When autumn begins, I often take stock of my writings and ask myself a few questions:

• Am I happy with what I’ve written so far?
• Is there something I’ve been neglecting that I need to add into my writings (conflict, description, explanation, new characters, references, etc.)?
• Have I written something I would want to read?

I have been enjoying the process of finding my writing voice, and one of the ways I am encouraged to keep writing is by reading. Sometimes when I’m reading, I’ll stumble upon a phrase that seems to speak to my soul. Other times, I’ll stumble upon an author whose writings are so quotable they embed themselves in my life and become part of my story. The following are some of my favourite quotable authors:

A. A. Milne – Winnie-the-Pooh’s observations on life and the myriad of characters and happenings that surround him remind the reader of what fun childhood can be.

C. S. Lewis – Quotable in his fiction and non-fiction, Lewis’s fictional characters are memorable, especially Aslan from the books about Narnia.

J. K. Rowling – In her famous series about Harry Potter, the character of Albus Dumbledore has so many insights into life that it is sometimes odd to think we ever lived in a world without him.

J. R. R. Tolkien – Tolkien has a way of expressing truths in his writings that leave the reader pondering a statement or idea.

L. M. Montgomery – From the spirited character of Anne Shirley, Montgomery makes wonderful observations about the human spirit and encourages joy.

These authors remind me how important writing is, how important story is, how important thinking is. They remind me to look at the beauty in life and take time to think about what I want to say through my writing as well as how I want to say it. They remind me that I, too, have a voice.