This quote was first posted in April 2015 when “Writer’s Quote Wednesday” still existed. Coleen has now moved her blog to “The Fairy Whisperer“:

Today I want to share a quote with you from an author or maybe more a dramaturg who has influenced my views on religions a lot with his play “Nathan the Wise“. Having been educated in Germany of course I had to read the play and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I also saw it once or twice in theatre which was much better.

The name of the man is Gotthold Ephraim Lessing one of the main representatives of German Enlightenment. His advocacy for religious tolerance had a deep impact on me when I was teenager and it still holds on to me even though I am quite suspicious towards organised religion.

The quote I am talking about is

Think wrongly, if you please, but by all means think for yourself!

For many years I thought the quote is Doris Lessing’s but I must have gotten that one wrong. Well….. 😉

How does that motivate you as a writer? Well, it is especially important for writers to go their own way and to think their own thoughts. It is easy to copy what is out there, but like that, you won’t impress any reader. I even believe that we have to challenge the habitual thinking patterns of our readers to make them think for themselves in turn.

I really love the age of Enlightenment because it gave us a lot of freedom that we take for granted today. And it seems to me that we need a New Age Of Enlightenment as so many of our fellow human beings only seem to regurgitate what they heard or read on the internet, the TV or in the tabloids. If they think at all that is. Some only seem to live for feeding and coupling. Sorry for being negative….

Well, today I encourage you to think for yourself even if it is wrong….. I certainly try to day in day out!

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This post takes part in Colleen’s wonderful “Writers Quote Wednesday”. Please head over and find more motivating quotes both in her posts and the comments. Thanks!