Nelson Algren Quotes

Read a lot. Write a lot. Have fun.

Sometimes reading other writers helps. You learn some little technique that turns out to be useful, or simply are reinspired by the amazing things others do.

My aunt got me interested in journalism - she found an old typewriter, had it worked over, put it on the dining room table, gave me a stack of paper and said, 'Play like you're a writer.'

I've been writing for as long as I can remember, and reading even before that. My mom still has stories that I wrote when I was in kindergarten. I was a reader and a re-reader. That's the main reason I became a writer.

You become a better writer by writing. You become a better travel writer by writing about travel.

I am very interested in people trying to write because I don't have a big academic background at all.

Doing interesting things and then writing about them is the best way to become a good writer.

One thing I always did in my career was writing. I always was writing. I was trying to create things. For myself, for other people.

And that's what I've learned too: writing is key.

If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There's no way around these two things that I'm aware of, no shortcut.

A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

I started writing when I was about thirteen.

Writers are nerds.

I'm clearly not a writer, but I'm always a fan of them.

Ultimately, you've got to have something to say, so a writer should continue learning things throughout life. But I don't think education makes one a writer.

I think what happens is that some writers, who are so great in television or whatever, once they become successful, they get out of the loop of real life. It's real hard to draw on something to write.

I've been writing in some way, shape, or form for as long as I can remember.

Read everything you can on writing. Join online forums and critique groups, go to conferences, get feedback, and learn, learn, learn!

For the years I spent working on it, 'Constellation' was the only novel I knew how to write, so maybe I still abided by the maxim? Regardless, I prefer the maxim: Write what you want to know, rather than what you already know.

I think writers are observers and watchers. We always have our ears open and eyes open, so I might see something in everyday life that inspires me. And I think that's probably more than anything else. Everyday life is where I get my inspiration.

I'm a writer who likes to be influenced.

I write all the time - I write poetry, I love to write.

Writers are so important.

I started writing when I was about 20, 21 maybe.

I love writers. All of my best friends are writers.