This month our intrepid band of writers is looking at some of our favorite quotes–those faded and curled post-it notes pinned to the corkboard that inspire, encourage, and challenge–we hope they do the same for you!
Robin Lythgoe
Author of As the Crow Flies
I am a lemon in the book quotation collection department. Oh, I have accumulated scores of quotes, but mostly in the line of pithy truisms. Like, “All of us could take a lesson from the weather; it pays no attention to criticism.” Or “A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” They are little reminders to myself that I need to buck up, knuckle down, stop being overly sensitive, work toward my goals, and remember to breathe. Those reminders get jotted down on post-it notes and stuck around my workspace. Bright, rich butterflies whispering directions I would otherwise forget.
Patricia Reding
Author of Oathtaker
It’s interesting to consider those things that catch one’s attention. For my part, they are often obscure lines that most people likely pass by without a second thought. Occasionally when I find a gem tucked in amidst all the words surrounding it, I grasp it, then adopt it for my own for later use. No, I don’t mean that I copy and use it in my written works, I just say it from time to time. For example, back as a young adult, I read some of Robert A. Heinlein’s science fiction. From his works, one line stood out that I’ve revised—just a bit—and repeated many times over the years (giving Heinlein credit, of course). My version reads thusly …
Parker Broaddus
Author of A Hero’s Curse & Nightrage Rising
The quotes with the most meaning to me personally have come from within stories themselves, as opposed to quotes from an author or prominent individual. I think that’s because for me a quote can capture the essence a story–suddenly a snippet evokes an entire journey. The sentence is no longer a disassociated fragment, it has a context. It becomes the story itself, capturing some essential element that inspires me to consider, at least for a moment, the entire narrative from a single perspective.
“Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.” It’s by J.M. Barrie, of Peter Pan fame, but I love that quote in large part because of its attachment to the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio. The quote invokes the memory of the entire story and I am encouraged to look not only at that story from the perspective of this one line, but also at my own life through this single lens.
I love this one from Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” That is such a beautiful theme. One to remember and examine, like an intricately cut diamond. I watched “Captain Marvel” a couple of days ago and I saw the same theme run through the show. I hope I can remember this one, and pass it on to my kids.
And there is no book for me which quite so captures the nostalgia and love of place–love of home–like Wind in the 
Willows does. “Home! That was what they meant, those caressing appeals, those soft touches wafted through the air, those invisible little hands pulling and tugging, all one way.”
Finally, the wisdom, cheer and adventure found in Tolkien’s work is worth revisiting. Remembering. Here are a few from The Hobbit, or There and Back Again. “There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West. Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
“So comes snow after fire, and even dragons have their endings.” This one is so good. It reminds me that, “This too, shall pass.” For every thing there is a season, and nothing, either good or bad, lasts forever in this world.
Finally, one more from The Hobbit: “A safe fairyland is untrue to all worlds.” And this. Just–it’s so true it hurts, and it is perhaps one reason I love fairy stories, as C.S. Lewis called them in his essay, “Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What’s to be Said.”
What about you? What are some of your favorite quotes? What makes a quote special to you? Is it the wisdom within, or the person it comes from? Leave a comment below or send me an email!
“… suddenly a snippet evokes an entire journey.” That is so true.
You’ve picked some great quotes, Parker. They make me want to pick up each of the stories to read once again, the entire journey contained therein. Thank you.