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The high-flying little girl in Laura Hunt’s illustration “Kite Night,” winner of this year’s SCBWI-L.A. Twitter Banner Contest, answered the question of whether it’s ever too late to follow your dreams.

Editing Kite Tales has its perks. One is being among the first to see, hear, and be able to use the many uplifting ideas expressed by the blog’s kidlit guests during the year. Another is being one of the first to look back at year’s end and take inspiration anew. Here are some of my favorite 2023 moments gathered up in KT’s traditional list of 10 inspiring quotes. (Plus some extra inspo via the images.) Scroll through. Click through. Catch a thermal current and be uplifted. Thank you to everyone who brought words, pictures, and stories to the blog this year. Thank you to our readers! May you continue to soar in 2024.

Molly Ruttan discussed character development in her 2023 picture book Something Wild, in which her main character fantastically feels and overcomes stage fright. / Illustration by Molly Ruttan

“I could paper my walls with query letters [from] before I got my first deal. … If you write books, especially for kids, you’re going to hurt. Use it, embrace it. I try to employ it as a tool.” —Laura Taylor Namey

“If you’re going to draw, don’t have an eraser around, not even within reach, because you will spend more time correcting what you did than creating something.” —Brady Smith

“[R]e-readability is the ultimate goal. Make your story so irresistible that kids will want to read it over and over again!” —Karen Jameson

Kitty Felde demonstrated how to use “germination” to overcome fear of a blank page. / Photo courtesy of Kitty Felde

“I grew up in the Midwest and part of the reason that I, like millions of others, inhaled every Judy Blume novel was that she simply wrote about things that I could relate to. What might be surprising to some people is that children who are minorities aren’t always going through life thinking about, troubled by, or being adversely affected by their race. Sometimes—no, most times—we, too, are just being kids.” —Philana Marie Boles

“I wrote my butterfly book in fiction and nonfiction, prose and verse. In the end, it ended up as narrative nonfiction in rhyme with facts throughout. You never know where the journey will lead, so write on.” —Christine Van Zandt

“Remember your WHY.” —Cara J. Stevens

Using interactive elements? Paper engineer and author-illustrator Jackie Huang provided not-to-be-missed tips on the dance between mechanics and story. / Illustration and video by Jackie Huang

“For writers who want to illustrate. Go for it! Don’t worry about making nice drawings. The idea is to get the feeling from what you have in your head onto the paper.“ —Benson Shum

“Disabled people exist in the world—61 million in the U.S. alone. Do they exist in the world of your story? Unless you’re writing a story where disability has specifically been eradicated, they should!” —Karol Ruth Silverstein

“Remember to be gentle with yourself. … Let yourself be supported by like-minded people, like people in the SCBWI.” —Imelda Hinojosa

“Take a chance. Be frightened. Be hopeful. You might surprise yourself and hear a new, thrilling voice.” —Vincent X. Kirsch

Keynote speakers (from left to right) Lucy Hamilburg, Savannah Brooks, and Courtney Stevenson delivered a bumper crop of trade and tech tips at SCBWI SoCal’s Harvest Festival. / Photo courtesy of SCBWI SoCal

What are your favorite 2023 quotes about writing, illustrating, and the creative life? Share them in the comments below. 

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