"You've got to have the work ethic that makes you show up.”

 “I always believe that it's very important to turn up at {your} desk, whether you feel like it or not, whether you have ideas or not... You've got to have the work ethic that makes you show up.”

(Ian McEwan)

"Know what you know" before you "write what you know"

“They say the most important thing is to write what you know. But there are two big problems with that... First of all, it's not enough to write what you know. You have to know interesting things. So you have to put yourself into a world where you have experiences. And then you also have to know what you know. And I think that that's even the hardest thing. Writing what you know is fine, but knowing what you know is the key to actually writing or creating any piece of art, because you have to know what it is that is driving you to do this completely narcissistic and a-social act of creating, forcing your thoughts and feelings upon a world that does not care. And you have to honestly figure out what it is you care about.”

(John Hodgman)