Read the writing advice of science-fiction legend Ray Bradbury.

Science-fiction legend Ray Bradbury couldn't afford college, but he spent several days a week in his local library, teaching himself how to become a writer.

Ray Bradbury wrote 'Fahrenheit 451,' his landmark dystopian novel, on a rented typewriter in the basement of a UCLA library.

'We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.'

- Science fiction writer Ray Bradbury

How legendary artists overcame creative block

For most artists, creative block—the unfortunate experience when new ideas suddenly disappear—is inevitable. This Artsy article looks at six artists (including Picasso, Monet, and O’Keeffe) who dealt with creative block and overcame it by experimenting with new media, moving to a new place, or by sheer willpower. It also highlights one artist, Chuck Close, who claims that he never dealt with creative block because he simply viewed his artistic practice as any other job.

Stephen King doesn't believe writing can be taught

But he does believe it can be learned. He argues that the best writers are "voracious readers" who start their careers by copying the style of the masters before developing their own.

Sci-fi author Ray Bradbury offered to help aid the Kennedy Administration during the 1960s Space Race.

Ray Bradbury's 'Fahrenheit 451' was originally called 'The Fireman,' but he changed the title after learning the temperature at which paper burns.

Ray Bradbury said he was inspired to pursue writing after meeting a magician named Mr. Electrico, but scholars have never been able to confirm the story.

A quote by Howard Hughes

"Do the impossible, because almost everyone has told me my ideas are merely fantasies."

Ray Bradbury used the structure of John Steinbeck's 'Grapes of Wrath' to structure his influential science fiction masterpiece, 'The Martian Chronicles.'

An early short story by Ray Bradbury was plucked from an open submission call by 'In Cold Blood' author Truman Capote, who believed he'd found a significant voice.

'Everybody else is working to change, persuade, tempt and control them. The best readers come to fiction to be free of all that noise.'

- Author Philip Roth (1933-2018)

Mathematicians often solve problems using wordless mental processes

It's a common technique among expert mathematicians, where thinkers rely on intuition, blurry perceptions and subconscious work—no writing, no formulas. The state is distinct from daydreaming, and often relies on sudden illuminations stemming from extended periods of subconscious reflection.

Beats emphasized the importance of 'spontaneous prose'

Beat writer Jack Kerouac believed literature should aim to be more like jazz, using improvisation to burrow down to the root of the subconscious. In this video from the University of Pennsylvania’s Modern and Contemporary Poetry course, Professor Al Filreis directs a conversation of Kerouac’s manifesto, “Essential of Spontaneous Prose.”

NASA named a rover landing site on Mars after Ray Bradbury, author of 'The Martian Chronicles.'

'You shouldn't dream your film, you should make it!'

- Filmmaker Steven Spielberg (1946-present)

Read George Orwell's essay 'Why I Write,' the writer's memoir on how he came to literature.

Tips for writing time travel stories

Are you thinking of writing a story that involves time travel? You might want to read this guide first. It offers questions to consider, mistakes to avoid and strategies to employ to ensure you avoid paradoxes, plot holes and implausibilities.

King's 'On Writing' is a classic text about his craft

Stephen King is known first and foremost as a horror writer. However, one of his best-known books happens to be nonfiction. “On Writing,” published in 2000, is part autobiography and part instruction manual. King explains how he came to his craft and offers advice on ways aspiring writers can improve.

Ray Bradbury said Steven Spielberg was 'one of the most incredible young talents that's ever come into the world.'

Watch an episode of 'Ray Bradbury Theater,' the sci-fi writer's 80s HBO show, starring a young Jeff Goldblum.

'If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.'

- Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)

Readers discovered AI prompts in several romantasy books

In 2025, readers discovered AI prompts in three writers' texts, with one even instructing the AI bot to make a passage sound more like another romance writer. This Futurism piece digs into the scandals and how it's contributed to readers' skepticism about the genre's more prolific writers.

'Everybody has talent and it's just a matter of moving around until you've discovered what it is. A talent is a combination of something you love a great deal and something you can lose yourself in.'

- George Lucas (1944-present)

'I'm always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning ... Every day I find something creative to do with my life.'

- Miles Davis (1926-1991)

A quote by scientist Nikola Tesla

"The scientific man does not aim at an immediate result ... His duty is to lay the foundation for those who are to come, and point the way."

'Because of phones, we always have the ability to jump out of ourselves. But unless you learn how to be in your head, you’ll never learn how to create.'

- Songwriter and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda (1980-present)

Watch an interview with Philip Glass about his career and theory of creativity, which he believes needs to be consistently deconstructed and reinvented.

A quote from Mark Cuban

"Talent without effort is wasted talent. And while effort is the one thing you can control in your life, applying that effort intelligently is next on the list."

Watch the 1956 film adaptation of 'Moby Dick,' cowritten by sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury.

'Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world.'

- Albert Einstein

One data scientist argued that fan fiction improved writing

In an academic study, University of Washington professor Cecilia Aragon found that fan fiction often teaches young writers how to craft stronger sentences and convey complex ideas effectively. Much of that comes from the larger fan fiction community, which regularly comments on others' stories, offering kind-hearted constructive criticism in what she calls "distributed mentoring."

'An idea is salvation by imagination.'

- US architect Frank Lloyd Wright