Hanya Yanagihara Quotes

Sometimes I panic and think I can't really write.

If you're a writer, you're constantly doubting yourself.

Most writers or performers walk around with the notion in their head that - a paranoid worry that maybe people don't like them.

For a long time I managed to think two things simultaneously, that I am actually a good playwright, and that the next time I write a play I will be revealed as someone who is no good at all.

'Writing' always means 'not writing' to me because I will do anything to put it off. I think this is mainly because writing anything down and then handing it over to a third party - especially in comedy - is such an exposing act that you naturally want to delay the process.

I don't take compliments very easily. I think most musicians suffer from low self-esteem to some extent.

I've always been a bit of a self-doubter. I think a lot of actors are.

I always think that I'm not going to be right for a movie or that there's someone else who can do it better.

When I like someone a lot, I get scared that I'll let them down. My fear of sucking is worst when I feel like someone thinks I'm good.

I still assume that, any day, I'm going to be exposed as a fraud. That, like I once heard Gene Hackman say, the acting police are going to burst in and take away my card.

I always think the insecurity is going to go away, but it's always there. Only bad writers think they're good.

Every word I write I suspect the next day.

I always feel terrified whenever I put my work out there to be seen, to be scrutinized. I think it's a very vulnerable thing that we are asked to do.

There's times where you think, 'Gosh, what if nobody ever wants to hear what I have to say?'

Professionally, I'm a perfectionist, and to allow people to see that maybe I wasn't always perfect or put together - that my actual personal life was very messy at times... it was scary to let people know that.

No matter how accomplished or how many awards you get, you're always still thinking there's somebody out there who's better than you.

If you're constantly hamstrung by worry that people aren't going to like it, you can't do your job.

I have a fear of failure.

Every single time I step into the studio, I say, 'Can I still do this? Do I still have it? Have I ever had it?' I suppose there's a good amount of self-loathing that goes into any form of artisanship.

I think every writer doubts themselves, every day. You procrastinate because you're afraid. You're always afraid it's not going to be as good as you want it to be. But, the key is overcoming fear.

There are several times when I walked into a room and just felt like such a sham. That's the problem with auditioning.

I always hope people will like me, and I'm always afraid they will think I'm a fraud. I try harder than perhaps I should to make people like me, then it backfires. They think I'm a buffoon.

You already feel unsure of yourself, and then you see your worst fears in print. It really knocked me - which is why, I think, I was working, working, working, because I was trying to run away from the fact that I thought I couldn't do it.

Creative people are very insecure people because they don't know whether people like them or are in awe of them. That insecurity always comes out. It makes them a better actor, I feel.

I find I have to touch what I am working on every day, or a deep-seated dread kicks in that is very hard to overcome.