Quotes about the art of writing – from writers who’ve been there, done that

One of the books I came across when going through my dad’s library after he passed away was a delightful little book called, W.O.W. – Writers on Writing, by John Winokur, a virtual quote-collecting guru. Inside its 372 pages are quotable thoughts from famous and not-so-famous writers who seemingly have something to say about every aspect of the writing profession, beginning with Angst all the way through the alphabet to Writer’s Block. For me it was amusing and amazing to read how all these very successful writers and authors went through the same frustrating moments of self-doubt and joy of accomplishment, just as many of us do.

If you’re a writer, a wannabe writer, a future writer or a recovering writer, I hope you’ll appreciate these quotes.

Advice to Young Writers:

“It is by sitting down to write every morning that one becomes a writer. Those who do not do this remain amateurs.” – Gerald Brenan

“Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down. Rewrite in process is usually found to be an excuse for not going on.” –  John Steinbeck

Angst:

“It’s a very excruciating life facing that blank piece of paper every day and having to reach up somewhere in to the clouds and bring something down out of them.” – Truman Capote

“I am profoundly uncertain about how to write. I know what I love or what I like, because it’s a direct, passionate response. But when I write I’m very uncertain whether it’s good enough. That is, of course, the writer’s agony.” – Susan Sontag

“I like to do and can do many things better than I can write, but when I don’t write, I feel like shit. I’ve got the talent and I feel that I’m wasting it.” –  Ernest Hemingway.

Critics and Criticism:

“Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamppost what it feels about dogs.” –  John Osborne

Drink:

“I have never written a serious word in my life under the influence of alcohol.” – William Styron

“I can’t write without wine.” – Tennessee Williams

Imagination and Inspiration:

“You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.” – Saul Bellow

Journalism:

“Journalism is literature in a hurry.” – Matthew Arnold

Money:

“The dubious privilege of a freelance writer is he’s given the freedom to starve anywhere.” –  S.J. Perelman

“The profession of book-writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business.” –  John Steinbeck

Output:

“If my doctor told me I had only six months to live, I wouldn’t brood. I’d type a little faster.” – Isaac Asimov

Plagiarism:

“Good swiping is an art in itself.” – Jules Feiffer

“The immature poet imitates. The mature artist steals.” – Lionel Trilling

“No man ever yet became great by imitation.” – Samuel Johnson

Process:

“I never reread a text until I have finished the first draft. Otherwise, it’s too discouraging.” – Gore Vidal

“The first draft of anything is shit.” – Ernest Hemingway

Qualifications:

“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live!” – Henry David Thoreau

“A writer doesn’t need to go out and live, but stay home and invent.” – Ned Rorem

Talent:

“We do not write as we want, but as we can.” – W. Somerset Maugham

Tools:

“Writing is just having a sheet of paper, a pen and not a shadow of an idea of what you’re going to say.” – Francoise Sagan

Writers on Writing:

“Writing is the hardest work in the world not involving heavy lifting.” – Pete Hamill

“Writers don’t have lifestyles. They sit in little rooms and write.” – Norman Mailer

“This sickness, to express oneself. What is it?” – Jean Cocteau