David Grann Quotes

I'm very interested in writing - it just takes so much discipline, whether it's short stories or novels.

I'm always working on my next novel, even when I'm not.

My method is, I just sit down and write a book.

I would say, number one, don't worry about getting published. Just write. Number two, just write. Three is make sure you read.

Writing a novel - unlike operating a piece of heavy machinery, say, or cooking a chicken - is not a skill that can be taught. There is no standard way of doing it, just as there is no means of telling, while you're doing it, whether you're doing it well or badly. And merely because you've done it well once doesn't mean you can do it well again.

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

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

I just do the best I can and write something interesting, to tell stories in an interesting way and move forward from there.

If you want to be a writer, just write. There's no magic to it.

For me as a writer, the story has always taken precedence over everything else. I have never sat down to write with broad, sweeping ideas in mind, and certainly never with a specific agenda.

Now the writing in the head, I definitely do every day, thinking about how I want to phrase something or how I'd like to rephrase something I've already written.

I write constantly about everything.

Even though I don't write about things that come from my life because I'm lucky, and I live in a great place with great kids and, you know, a great husband, I think you can find threads of me in the characters, so that's really what being a writer is, probably.

I am always trying to write.

All writers have their own pet commandments.

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

I don't usually think of my writing as a 'challenge' because I enjoy the process so much. I suppose that's what's helped me to avoid 'writer's block' all these years.

My shorthand answer is that I try to write the kind of book that I would like to read. If I can make it clear and interesting and compelling to me, then I hope maybe it will be for the reader.

I starting writing when I was about 13 or 14 years old.

I'm always curious about other writers' routines.

As a writer, you look for inspiration wherever you can get it.

Mainly I love working on good writing.

I'm open to writing just about anything. I love writing the books that I write. They do tend to be on dark subjects, but I don't think of myself necessarily as a dark-humored person. I like having a lot of fun.

A lot of young writers ask me about my process. They know what they want to write - but they need to know how. What's the right way? How do the professionals do it? What's the secret?

When you compose, it's like writing. You're like a writer. You just think all the time.