Great Sayings About the Writing Life

I thought I'd launch my little blog here with some great sayings about writing - these were lifted from the novel The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax....plus one from my ex-husband.

"The cat sat on a mat is not a story.  The cat sat on another cat's mat is a story."
—John LeCarre

"Writing a novel is like driving a car at night.  You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way."
—E.L. Doctorow

"You don't write because you want to say something, you write because you've got something to say."
—F. Scott Fitzgerald

"There are three rules for writing a novel.  Unfortunately, no one knows what they are."
—W. Somerset Maugham

"Everything that doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  And later on you can use it in some story."
—Tapani Bagge

And from my ex-husband, John, trying to inspire me when I'd get stuck on a scene and couldn't seem to move forward:  "Don't polish the turd."

What sayings do you find inspirational in what you do?