William T. Vollmann Quotes

The hardest part is not to repeat yourself. I don't really believe my core obsessions are going to change, but you need to look for ways to express them that are different. The main reason for doing that is not to bore yourself, and obviously, I don't want to bore readers.

Working with great writers can be humbling and frightening, but it can also change you for good, forever.

Someone once told me growth and comfort do not coexist. And I think it's a really good thing to remember.

I think the best advice I give is to try not to write. Try not to overwrite, try not to make it sound too good. Just use your own voice. Use your own style of putting it down.

No, I have to really focus, especially when I'm writing because I wanna be good at it.

It looks like you can write a minimalist piece without much bleeding. And you can. But not a good one.

I don't intend to write the same kind of book for the rest of my life because I feel I would not be satisfied only writing in one mode.

I would like, certainly, to do different things.

Through an arbitrary problem, I had arrived at a tenet of good writing: brevity wins.

I definitely still like writing one-liners, but I also think that I've changed a lot in that I've allowed myself freedom to grow.

I'm really focused and obsessed with writing things that are specific. I don't like big rock lyrics - I find them infuriating.

I always write tons of different styles.

With time, I'll learn to do more things, different things.

One of the things that's great about writing for a magazine is that every week you get to be a different person. You're writing different things all the time and not slogging along for years on something.

In my case, my life has changed and improved because different things have motivated me. For example, in the beginning, my motivation was to help my family. Later on, my motivation was to be the best.

On every new project, I try to write in a different way and see if there's a new side of myself I haven't explored.

I think to keep yourself fresh, you need to try different things.

I started writing for myself because I know how to write for myself. I know how to show what I can do.

Everything is a learning lesson, good and bad, so I am happy with the way things are, and I learned from everything negative. I am in a great space now, so I wouldn't change a thing!

As a writer, you're always trying to say the best thing. You're always thinking about what's the best thing to say, and what's the hardest way to say it, and what's the best line? Sometimes the best line is the simplest line. Sometimes the best line is the line that evokes more feeling than actual wordsmithing.

Nobody's the same. So, I think that people benefit in different things than others.

It's important to be involved in different things for me.

I'm writing; I'm teaching myself writing.

I'm interested in many different things. I guess I just want to evolve.

I've grown more and more appreciative of good writing, and I now really hope I can become a better and better writer.