Jennifer Egan Quotes

If I did anything 'next', I would do writing.

My intent was to gain experience for fiction I eventually hoped to write. But there's no question I was drawn in by the hope that journalism would be a creative, thrilling environment.

I started off as a journalist when I was young and I did not get paid unless I wrote three stories a day.

I was a freelancer all through my twenties. I did about one story a month and I wanted to write fiction, so the stories that I would do were precursors to 'Sex and the City.'

There are plenty of paths to becoming a writer, but I think the most reliable ones involve total commitment: writing for magazines and newspapers, teaching writing, editing books, representing authors.

I don't aspire to direct like many actors. I would aspire most likely to do some writing, but I haven't had a chance to do that.

Every 'Observer' writer wants to be a novelist.

You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.

The hardest part about writing fiction is finding long stretches of time to do it: for me, this means writing mostly on Saturdays and Sundays. But I am always thinking about my characters, jotting down ideas in stolen moments and hoping I'll be able to make sense of them when the weekend rolls around.

I feel like writing a book there's always a version in your head that's an amazing version, but then you write the version that you can write.

As thrilling as it was, speechwriting is ultimately frustrating for someone who wants to be a writer.

I became a copy boy. Not for long. I started writing stories.

I find myself really feeling like it's possible that maybe the greater contribution I'm going to be able to make through this next phase of my life might be as a writer writing wonderful parts for women, or even writing wonderful parts for myself, you know?

I definitely want to act and I want to sing. If those two fall through, I want to become a writer, probably, like a songwriter for other people, or a novel writer. I write a lot, and I read a lot. I like reading fiction.

I spent 20 years of my career primarily being a writer for hire.

If I wasn't an actor, I'd probably be working in journalism.

Well, I'm a writer by nature, and I got a little bit - a little taste of a daily fast-paced writing job, writing career, and I loved it.

Zombie books were going to be my passion projects, but certainly not pay the bills. I thought I was going to have to get a real job on a sitcom or something, and have my zombie books to remind myself I was still a writer at heart. I never thought I could actually pay my bills and write what I wanted.

This sounds like a cliche, but I always wanted to write. After college, I did some writing and realized very quickly that it's hard to make a living as a writer. At that point, I was more interested in fiction writing.

As a youngster, I think I said I wanted to be a journalist, but that's a disguise for being a writer.

Unfortunately, I don't get to read nearly as much as I want because I'm always working on my own stuff, either the novels or newspaper columns.

The fact that people will pay you to talk to people and travel to interesting places and write about what intrigues you, I am just amazed by that.

I don't think there's a shortage of material in the world. Or in my head. I just pray for continued good health, because I've got other stories to tell.

So, how to stay inside the world of entertainment without actually getting another job? I felt the only logical answer was to become a novelist. So I wrote the first book - driven by some very real feelings of desperation - and it worked.

I'm still surprised to be an author. I wonder what I'll write next?