Quotations: Writers on Writing
Stephen King: I am the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries.
Ernest Hemingway: Write drunk, edit sober.
Hunter S. Thompson: The only thing to be said this time about Fear & Loathing is that it was fun to write and that's fair, for me at least because I've always considered writing the most hateful kind of work.
Elmore Leonard: I try to leave out the parts that people skip.
Isaac Asimov: If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster.
Moliere: A writer is congenitally unable to tell the truth and that is why we call what he writes fiction.
William Faulkner: Writing is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money.
Robert Frost: Poets need not go to Niagara to write about the force of falling water.
Flannery O'Connor: Everywhere I go I'm asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don't stifle enough of them.
Robert Benchley: It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous.
George Orwell: In certain kinds of writing, particularly in art criticism and literary criticism, it is normal to come across long passages which are almost completely lacking in meaning.
Steven Wright: I'm writing an unauthorized autobiography.
William S. Burroughs: In my writing I am acting as a map maker, an explorer of psychic areas, a cosmonaut of inner space, and I see no point in exploring areas that have already been thoroughly surveyed.
Gustave Flaubert: The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.
Comments
Asimov
This is a good list of quotes, but I have to make a remark on the Asimov-quote. I see this quote everywhere, and as it stands it makes no sense. If he had six minutes to live, he would not have time to get to his typewriter to continue typing after speaking to the doctor. And indeed, what doctor would ever give such an exact time of death?
No, the truth is of course that he said six months - and remarked several times that it bothered him that it was widely quoted as minutes.
So, in light of the dismay he felt about this misquote and in the interest of spreading his actual words, here is his recounting of it (found in Asimov Laughs Again, 1992, p.147):
I was once being interviewed by Barbara Walters in three segments, all at once, though they were to be run on three separate days.In between two of the segments, she asked me how many books I had written, and I told her. She said, "Don't you ever want to do anything but write?""No," I said."Don't you want to go hunting? Fishing? Dancing? Hiking?"And I said, "No! No! No! and No!"She said, "But what would you do if the doctor gave you only six months to live?"I said, "Type faster."
This seems to be the philosophy he lived by - at the end of his life he was still writing, having completed over 500 books.
thanks
Thanks so much for taking the time to provide the information on the Asimov quote. I'll definitely check up on it when I get a chance. -becksta
OK, for the record, according
OK, for the record, according to this (and quite a few others), it's six months, not six minutes, but six months, while on sites like this, it's six minutes. -becksta
intersting analysis
but your still an idiot
Oh no
You called someone an idiot on the internet, and put 'your' instead of 'you're!' That's pratically the ultimate fail.
Nice correction for the original commenter.
Silly, the "author" didnt use
Silly, the "author" didnt use correct grammar either, and he was making a post about writers. Talk about failing!
Well, if you're going to be picky
Interesting- not intersting
Practically- not pratically
There, an 8th grader just corrected your grammar.
Way to go!
Good job 8th grader, but you corrected his spelling not his grammer.
So much irony...
Well, since we're playing this game, I guess I should point out that "grammer" is most definitely not a word. Perhaps you meant "grammar?" Also, there should probably be a comma after the word "spelling."
What I find completely hilarious about this whole string of corrections is that absolutely everybody who has participated so far has exhibited some level of blatant ignorance regarding one or more aspects of either grammar or spelling. Perhaps before pointing out the speck in another's eye, we should examine the log in our own, hmm?
I love the internet
This has so far been the best string of comments I've ever seen.
Ps. I love the last bit of your post. :)
further...
Perhaps you meant "grammar?"
----------------------------------
The question mark should go outside of the quotation marks. Perhaps before pointing out the speck in another's eye, we should examine the log in our own, hmm?
actually
Actually, the post above could be grammatically correct if he/she were referring to "'your' 'still an idiot'" as in [his/her's] "still an idiot" whatever "still an idiot" is. Possibly some kind of game or drug or title of a music album?
Asimov
Asimov was speaking metaphorically. He was so attached to his writing that even death couldn't come between them.
I agree and either way- six
I agree and either way- six minutes or six months- it's a great quote.
The word quote is a verb.
The word quote is a verb. Quotation is the noun.
That was kind of pompous,
That was kind of pompous, which is why I'm perfectly happy to tell you that quote is perfectly reasonable as a noun, according to the dictionary.
The funny part is that I was
The funny part is that I was skimming through the quotes and misread "six months". Didn't realize that I read it wrong (the way that he had said it) until I got to the comments, lol.
Maybe you read it
Maybe you read it before......
Authors' Quotes
I am an avid Stephen King reader, he is a fantastic writer and I do not think anybody can fill his shoes if he happens to leave this world, No do not get me wrong I respect other authors specially fiction writers even though Issac Asimov based all of his writings on fiction there was a great lot of Science and real knowledge that anybody who love Science would really appreciate.He as well as Ray Bradbury went beyond the Stars.:)
Authors' Quotes
I am an avid Stephen King reader, he is a fantastic writer and I do not think anybody can fill his shoes if he happens to leave this world, No do not get me wrong I respect other authors specially fiction writers even though Issac Asimov based all of his writings on fiction there was a great lot of Science and real knowledge that anybody who love Science would really appreciate.He as well as Ray Bradbury went beyond the Stars.:)
I like Stephen King, too. I
I like Stephen King, too. I think it's funny that the quote about Stephen King's writing comes from Stephen King. -beckstanarci
Authors' Quotes
I am an avid Stephen King reader, he is a fantastic writer and I do not think anybody can fill his shoes if he happens to leave this world, No do not get me wrong I respect other authors specially fiction writers even though Issac Asimov based all of his writings on fiction there was a great lot of Science and real knowledge that anybody who love Science would really appreciate.He as well as Ray Bradbury went beyond the Stars.:)
"I try to leave out the parts
"I try to leave out the parts that people skip."
To true and necessary, as a muscian this is a commandment for me.
you definitely don't want
you definitely don't want people fast-forwarding thru your songs.....
I had never heard that
I had never heard that Faulkner quote (yeah, yeah I know....). All I can say is wow, that is a mind blowing thought. Thanks for this!
I love it!!!
I am best friends with a writer and it's just amazing. I love the way writers just transform everything they see into something we can now relate to but have never experienced before with those eyes. Just wonderful!
Writers on Writing
You might enjoy "The Secret Miracle: The Novelists Handbook" edited by Daniel Alarcon. Thirty or forty novelists are asked questions about writing and their responses are collected. It's a publication of 826 National, the writing group in San Fran, LA, NYC etc. New in paperback.
Quotes
Who said, "I only write when I'm inspired (and make sure I'm inspired at 9am each morning)"?
Peter DeVries
Peter DeVries
Fantastically Fantastic
This is great... I'm not a writer. But I love hearing writers talk about how/why/when they write. I enjoy it (authors on their craft) more than any other artist talking about their respective art forms. In fact, the only Stephen King book I have read was the one he wrote on his writing. Thanks for the post!
Quotes
These are great quotes not seen all the time. Stephen King's shows some self-irony and good grace. I love his book on writing, and since I read it I've had new respect for him as a person and writer. I'm a writer too but my day job is a <a href="http://www.ducktoes.com.">computer repair</a> in Calgary. I've just finished a novel.
Congrats on your novel,
Congrats on your novel, Cathie!
-becksta
“Writing is easy. You only
“Writing is easy. You only need to stare at a piece of blank paper until your forehead bleeds”
-Douglas Adams