12 Patricia Cornwell Quotes for Writers and About Writing

Here are 12 Patricia Cornwell quotes for writers and about writing from the author of Postmortem, Book of the Dead, and Red Mist. In these quotes, Cornwell shares her thoughts on insecurity, outlining, taking risks, and more.

Patricia Cornwell is an award-winning crime author. She is best known for novels involving medical examiner Kay Scarpetta including Postmortem, Book of the Dead, and Red Mist. She has won several awards, including an Edgar Award, RBA Prize for Crime Writing, British Book Awards' Crime Thriller of the Year, and more.

(How to Write a Mystery Novel.)

Cornwell has also written a few nonfiction books, including two about Jack the Ripper that set forth a case against British artist Walter Sickert. She has purchased more than 30 of Sickert's paintings, and her findings have been disputed. For his part, Sickert believed he lodged in a room previously used by Jack the Ripper.

Here are 12 Patricia Cornwell quotes for writers and about writing that cover insecurity, outlining, taking risks, and more.

12 Patricia Cornwell quotes for writers and about writing

"Don't just read other people's books. Go have adventures!"

"I can't imagine outlining a book and then just sitting down and writing it. I think it would lose its emotional being—the effervescence, the sparkle."

"I continue to do research as I'm writing a book, and it all evolves together. I get an idea, and then when I look into it, that gives me other ideas."

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"I get the most done by secluding myself."

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"I started out doing poetry when I was young, and I think I have a little bit of a poetic approach to writing a book, where I start with an image."

"I think a little insecurity is a good thing."

"I want you to go through the looking glass of words on the page and be in the world I'm describing."

(Maximize your settings.)

"Quitting can't be an option. You don't become a writer—you are one."

"The biggest enemy when you have a series is that you get bored with it."

(How to write a novel series.)

"Writing is hard work. It isn't just sitting around fantasizing, or having a drink with somebody and talking about how cool it would be if you wrote a story. It's work."