 

28. "Imagining something is better than remembering something." —John Irving, The World According to Garp

29. “Keep in mind that imagination is at the heart of all innovation. Crush or constrain it and the fun will vanish.” —Albert-Laszlo Barabasi, Bursts: The Hidden Pattern Behind Everything We Do

30. “But you can go on thinking and imagining forever further and stop at no decisions to pick up a bag for the thinkings. Turn your thinking into your work, your thoughts a book, in sieges.” —Jack Kerouac, On the Road

31. "Creativity is a way of living life, no matter our vocation or how we earn our living.” —Madeleine L'Engle, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art

42 Clever and Deep Quotes from 'The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy'

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75 Creativity Quotes

creativity quotes

Creativity quotes can help to inspire your creative soul.

Reading quotes about creativity can do many things for you. For starters, they can provide inspiration when your creativity well seems to have run dry. Secondly, they can help give you the push that you need to get started on your creative endeavors, whether it’s writing a screen play, putting together a presentation for a client, or simply being more creative in your everyday life.

creative quotes in english

Here, then, are 75 creativity quotes to get your creative juices flowing .

1. “There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.” — Edward de Bono

2. “There is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost.”  — Martha Graham

3. “Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.” — Theodore Levitt

4. “A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and worried to death by a frown on the right man’s brow.”  — Charles Brower

5. “When we engage in what we are naturally suited to do, our work takes on the quality of play and it is play that stimulates creativity.” –  Linda Naiman

6. “The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself.” — Alan Alda

7. “It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.” — Edward de Bono

8. “A painter told me that nobody could draw a tree without in some sort becoming a tree; or draw a child by studying the outlines of its form merely . . . but by watching for a time his motions and plays, the painter enters into his nature and can then draw him at every attitude . . .” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

9. “Genius means little more than the faculty of perceiving in an unhabitual way.” — William James

10. “The creative person wants to be a know-it-all. He wants to know about all kinds of things-ancient history, nineteenth century mathematics, current manufacturing techniques, hog futures. Because he never knows when these ideas might come together to form a new idea. It may happen six minutes later, or six months, or six years. But he has faith that it will happen.” — Carl Ally

11. “Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” — Mary Lou Cook

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

13. “Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.” — Henry Ward Beecher

14. “The key question isn’t “What fosters creativity?” But it is why in God’s name isn’t everyone creative? Where was the human potential lost? How was it crippled? I think therefore a good question might be not why do people create? But why do people not create or innovate? We have got to abandon that sense of amazement in the face of creativity, as if it were a miracle if anybody created anything.” — Abraham Maslow

15. “Nothing is done. Everything in the world remains to be done or done over. The greatest picture is not yet painted, the greatest play isn’t written, the greatest poem is unsung. There isn’t in all the world a perfect railroad, nor a good government, nor a sound law. Physics, mathematics, and especially the most advanced and exact of the sciences are being fundamentally revised. . . Psychology, economics, and sociology are awaiting a Darwin, whose work in turn is awaiting an Einstein.” — Lincoln Steffens

16. “The world is but a canvas to the imagination.”  — Henry David Thoreau

17. “We have come to think of art and work as incompatible, or at least independent categories and have for the first time in history created an industry without art.”  — Ananda K. Coomaraswamy

18. “So you see, imagination needs moodling – long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering.”  — Brenda Ueland

19. “Creativity is… seeing something that doesn’t exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God.” — Michele Shea

20. “The most potent muse of all is our own inner child.”

– Stephen Nachmanovitch

21. “As competition intensifies, the need for creative thinking increases. It is no longer enough to do the same thing better . . . no longer enough to be efficient and solve problems” — Edward de Bono

22. “Listen to anyone with an original idea, no matter how absurd it may sound at first. If you put fences around people, you get sheep. Give people the room they need.” — William McKnight, 3M President

23. “Everyone who’s ever taken a shower has had an idea. It’s the person who gets out of the shower, dries off and does something about it who makes a difference.” — Nolan Bushnell

24. “All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning.” — Albert Camus

creativity quotes

26. “Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” — Walt Disney

27. “God is really another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant and the cat. He has no real style. He just goes on trying other things.” — Pablo Picasso

28. “To draw, you must close your eyes and sing.” — Pablo Picasso

29. “A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

30. “The wastebasket is a writer’s best friend.” — Isaac Bashevis Singer

31. “Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.” — Jonh Steinbeck

32. “If you hear a voice within you say, ‘You cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” — Vincent van Gogh

33. “Where observation is concerned, chance favors the prepared mind.” –  Louis Pasteur

34. “I shall become a master in this art only after a great deal of practice.” — Erich Fromm

35. “I began by tinkering around with some old tunes I knew. Then, just to try something different, I set to putting some music to the rhythm that I used in jerking ice-cream sodas at the Poodle Dog. I fooled around with the tune more and more until at last, lo and behold, I had completed my first piece of finished music. ” — Duke Ellington

36. “Because of their courage, their lack of fear, they (creative people) are willing to make silly mistakes. The truly creative person is one who can think crazy; such a person knows full well that many of his great ideas will prove to be worthless. The creative person is flexible; he is able to change as the situation changes, to break habits, to face indecision and changes in conditions without undue stress. He is not threatened by the unexpected as rigid, inflexible people are.” — Frank Goble

37. “Invention strictly speaking, is little more than a new combination of those images which have been previously gathered and deposited in the memory; nothing can come from nothing.” — Sir Joshua Reynolds

38. “Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every conceived notion, follow humbly wherever and whatever abysses nature leads, or you will learn nothing.” — Huxley, Thomas

39. There is no use trying,” said Alice. “One can’t believe impossible things.” “I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” — Lewis Carroll

40. “Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.” — Albert Einstein

41. “The principle goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done – men who are creative, inventive and discoverers.” — Jean Piaget

42. “The creative person is willing to live with ambiguity. He doesn’t need problems solved immediately and can afford to wait for the right ideas.” — Abe Tannenbaum

43. “An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.” — Victor Hugo

44. “An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.” — Edward de Bono

45. ” Conditions for creativity are to be puzzled; to concentrate; to accept conflict and tension; to be born everyday; to feel a sense of self.” — Erich Fromm

46. ” Creativity is the quality that you bring to the activity that you are doing. It is an attitude, an inner approach – how you look at things . . . Whatsoever you do, if you do it joyfully, if you do it lovingly, if your act of doing is not purely economical, then it is creative.” –  Osho

47. “You become more divine as you become more creative. All the religions of the world have said God is the creator. I don’t know whether he is the creator or not, but one thing I know: the more creative you become, the more godly you become. When your creativity comes to a climax, when your whole life becomes creative, you live in God. So he must be the creator because people who have been creative have been closest to him. Love what you do. Be meditative while you are doing it – whatsoever it is!” — Osho

48. “Every day is an opportunity to be creative – the canvas is your mind, the brushes and colours are your thoughts and feelings, the panorama is your story, the complete picture is a work of art called, ‘my life’. Be careful what you put on the canvas of your mind today – it matters.”  — Innerspace

49. “It seems to be one of the paradoxes of creativity that in order to think originally, we must familiarize ourselves with the ideas of others.” — George Kneller

creativity quotes

51. “To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.” –Osho

52. “The world is but a canvas to the imagination.” — Henry David Thoreau

53. “We will discover the nature of our particular genius when we stop trying to conform to our own and other’s people’s models, learn to be ourselves and allow our natural channel to open.” — Shakti Gawain

“When you are describing, A shape, or sound, or tint; Don’t state the matter plainly, But put it in a hint; And learn to look at all things, With a sort of mental squint.” –Lewis Carroll

55. “Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward; they may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.” — Goethe

56. “I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.” John Cage

57. “What is an artist? A provincial who finds himself somewhere between a physical reality and a metaphysical one…. It’s this in-between that I’m calling a province, this frontier country between the tangible world and the intangible one—which is really the realm of the artist.” — Federico Fellini

58. “Some people use things; they destroy. You’re a creator, a builder.” — Amelia Atwater-Rhodes Quotes

59. “To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.” — Joseph Chilton Pierce Quotes

60. “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” — Maya Angelou

61. “By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it. The non-existent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired.” Nikos Kazantzakis

62. “Behind all creation is silence. Silence is the essential condition, the vital ingredient for all creation and all that is created. It is a power in its own right. The artist starts with a blank canvas – silence. The composer places it between and behind the notes. The very ground of your being, out of which comes all your thoughts, is silence. The way to silence is through meditation. When you arrive in your own silence you will know true freedom and real power. Stop, take a minute, and listen to the silence within you today. Then be aware of what disturbs your inner silence. It could be negative thoughts, memories, sensations. And when you are aware, you will know what is draining your creative power, and you will know what needs to change…on the inside!” — Relax7.com

63. “One of my early mentors, poet David Wagoner, who divides the creative process into three phases – madman, poet and critic – once told me that you need to find your own magic to stay in the world of creative play.” — Sonia Gernes

64. “A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on.” — John F. Kennedy

65. “Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.” — Bertrand Russell

66. “The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.” — John Maynard Keynes

67. “Held in the palms of thousands of disgruntled people over the centuries have been ideas worth millions – if they only had taken the first step and then followed through.” – Robert M. Hayes

68. “Life is trying things to see if they work.” – Ray Bradbury

69. “The stone age didn’t end because they ran out of stones.” – unknown

70. “Truly creative people care a little about what they have done, and a lot about what they are doing. Their driving focus is the life force that surges in them now.” — Alan Cohen

71. “An artist paints, dances, draws, writes, designs, or acts at the expanding edge of consciousness. We press into the unknown rather than the known. This makes life lovely and lively.” — Julia Cameron

72. “A truly creative person rids him or herself of all self-imposed limitations.” — Gerald G. Jampolsky

73. “Creative power, is that receptive attitude of expectancy which makes a mold into which the plastic and as yet undifferentiated substance can flow and take the desired form.” — Thomas Troward

74. “Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything.” — George Lois

75. “A harmless hilarity and a buoyant cheerfulness are not infrequent concomitants of genius; and we are never more deceived than when we mistake gravity for greatness, solemnity for science, and pomposity for erudition.” — Charles Caleb Colton

Discover how to get your creativity to go off the charts in my eBook, “How to Be More Creative – A Handbook for Alchemists” .

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Comments on this entry are closed.

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Great Quotes. Thanks for putting this together!

This one is one of my favorites from the list: “I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.” John Cage

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you inspire me to aspire to be more than iv ever been……

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Thank you for so many inspiring quotes on creativity. They will be quite useful when I’m in a rut.

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Never saw a person yet who was creative whose heart was not on fire with the flame of passion and engagement – in any field or endeavor.

It is what makes children so delightful, and to come across it as an adult is rare indeed as it is usually bred out of us by adulthood.

Thanks for nurturing that within humans by helping to keep the flame alive with your site and offerings.

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I enjoyed how you put all these quotes on your site. I think creativity is something we all posses and would benefit tapping into more often than we do 🙂

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Hi – great list – and you may want to check #16 and #52 – they are the same quote….

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Thank you for compiling such an inspiring list of quotes 🙂

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76 Great Creativity Quotes to Inspire You at Work

You found our list of the best creativity quotes for work.

Creativity quotes are sayings about imagination and innovation. For example, “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” – Albert Einstein or “Imagination creates reality.” – Richard Wagner. The purpose of these phrases is to encourage employees to be more inventive and original.

These phrases are a type of inspirational work quote and can serve as a morale booster . You can also spark employee’s curiosity and imagination with books on innovation and books on creativity .

This article includes:

  • short creativity quotes
  • quotes about creativity and hard work
  • quotes about innovation
  • creativity quotes for business
  • creativity and vision quotes
  • imagination quotes

Here we go!

Short creativity quotes

  • “You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.” – Robin Williams
  • “Imagination rules the world.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
  • “Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse
  • “Creativity comes from a conflict of ideas.” – Donatella Versace
  • “A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something.” – Frank Capra
  • “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” – Albert Einstein
  • “Replace fear with curiosity.” – Steven Spielberg
  • “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” – Sylvia Plath
  • “Creativity is just connecting things.” – Steve Jobs
  • “Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye.” – Dorothy Parker
  • “Creativity is the art of concealing your source.” Coco Chanel
  • “Mystery is at the heart of creativity. That, and surprise.” – Julia Cameron
  • “All creative people want to do the unexpected.” – Hedy Lamarr

Quotes about creativity and hard work

  • “Creativity is a habit, and the best creativity is the result of good work habits.” – Twyla Tharp
  • “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” – Michelangelo
  • “To have a great idea, have a lot of them.” – Thomas A. Edison
  • “Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work.” – Rita Mae Brown
  • “Creativity is merely a plus name for regular activity. Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better.” – John Updike
  • “Creativity itself doesn’t care at all about results – the only thing it craves is the process. Learn to love the process and let whatever happens next happen, without fussing too much about it. Work like a monk, or a mule, or some other representative metaphor for diligence. Love the work. Destiny will do what it wants with you, regardless.” – Elizabeth Gilbert
  • “In the world of creativity, laziness translates into an inability to be rigorous enough to create fearlessly. It makes us plagiarise or water our creativity down to make it more acceptable to the public.” – Shah Rukh Khan
  • “I apply the term ‘creativity’ broadly… it’s problem solving. We are all faced with problems, and we have to address them and think of something new, and that’s where creativity comes in.” – Edwin Catmull
  • “Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Quotes about innovation

  • “Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Without innovation, it is a corpse.” – Winston Churchill
  • “If an organization values innovation, you can assume it’s safe to speak up with new ideas, leaders will listen, and your voice matters.” – Adam Grant
  • “For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate.” – Margaret Heffernan
  • “Learning and innovation go hand in hand. The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.” – William Pollard
  • “There is no innovation and creativity without failure. Period.” – Brene Brown
  • “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs
  • “The heart and soul of the company is creativity and innovation.” – Bob Iger
  • “I believe in innovation and that the way you get innovation is you fund research and you learn the basic facts.” – Bill Gates
  • “If you look at history, innovation doesn’t come just from giving people incentives; it comes from creating environments where their ideas can connect.” – Steven Johnson
  • “Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable.” – William Pollard
  • “I think frugality drives innovation, just like other constraints do. One of the only ways to get out of a tight box is to invent your way out.” – Jeff Bezos
  • “Art begins in imitation and ends in innovation.” – Mason Cooley

Creativity quotes for business

  • “What is now proved was once only imagined.” – William Blake
  • “Trust that little voice in your head that says ‘Wouldn’t it be interesting if…’; And then do it.” – Duane Michals
  • “Creativity may be hard to nurture, but it’s easy to thwart.” – Adam Grant
  • “Creativity is not just for artists. It’s for businesspeople looking for a new way to close a sale; it’s for engineers trying to solve a problem; it’s for parents who want their children to see the world in more than one way.” – Twyla Tharp
  • “The most creative people are motivated by the grandest of problems that are presented before them.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson
  • “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” – Scott Adams
  • “If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play.” – John Cleese
  • “It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” – Herman Melville
  • “Punishing honest mistakes stifles creativity. I want people moving and shaking the earth and they’re going to make mistakes.” – Ross Perot
  • “Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.” – Salvador Dali
  • “Creativity flows when curiosity is stoked.” – Neil Blumenthal
  • “To me there’s no creativity without boundaries. If you’re gonna write a sonnet, it’s 14 lines, so it’s solving the problem within the container.” – Lorne Michaels
  • “Ideas control the world.” – James A. Garfield
  • “Do not quench your inspiration and your imagination; do not become the slave of your model.” Vincent Van Gogh
  • “A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others.” – Ayn Rand
  • “Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Creativity and vision quotes

  • “The visionary starts with a clean sheet of paper, and re-imagines the world.” – Malcolm Gladwell
  • “Creativity is the power to connect the seemingly unconnected.” – William Plomer
  • “Make an empty space in any corner of your mind, and creativity will instantly fill it.” – Dee Hock
  • “For us, creativity means thinking about the lives of our audience and how to connect with them.” – Anna Wintour
  • “Your ego can become an obstacle to your work. If you start believing in your greatness, it is the death of your creativity.” – Marina Abramovic
  • “Vision is the art of seeing the invisible.” – Jonathan Swift
  • “An artist is not paid for his labor but for his vision.” – James Whistler
  • “Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” – Carl Jung
  • “Vision is the true creative rhythm.” – Robert Delaunay ·
  • “All things are created twice; first mentally; then physically. The key to creativity is to begin with the end in mind, with a vision and a blue print of the desired result.” – Stephen R. Covey
  • “True originality consists not in a new manner but in a new vision.” – Edith Wharton

Imagination quotes

  • “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” – Albert Einstein
  • “An idea is salvation by imagination.” – Frank Lloyd Wright
  • “Imagination creates reality.” – Richard Wagner
  • “Live out of your imagination, not your history.” – Stephen Covey
  • “The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  • “You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.” – Mark Twain
  • “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” – Albert Einstein
  • “There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds.” – Gilbert K. Chesterton
  • “This world is but a canvas to our imagination.” – Henry David Thoreau
  • “Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.” – Carl Sagan
  • “The imagination is man’s power over nature.” – Wallace Stevens
  • “The power of imagination makes us infinite.” – John Muir
  • “The imagination is a muscle. If it is not exercised, it atrophies.” – Neil Gaiman
  • “He who has imagination without learning has wings but no feet.” – Joseph Joubert
  • “True intelligence requires fabulous imagination.” – Ian Mcewan

Final thoughts

Creativity is not just for the creative professions. Every field can benefit from imagination and innovation. Sometimes, employees could use encouragement to think outside the box and permission to daydream. These quotes can spark creativity, boost self confidence, and challenge listeners to think in new ways. The sayings can also work as an effective self-pep-talk when faced with unoriginality and creative blocks.

Next, check out this list of quotes about hard work .

FAQ: Creativity quotes

Here are answers to common questions about quotes about creativity.

What are creativity quotes?

Creativity quotes are sayings that speak to imagination and innovation. These sentiments urge listeners to think beyond the ordinary and have the bravery to try something new.

What are some good creativity quotes for employees?

Some good creativity quotes for employees include:

Sharing these kinds of quotes can spark imagination and give employees the motivation to think outside the box.

How can I use quotes on creativity?

You could use quotes on creativity to open or end meetings, in motivational speeches, on social media, or for an office quote of the day.

How can I inspire employees to be more creative?

Sharing quotes about creativity is one way to inspire employees to be more creative. You can also encourage team members to read books on innovation and creativity. The best way to spark creativity at work is to create a safe environment where workers are free to express ideas and try new approaches, and where imagination and innovation are celebrated.

Author avatar

Author: Angela Robinson

Marketing Coordinator at teambuilding.com. Team building content expert. Angela has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and worked as a community manager with Yelp to plan events for businesses.

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35 Inspirational Quotes On Creativity

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Creativity comes from within. It is having the quality of being creative. Creativity allows us learn. It is using your imagination to create something. The ability to transcend ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas. May these Quotes On Creativity inspire you to formulate novel concepts and design the life of your dreams .

1.  “Creativity is contagious, pass it on.” Albert Einstein

Inspirational Quotes On Creativity - "Creativity is contagious, pass it on." Albert Einstein

2.  “Creative people are curious , flexible, persistent, and independent, with a tremendous spirit of adventure and a love of play.” Henri Matisse

3.  “Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye.” Dorothy Parker

4.  “Creativity is the way I share my soul with the world.” Brene Brown

5.  “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” Albert Einstein

Inspirational Quotes On Creativity - "Creativity is intelligence having fun." Albert Einstein

6.  “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while.” Steve Jobs

7.  “The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul .” Dieter F. Uchtdorf

8.  “To live a creative life we must lose our fear of being wrong.” Joseph Chilton Pearce

9.  “Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.” Mary Lou Cook

1 0.  “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” Maya Angelou

Inspirational Quotes On Creativity - "You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." Maya Angelou

11.  “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.” Scott Adams

12.  “Creative people do not see things for what they are; they see them for what they can be .” Julie Israel

13.  “Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.” Edward de Bono

14.  “Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.” Pablo Picasso

15.  “Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will.” George Bernard Shaw

Inspirational Quotes On Creativity - "Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will." George Bernard Shaw

16.  “Creativity requires courage to let go of certainty.” Erich Fromm

17.  “Creativity is more than just being different . Making the simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.” Charles Mingus

18.  “Creativity is the power to act.” Ai Weiwei

19.  “Energy is the key to creativity. Energy is the key to life.” William Shatner

20.  “What is creative living? Any life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear.” Elizabeth Gilbert

Inspirational Quotes On Creativity - "What is creative living? Any life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear." Elizabeth Gilbert

21.  “The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” Anonymous

22.  “An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail .” Anonymous

23.  “Creativity is a drug I cannot live without.” Cecil B. DeMille

24.  “We are all creative beings.” Maya Fiennes

25.  “Creativity comes from a conflict of ideas.” Donatella Versace

Inspirational Quotes On Creativity - "Creativity comes from a conflict of ideas." Donatella Versace

26.  “Planning for success will make you even more creative.” Danielle LaPorte

27.  “Creativity comes from trust . Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work.” Rita Mae Brown

28.  “The comfort zone is the great enemy to creativity.” Dan Stevens

29.  “The most regretful people on earth are those who felt the call to creative work, who felt their own creative power restive and uprising, and gave to it neither power nor time.” Mary Oliver

30.  “Curiosity about life in all its aspects, I think is still the secret of great creative people.” Leo Burnett

Inspirational Quotes On Creativity - "Curiosity about life in all its aspects, I think is still the secret of great creative people." Leo Burnett

31.  “Creativity gives rise to the limited out of the unlimited, to sanity out of madness, to the valuable out of the priceless, to abundance out of nothingness, to the original out of the familiar, and to hope out of despair.” Wallace Huey

32.  “Creativity is about many rules you can forget about.” Anonymous

33.  “The most creative act you will ever undertake is the act of creating yourself.” Deepak Chopra

34.  “If you’re creating anything at all, it’s really dangerous to care about what people think.” Kristen Wiig

35.  “Challenge yourself creatively and make your dreams a reality.” Anonymous

Inspirational Quotes On Creativity - "Challenge yourself creatively and make your dreams a reality." Anonymous

I hope you enjoyed these Inspirational Quotes On Creativity. Do let us know which one was your favorite in the comments section below.

Check Out Elizabeth Gilbert’s TED Talk About Your Elusive Creative Genius:

Have A Great Day!

30 Inspirational Quotes On Manners

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My name is Asad Meah, I am the CEO & Founder of AwakenTheGreatnessWithin. I am a dreamchaser who has gained a wealth of knowledge in entrepreneurship and personal development over the past five years through self-education. My mission is to inspire millions of people to become entrepreneurs by awakening their minds to their greatness that resides within them.

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creative quotes in english

10 positive quotes to inspire creativity

Tags Instant Gratification

Research tells us that doing something creative gives us an instantaneous boost of positivity . And forget the idea that you need to be a Pinterest pro or even know what Pinterest is to reap the benefits. Being creative can be as simple as busting out of your routine. Not sure where to start? Read on:

1) "The creative adult is the child who survived." -- Ursula Leguin

positive quotes, The creative adult is the child who survived.

(via i heart inspiration )

2) "The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul." -- Dieter F. Uchtdorf

positive quotes, The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul.

(via Addicted 2 Success )

3) "Creativity doesn't wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones." -- Bruce Garrabrandt

positive quotes, Creativity doesn't wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones.

(via Quote Pixel ) 

4) "Everything you can imagine is real." -- Pablo Picasso

positive quotes, Everything you can imagine is real.

(via Deviant Art )

5) "You can't use up creativity. The more you use the more you have." -- Maya Angelou

positive quotes, You can't use up creativity. The more you use the more you have.

(via Like a Boss ) 

6) "Creativity is intelligence having fun." -- Albert Einstein

positive quotes, Creativity is intelligence having fun.

(via Like a Boss )

7) "To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it." -- Kurt Vonnegut

positive quotes, To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.

(via Pinterest )

8) "Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun." -- Mary Lou Cook

positive quotes, Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.

9) "The chief enemy of creativity is "good" sense." -- Pablo Picasso

positive quotes, The chief enemy of creativity is

(via Buzzfeed )

10) "Creativity involves breaking out of expected patterns in order to look at things in a different way." -- Edward de Bono

positive quotes, Creativity involves breaking out of expected patterns in order to look at things in a different way.

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Posted on Mar 29, 2019

170 Writing Quotes by Famous Authors for Every Occasion

When you're feeling stuck on your novel, an important thing to remember is that we've all been there in the past. That's right — even the J.K Rowling's and Ernest Hemingway's of this world. Which is why it's always a great idea to turn to your most famous peers (and their writing quotes) for inspiration.

Without further ado, here are 170 writing quotes  to guide you through every stage of writing. ( Yes! We've added more since we first published this post! )

The number one piece of advice that most authors have for other authors is to read, read, read. Here’s why.

1. “If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools ) to write. Simple as that.” — Stephen King
2. “You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write.” — Annie Proulx
3. “Indeed, learning to write may be part of learning to read. For all I know, writing comes out of a superior devotion to reading.” — Eudora Welty
4. “Read, read, read. Read everything  —  trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You'll absorb it. Then write. If it's good, you'll find out. If it's not, throw it out of the window.” — William Faulkner
5. “I kept always two books in my pocket: one to read, one to write in.” — Robert Louis Stevenson
6. “The Six Golden Rules of Writing: Read, read, read, and write, write, write.” — Ernest Gaines
7. “The greatest part of a writer’s time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book.” — Samuel Johnson
8. “Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river.” ― Lisa See
9. “One sure window into a person’s soul is his reading list.” — Mary B. W. Tabor

writing quotes-4

The well of inspiration, we’re afraid, often does run dry. Here are the writing quotes to replenish it and, hopefully, remind you that there might be a story idea waiting for you just around the corner of life.

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10. "If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." — Toni Morrison
11. “Everybody walks past a thousand story ideas every day. The good writers are the ones who see five or six of them. Most people don’t see any.” — Orson Scott
12. “Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about. It is this genuine caring, not your games with language, which will be the most compelling and seductive element in your style.” — Stephen King
13. “Most writers regard the truth as their most valuable possession, and therefore are most economical in its use.” — Mark Twain
14. “When I sit down to write a book, I do not say to myself, ‘I am going to produce a work of art.’ I write it because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing.” — George Orwell
15. “Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.” — Natalie Goldberg
16. “You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” — Madeleine L'Engle
17. “How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.” — Henry David Thoreau
18. “Cheat your landlord if you can and must, but do not try to shortchange the Muse. It cannot be done. You can’t fake quality any more than you can fake a good meal.” — William S. Burroughs
19. “Write what should not be forgotten.” — Isabel Allende
20. “The story must strike a nerve in me. My heart should start pounding when I hear the first line in my head. I start trembling at the risk.” — Susan Sontag
21. “Sometimes the ideas just come to me. Other times I have to sweat and almost bleed to make ideas come. It’s a mysterious process, but I hope I never find out exactly how it works. I like a mystery, as you may have noticed.” — J.K. Rowling
22. “As for ‘Write what you know,’ I was regularly told this as a beginner. I think it’s a very good rule and have always obeyed it. I write about imaginary countries, alien societies on other planets, dragons, wizards, the Napa Valley in 22002. I know these things. I know them better than anybody else possibly could, so it’s my duty to testify about them.” — Ursula K. Le Guin
23. “I’m very lucky in that I don’t understand the world yet. If I understood the world, it would be harder for me to write these books.” — Mo Willems
24. “Ideas are cheap. It’s the execution that is all important.” — George R.R. Martin
25. “If you wait for inspiration to write you’re not a writer, you’re a waiter.” — Dan Poynter

Now, finding your "voice" is not as simple as entering a nationally-televised competition on NBC ( nyuk nyuk! ). Yet your voice will define you as a writer, and these famous writers have plenty of tips and writing quotes for you when it comes to finding it.

Which famous author do you write like?

Find out which literary luminary is your stylistic soulmate. Takes one minute!

26. “To gain your own voice, you have to forget about having it heard.” — Allen Ginsberg
27. “One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.” — Jack Kerouac
28. “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” —Robert Frost
29. “It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we develop our own style.” — P.D. James
30. “Voice is not just the result of a single sentence or paragraph or page. It’s not even the sum total of a whole story. It’s all your work laid out across the table like the bones and fossils of an unidentified carcass.” — Chuck Wendig
31. “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it. Or, if proper usage gets in the way, it may have to go. I can't allow what we learned in English composition to disrupt the sound and rhythm of the narrative.” — Elmore Leonard
32. “Your writing voice is the deepest possible reflection of who you are. The job of your voice is not to seduce or flatter or make well-shaped sentences. In your voice, your readers should be able to hear the contents of your mind, your heart, your soul.” — Meg Rosoff
33. “I don’t want just words. If that’s all you have for me, you’d better go.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald
34. “Literature is strewn with the wreckage of men who have minded beyond reason the opinions of others.” — Virginia Woolf
35. “Everywhere I go, I’m asked if the universities stifle writers. My opinion is that they don’t stifle enough of them.” — Flannery O’Connor
36. “There are some books that refuse to be written. They stand their ground year after year and will not be persuaded. It isn’t because the book is not there and worth being written — it is only because the right form of the story does not present itself. There is only one right form for a story and, if you fail to find that form, the story will not tell itself.” — Mark Twain

writing quotes-2

37. “Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” — Louis L’Amour
38. “First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him.” — Ray Bradbury
39. “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” — Ernest Hemingway
40. “Focus more on your desire than on your doubt, and the dream will take care of itself.” — Mark Twain
41. “Being a writer is a very peculiar sort of job: It’s always you versus a blank sheet of paper (or a blank screen) and quite often the blank piece of paper wins.” — Neil Gaiman
42. “It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.” — Ernest Hemingway
43. “It doesn’t matter how many book ideas you have if you can’t finish writing your book.” — Joe Bunting
44. “If I waited for perfection, I would never write a word.” — Margaret Atwood
45. “A blank piece of paper is God's way of telling us how hard it is to be God.” — Sidney Sheldon
46. “I am not at all in a humor for writing; I must write on until I am.” — Jane Austen
47. "Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it's the only way you can do anything really good." — William Faulkner
48. “One thing that helps is to give myself permission to write badly. I tell myself that I’m going to do my five or 10 pages no matter what, and that I can always tear them up the following morning if I want. I’ll have lost nothing — writing and tearing up five pages would leave me no further behind than if I took the day off.” — Lawrence Block
49. “Abandon the idea that you are ever going to finish. Lose track of the 400 pages and write just one page for each day, it helps. Then when it gets finished, you are always surprised.” — John Steinbeck
50. “You can fix anything but a blank page.” — Nora Roberts
51. “I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work.” — Pearl S. Buck
52. “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at the typewriter and bleed.” — Ernest Hemingway

Don’t get discouraged if you get this far and you’re thinking that your first draft is rather poor. These writing quotes are reminders that it’s just part of the process.

53. “The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” — Terry Pratchett
54. “Get through a draft as quickly as possible.” — Joshua Wolf Shenk
55. “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” — Douglas Adams
56. “The first draft of everything is shit.” — Ernest Hemingway
57. “There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story.” — Frank Herbert
58. “I would advise any beginning writer to write the first drafts as if no one else will ever read them — without a thought about publication — and only in the last draft to consider how the work will look from the outside.” — Anne Tyler
59. “I just give myself permission to suck. I delete about 90 percent of my first drafts, so it doesn’t really matter much if on a particular day I write beautiful and brilliant prose that will stick in the minds of my readers forever, because there’s a 90 percent chance I’m just going to delete whatever I write anyway. I find this hugely liberating.” — John Green
60. “Be willing to write really badly.” — Jennifer Egan
61. “On first drafts: It is completely raw, the sort of thing I feel free to do with the door shut — it’s the story undressed, standing up in nothing but its socks and undershorts.” — Stephen King
62. “I do not over-intellectualise the production process. I try to keep it simple: Tell the damned story.” — Tom Clancy
63. “Anyone who says writing is easy isn’t doing it right.” — Amy Joy

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64. “You fail only if you stop writing.” — Ray Bradbury
65. “If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster.” — Isaac Asimov
66. “Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that diet have very pleasant careers.” — Ray Bradbury
67. “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
68. “I believe myself that a good writer doesn’t really need to be told anything except to keep at it.” — Chinua Achebe
69. “The secret to being a writer is that you have to write. It’s not enough to think about writing or to study literature or plan a future life as an author. You really have to lock yourself away, alone, and get to work.” — Augusten Burroughs
70. “It is by sitting down to write every morning that one becomes a writer.” — Gerald Brenan
71. “Talent is insignificant. I know a lot of talented ruins. Beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love, luck, but most of all, endurance.” — James Baldwin
72. “You just have to go on when it is worst and most helpless — there is only one thing to do with a novel and that is go straight on through to the end of the damn thing.” — Ernest Hemingway
73. “We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down.” — Kurt Vonnegut
74. “The nearest I have to a rule is a Post-it on the wall in front of my desk saying ‘Faire et se taire’ from Flaubert. Which I translate for myself as ‘Shut up and get on with it.’” — Helen Simpson
75. “I’ve been writing since I was six. It is a compulsion, so I can’t really say where the desire came from; I’ve always had it. My breakthrough with the first book came through persistence, because a lot of publishers turned it down.” — J.K. Rowling
76. “Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old-fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he’ll eventually make some kind of career for himself as a writer.” — Ray Bradbury
77. “It is worth mentioning, for future reference, that the creative power which bubbles so pleasantly in beginning a new book quiets down after a time, and one goes on more steadily. Doubts creep in. Then one becomes resigned. Determination not to give in, and the sense of an impending shape keep one at it more than anything.” — Virginia Woolf
78. “A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” — Richard Bach

“Write drunk, edit sober” might be one of the most famous writing quotes about editing, but we can’t all outdrink Ernest Hemingway. Which is why these other words of wisdom and writing quotes exist!

79. “You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” ― Jodi Picoult

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80. “When your story is ready for a rewrite, cut it to the bone. Get rid of every ounce of excess fat. This is going to hurt; revising a story down to the bare essentials is always a little like murdering children, but it must be done.” — Stephen King
81. “The best advice on writing was given to me by my first editor, Michael Korda, of Simon and Schuster, while writing my first book. 'Finish your first draft and then we'll talk,' he said. It took me a long time to realize how good the advice was. Even if you write it wrong, write and finish your first draft. Only then, when you have a flawed whole, do you know what you have to fix.” — Dominick Dunne
82. “Editing might be a bloody trade, but knives aren’t the exclusive property of butchers. Surgeons use them too.” — Blake Morrison
83. “The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear.” — E.B. White
84. “You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what's burning inside you, and we edit to let the fire show through the smoke.” — Arthur Plotnik
85. “Half my life is an act of revision.” — John Irving
86. “I'm all for the scissors. I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil.” — Truman Capote
87. “It is perfectly okay to write garbage — as long as you edit brilliantly.” — C. J. Cherryh
88. “I've found the best way to revise your own work is to pretend that somebody else wrote it and then to rip the living shit out of it.” ― Don Roff
89. “Only kings, presidents, editors, and people with tapeworms have the right to use the editorial 'we'.” — Mark Twain
90. “So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.” ― Dr. Seuss
91. “Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short.” — Henry David Thoreau
92. “I would write a book, or a short story, at least three times — once to understand it, the second time to improve the prose, and a third to compel it to say what it still must say. Somewhere I put it this way: first drafts are for learning what one's fiction wants him to say. Revision works with that knowledge to enlarge and enhance an idea, to reform it. Revision is one of the exquisite pleasures of writing.” — Bernard Malamud
93. “No author dislikes to be edited as much as he dislikes not to be published.” — Russell Lynes
94. “Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now.” — Annie Dillard
95. “No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else's draft.” — H.G. Wells

writing quotes-6

96. “A writer is a world trapped in a person.” — Victor Hugo
97. “A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” — Thomas Mann
98. “People say, ‘What advice do you have for people who want to be writers?’ I say, they don’t really need advice, they know they want to be writers, and they’re gonna do it. Those people who know that they really want to do this and are cut out for it, they know it.” — R.L. Stine
99. “As a writer, you should not judge, you should understand.” ― Ernest Hemingway
100. “I am irritated by my own writing. I am like a violinist whose ear is true, but whose fingers refuse to reproduce precisely the sound he hears within.” — Gustave Flaubert
101. “Let me live, love, and say it well in good sentences.” — Sylvia Plath
102. “I go out to my little office, where I’ve got a manuscript, and the last page I was happy with is on top. I read that, and it’s like getting on a taxiway. I’m able to go through and revise it and put myself — click — back into that world.” — Stephen King
103. “I think all writing is a disease. You can’t stop it.” — William Carlos Williams
104. “Each writer is born with a repertory company in his head. Shakespeare has perhaps 20 players. I have 10 or so, and that’s a lot. As you get older, you become more skillful at casting them.” — Gore Vidal
105. “For your born writer, nothing is so healing as the realization that he has come upon the right word.” — Catherine Drinker Bowen
106. “The task of a writer consists of being able to make something out of an idea.” — Thomas Mann
107. “Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers.” — T.S. Eliot
108. “Many people hear voices when no one is there. Some of them are called mad and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called writers and they do pretty much the same thing.” — Margaret Chittenden
109. “A writer never has a vacation. For a writer life consists of either writing or thinking about writing.” — Eugene Ionesco
110. “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” — Benjamin Franklin
111. “A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul, and that, I am sure, is why he does it.” — Roald Dahl
112. “Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.” — Gloria Steinem

From cavemen to our modern day in the 21st-century, we have written our joys and sorrows throughout history. What compels us to write? Here’s what some of the most beloved writers we know have to say.

113. “I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.” — Anne Frank
114. “We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” — Anais Nin
115. “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ― Maya Angelou
116. “The very reason I write is so that I might not sleepwalk through my entire life.” — Zadie Smith
117. “The good writing of any age has always been the product of someone’s neurosis.” — William Styron
118. “No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.” — Robin Williams
119. “Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly — they'll go through anything. You read and you're pierced.” — Aldous Huxley
120. “You can make anything by writing.” — C.S. Lewis
121. “Writers live twice.” —  Natalie Goldberg
122. “History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.” — Winston Churchill
123. “Anybody can make history. Only a great man can write it.” — Oscar Wilde
124. “You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” — Ray Bradbury

writing quotes-5

125. “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass .” ― Anton Chekhov
126. “My own experience is that once a story has been written, one has to cross out the beginning and the end. It is there that we authors do most of our lying.” — Anton Chekhov
127. “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” — Somerset Maugham
128. “Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.” — Stephen King
129. “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
130. “Find your best time of the day for writing and write. Don’t let anything else interfere. Afterwards it won’t matter to you that the kitchen is a mess.” — Esther Freud
131. “Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. [...] All they do is show you've been to college.” — Kurt Vonnegut
132. “To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme.” — Herman Melville
133. “Write drunk, edit sober.” — Ernest Hemingway
134. “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” — Mark Twain
135. “The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you’re allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it’s definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it ­honestly, and tell it as best you can. I’m not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.” — Neil Gaiman
136. “Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.” — Jane Yolen
137. “Style means the right word. The rest matters little.” — Jules Renard
138. “My aim in constructing sentences is to make the sentence utterly easy to understand, writing what I call transparent prose. I’ve failed dreadfully if you have to read a sentence twice to figure out what I meant.” — Ken Follett
139. “And one of [the things you learn as you get older] is, you really need less… My model for this is late Beethoven. He moves so strangely and quite suddenly sometimes from place to place in his music, in the late quartets. He knows where he’s going and he just doesn’t want to waste all that time getting there… One is aware of this as one gets older. You can’t waste time.” — Ursula K. Le Guin
140. “ Part 1. I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English — it is the modern way and the best way. Stick to it; don’t let fluff and flowers and verbosity creep in . Part 2. When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don’t mean utterly, but kill most of them – then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. Part 3. An adjective habit, or a wordy, diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice.” — Mark Twain

“You miss 100% of the shots that you never take — Wayne Gretsky,” as Michael Scott once said. In tribute to this sentiment, these writing quotes help show why it’s important not to let failure or rejection get you down.

141. “You can’t let praise or criticism get to you. It’s a weakness to get caught up in either one.” — John Wooden
142. “Rejection slips, or form letters, however tactfully phrased, are lacerations of the soul, if not quite inventions of the devil — but there is no way around them.” — Isaac Asimov
143. “Was I bitter? Absolutely. Hurt? You bet your sweet ass I was hurt. Who doesn’t feel a part of their heart break at rejection. You ask yourself every question you can think of, what, why, how come, and then your sadness turns to anger. That’s my favorite part. It drives me, feeds me, and makes one hell of a story.” — Jennifer Salaiz
144. “I love my rejection slips. They show me I try.” — Sylvia Plath
145. “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
147. “I used to save all my rejection slips because I told myself, one day I’m going to autograph these and auction them. And then I lost the box.” — James Lee Burke
148. “This manuscript of yours that has just come back from another editor is a precious package. Don’t consider it rejected. Consider that you’ve addressed it ‘to the editor who can appreciate my work’ and it has simply come back stamped ‘Not at this address’. Just keep looking for the right address.” — Barbara Kingsolver
149. “To ward off a feeling of failure, she joked that she could wallpaper her bathroom with rejection slips, which she chose not to see as messages to stop, but rather as tickets to the game.” — Anita Shreve
150. “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
151. “The artist doesn’t have time to listen to the critics. The ones who want to be writers read the reviews, the ones who want to write don’t have the time to read reviews.” — William Faulkner
152. “I think that you have to believe in your destiny; that you will succeed, you will meet a lot of rejection and it is not always a straight path, there will be detours — so enjoy the view.” — Michael York
153. “I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged.” — Erica Jong
154. “I tell writers to keep reading, reading, reading. Read widely and deeply. And I tell them not to give up even after getting rejection letters. And only write what you love.” — Anita Diamant
155. “I could write an entertaining novel about rejection slips, but I fear it would be overly long.” — Louise Brown
156. “I had immediate success in the sense that I sold something right off the bat. I thought it was going to be a piece of cake and it really wasn’t. I have drawers full of — or I did have — drawers full of rejection slips.” — Fred Saberhagen
157. “An absolutely necessary part of a writer’s equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment the world hands out and the punishment he inflicts upon himself.” — Irwin Shaw
158. “Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.” — C. S. Lewis

Why does writing matter? If there’s anyone who might know the answer, it’s the people who write — and continue to write, despite adverse circumstances. Here are a few pennies for their thoughts.

159. “Every secret of a writer’s soul, every experience of his life, every quality of his mind, is written large in his works.” — Virginia Woolf
160. “If the book is true, it will find an audience that is meant to read it.” — Wally Lamb
161. “A word after a word after a word is power.” — Margaret Atwood
162. “If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.” — Martin Luther
163. “The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.” — Albert Camus
164. “Good fiction’s job is to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” — David Foster Wallace
165. “After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” — Philip Pullman
166. “All stories have to at least try to explain some small portion of the meaning of life.” — Gene Weingarten
167. “If a nation loses its storytellers, it loses its childhood.” — Peter Handke
168. “The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.” — Tom Clancy
169. “If I had to give young writers advice, I would say don’t listen to writers talking about writing or themselves.” — Lillian Hellman
170. “Don’t take anyone’s writing advice too seriously.” — Lev Grossman

Of course, writing quotes by themselves won't write the book for you — you alone have that power. However, we hope that this post has helped inspire you in some way! If you're looking for more in-depth resources, you can check out these guides:

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Author and ghostwriter Tom Bromley will guide you from page 1 to the finish line.

  • How to Develop a Strong Theme
  • How to Build a Character Profile
  • How to Become a Better Writer Today

Have a favorite quote that we missed? If you know of more cool quotes by writers, write them in the comments!

2 responses

Brian Welte says:

08/05/2019 – 12:28

Here's a quote I absolutely adore: "The author, in his work, must be like God in the Universe, present everywhere and visible nowhere" [Quote from Gustave Flaubert]

Comments are currently closed.

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Super Bowl 2024

Super bowl ads played it safe, but there were still some winners.

Eric Deggans

Eric Deggans

When I spoke with Shayne Millington about the cheeky Super Bowl ad she was planning with Cardi B, the advertising executive was excited about the prospect of tweaking male sports fans in a way Big Game ads often don't do.

But the NFL threw some cold water on her plans Sunday, preventing makeup brand NYX from airing part of their ad suggesting that men may have mistaken the name of their Duck Plump lip gloss and used it in a certain private area. Instead, they aired 30 seconds featuring Cardi B and displayed a QR code viewers could use to access the full ad.

Millington, the chief creative officer at McCann New York, told me before the game that the ad was an attempt to turn the tables on traditional Super Bowl advertising.

The story behind Carl Weathers' posthumous Super Bowl ad

The story behind Carl Weathers' posthumous Super Bowl ad

"You have to really look at how women have been portrayed in Super Bowl ads and in the past, and it's not great," she added. "So, on a platform as big as the Super Bowl, where men have [traditionally] had the upper hand with humor ... [this time] women will have the last laugh with Cardi B."

Turns out, Millington's ad was among the sauciest in a Super Bowl where brands played it safe even more than usual, perhaps due to the mammoth, $7 million-per-30-seconds fee for airtime.

Political messages were subtle and shaded, including a retro-looking ad for independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. that didn't get near his controversial stands on vaccines and other issues (talk about a nepo baby). An ad for the website hegetsus.com aimed at boosting Jesus Christ focused on how his teachings might bring people together, not the controversial stands of one funder , the family that owns notably religious craft store chain Hobby Lobby.

Blame the intensely crazy pace of real-life news or the back-breaking price for ads, but this year's crop of commercials seemed to lean away from controversy and into nostalgia, celebrity and cross promotion — with Super Bowl halftime performer Usher appearing in more spots than the Budweiser Clydesdales.

Here's a breakdown of what worked and didn't in the biggest — and most expensive — advertising showcase on American television.

Usher's Super Bowl Halftime show was chaotic but cemented his R&B legacy

Usher's Super Bowl Halftime show was chaotic but cemented his R&B legacy

Best use of a celebrity poking fun at something he knows we're all laughing at anyway: state farm's "like a good neighbaa".

We all know Arnold Schwarzenegger has somehow won over America's hearts despite delivering lines in films so drenched with his Austrian accent that it sounds like English put through a Cuisinart. That's why it's so delightful to see him willing to send up both his action hero past and his dicey diction, playing a swashbuckling State Farm agent who somehow can't say "labor," "concealer" or "neighbor." Even Jake From State Farm couldn't help coach him through a speech pattern that, somehow, still makes all those words sound cooler when they come out of Ahnuld's mouth. (Though his former Twins co-star Danny DeVito untimately had to help him out.)

Worst use of a celebrity tolerating something we're all laughing at anyway: BMW's "Talkin' Like Walken"

How do you come up with a concept so promising — much-mimicked Hollywood eccentric Christopher Walken walks through a day where everyone is doing their own Walken impressions — and wind up with a spot so, well, odd? Where are the celebrities who do amazing Walken impressions, like Kevin Pollak, Jay Mohr or even Tom Hiddleston? Where's the moment Walken has fun with people trying to cop his off-kilter patois, (instead of looking like he can't wait to get off the screen)? And why is the Super Bowl's halftime headliner Usher showing up at the end and NOT doing a Walken impersonation? Small wonder this overhyped ad is also in the running for Best Missed Opportunity. Sigh.

Best way to get someone else to publicize your new music: Verizon's "Can't B Broken"

The ad itself is a fun affair, with Beyoncé trying to "break" Verizon's 5G network through a series of outlandish stunts (assisted by Veep co-star Tony Hale), including creating Beyonc-A.I., the pink-themed Bar-Bey, and a musical performance in space. When none of that succeeds in bringing down Verizon, she says "OK. They ready. Drop the new music."

Of course, Beyoncé meant business, dropping two new tunes on her website and announcing the debut of a country-inspired album, Act II , for March 29. Forget about announcing a new album during the Grammys; Bey dropped her announcement on TV's biggest platform, paid for by Verizon. Respect.

Best celebrity save: Uber Eats' "Don't Forget Uber Eats"

Actually, I want to forget much of this spot, which features wooden moments like David and Victoria Beckham pretending to forget she was in the Spice Girls (Will anyone catch that they're spoofing a scene from his Netflix docuseries?) and another, um, forgettable cameo from Usher (Did you know he's playing the Super Bowl halftime? Feels like he's popping up in half of the Super Bowl ads to remind you!)

But the conceit — that you have to forget something to make room in your memory for Uber Eats' awesome services — hit home when Jennifer Aniston appeared, ignoring David Schwimmer even as he reminds her they worked together for 10 years on one of the most popular sitcoms in TV history.

Perhaps it's because I disliked his character Ross' romance with Aniston's character on Friends so much, but when she walked away, convinced she didn't know him, and he muttered "I hate this town," I felt like TV justice had somehow been served.

Best hope for Marvel fans: The Deadpool movie

That sound you heard at the game's start wasn't sports fans settling in for the Big Game. It was Marvel fans screaming in anticipation after realizing that Ryan Reynolds' new Deadpool movie won't just feature Hugh Jackman returning as Wolverine, but Reynolds' disfigured, wisecracking mercenary superhero getting kidnapped by the TVA — an organization from the Loki series. And the TVA's representative here is none other than Succession' s Tom Wambsgans, or the actor Matthew Macfadyen. If any film can rescue the world from superhero fatigue, this might be the one.

Best use of a cat/worst use of a McKinnon: Hellmann's "Mayo Cat"

Fans know Saturday Night Live alum Kate McKinnon has a special bond with cats — she's even come up with some sidesplitting sketches on the subject — so it was cute to see her alongside a feline who captivates the world by simply saying "mayo." The ad also has a cool button at the end, where the cat dates and breaks up with fellow SNL alum Pete Davidson ("You lasted longer than most," McKinnon quips.) But how do you spend millions on a commercial starring the funniest woman on TV and give all the action to her cat? Purrfectly frustrating. (Yes, I went there.)

Second best use of a celebrity poking fun at themselves: Skechers "Mr. T in Skechers"

I'll be honest, I didn't notice there was no "T" in the footwear company's name until Tony Romo upsets the famous A Team star by pointing it out. Watching a 71-year-old Mr. T walk on hot coals and do CGI-assisted pull-ups while insisting "I pity the fool who has to touch his shoes" as he cavorts in Skechers slip-on shoes, I saw a mix of nostalgia, absurdity and good-hearted self-parody that I didn't even knew I needed until it happened. Once again, Mr. T. for the win.

Best tribute to a departed legend: FanDuel's Super Bowl Kick of Destiny Part 2

Reprising the stunt from last year, where the four-time Super Bowl champion tight end tried — and failed — to make a 25-yard field goal, this year's commercial featured Gronk failing again. In a teaser for the series of ads released early, Rocky co-star Carl Weathers was shown riding up on a motorcycle to encourage Gronkowski. After Weathers died earlier this month at age 76, producers reworked one of those ads to show the actor saying ruefully, "You gave us your all, Gronk." Then the spot flashed to an image of Weathers with the message "Thank you, Carl. 1948 - 2024." Glad to see the company kept him in the spot; there's no better, classier tribute to a towering talent than tipping the hat to him on the biggest platform in the world.

Best "I'm not crying, you're crying" ad: Google Pixel's "Javier in Frame"

I first gave this award last year for the dog food ad that made everyone emotional. This time, it's Google Pixel showcasing its guided frame technology, in which the phone tells users when faces are fully in the picture frame. We see this work from the perspective of Javier, who utilizes the phone despite his problems with blurred vision to capture important moments in his life, including the birth of his child. The spot's director, Adam Morse, is blind and it's narrated at the end by Stevie Wonder. Poignant doesn't begin to describe it.

Most confusing movie ad: "Twisters"

It's not apparent from watching the Super Bowl ad whether this film is a reboot or a sequel to the 1996 film that featured Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton and Philip Seymour Hoffman ( according to Variety , it's indeed a sequel). But after watching Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones jostling around in a 2-minute spot spouting dialogue that referenced the original, I only had one question that really needed answering: Why?

Best contest with the worst ad: DoorDash's "All the Ads"

It's an inspired giveaway: DoorDash will provide all of the items in every Super Bowl commercial to one lucky winner, including a 2024 BMW All-Electric i5, chicken wings from Popeyes for 150-plus people, a $50,000 check for their dream home and much more (you had to watch the commercial during the game and add a promotional code at this URL to enter). But hearing Laurence Fishburne majestically narrate a preview ad that uses DoorDash as a verb while products are bursting from the ground makes me want to DoorDash as far away from it all as possible.

Worst use of a celebrity: "Sir Patrick Stewart Throws a Hail Arnold" on Paramount+

Yes, you read the title right. Patrick Stewart, star of Star Trek: Picard on Paramount+, appears in a spot where he argues with Drew Barrymore, then orders Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to throw an animated fourth-grader from Hey Arnold! up a mountain, before doing it himself. (The band Creed also shows up to play a song for some reason.)

All I want is a sample of whatever the scriptwriters were smoking when they came up with this nonsense — or when they got Stewart to agree to appear in it.

Second-worst use of a celebrity: Squarespace's "Hello Down There"

The concept's not so bad: We're so distracted by our phones and social media that no one on Earth notices a fleet of flying saucers overhead until the aliens build a website with Squarespace.

But it's a drag seeing Oscar winner Martin Scorsese direct this bit of fluff without much humor and a punchline that goes over like, well, a badly formatted website: Scorsese, in traffic, looks at a sky filled with spaceships and tells his driver: "I told you to take Broadway. This always happens."

Feels a little like hiring Frank Lloyd Wright to design your kid's backyard playhouse.

  • Super Bowl LVIII
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  1. 21 inspiring creativity quotes that'll get your ideas flowing

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    "Creativity is knowing how to hide your sources" ― C.E.M. Joad tags: creativity , humor , misattributed-to-einstein , paraphrased 13051 likes Like "We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down." ― Kurt Vonnegut, If This Isn't Nice, What Is?: Advice for the Young

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    ~ Albert Einstein Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions. ~ Albert Einstein Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. ~ Albert Einstein You can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created. ~ Albert Einstein Information is not knowledge.

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    The answer is simple: differences. Creativity comes from unlikely juxtapositions." -Nicholas Negroponte. Anthony Armendariz, Partner and Head of Design at Funsize. "Do not seek praise. Seek criticism." -Paul Arden. Dom Goodrum, VP of Design at Percolate. Start creating with a Freehand template.

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    68 Inspiring Creativity Quotes To Spark Fresh Thinking July 4, 2022 / 11 minutes of reading Are you looking for some inspiring creativity quotes? If so, you're in the right place. Writing apps are nice, but we all need a little inspiration sometimes. To be creative describes combining old and new ideas in ways people don't expect.

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    "Creative people are often found either disagreeable or intimidating by mediocrities." ― Criss Jami, Killosophy tags: awkward , creative , creativity , disagreeable , envy , intimidating , intimidation , mediocre , mediocrity , misunderstood , odd , original , originality , outcast , peculiar , strange , unusual 268 likes Like

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    Criss Jami. Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion. Jack Kerouac. The most dangerous idea is silencing people. Naval Ravikant. Originality is the best form of rebellion. Mike Sasso. Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change. Brené Brown.

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    Ava DuVernay. Your ego can become an obstacle to your work. If you start believing in your greatness, it is the death of your creativity. Marina Abramovic. The chief enemy of creativity is 'good' sense. Pablo Picasso. Creativity itself doesn't care at all about results - the only thing it craves is the process.

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    "Creativity is intelligence having fun." -Albert Einstein 4. "Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun". - Mary Lou Cook 5. "Making the simple complicated is commonplace. Making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity". - Charles Mingus 6. "Don't think.

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    McDevitt's work is equal parts fun, quirky, eye-catching and balanced, and this magical piece is definitely no exception. "Creative Influence" by Mary Kate McDevitt. 06. "The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life." - Jessica Hische.

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    1. Stefan Sagmeister by Pinch Studio "Having guts always works out for me!" 2. Maya Angelou by Bramanto Setyaki "You can't use up creativity the more you use the more you have." 3. Sigfried Giedion by Chekhova "Art, indeed, began with abstraction." 4. Anonymous by stevenmink "The Earth without art is just eh." 5. Paula Scher by C1k

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    Quotes for Finding Creative Inspiration Need a little jumpstart to get the creative juices flowing? These words from famous creatives just might help. 1. "Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth." —Rumi, The Essential Rumi 2.

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    Here, then, are 75 creativity quotes to get your creative juices flowing. 1. "There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns." — Edward de Bono. 2. "There is only one of you in all time, this expression is ...

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    What keeps life fascinating is the constant creativity of the soul. ~ Deepak Chopra. Creative people must find a balance between having solitude to work on their ideas and seeking new experiences to inform them. Finding that balance is a learning process. ~ Scarlett Thomas. That's the great secret of creativity.

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    Short Quotes About Creativity "The inner fire is the most important thing mankind possesses." Edith Södergran "An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all." Oscar Wilde "Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people." Henry Thomas Buckle

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    2. "Creative people are curious, flexible, persistent, and independent, with a tremendous spirit of adventure and a love of play.". Henri Matisse. 3. "Creativity is a wild mind and a disciplined eye.". Dorothy Parker. 4. "Creativity is the way I share my soul with the world.". Brene Brown.

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    1) "The creative adult is the child who survived." -- Ursula Leguin (via i heart inspiration) 2) "The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul." -- Dieter F. Uchtdorf (via Addicted 2 Success) 3) "Creativity doesn't wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones." -- Bruce Garrabrandt

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