J. Michael Straczynski Quotes

I'm still learning my craft, and I've been writing since I was nine.

I have grown in my writing and I care about it now and I know how important it is to write stuff.

I do want to work on writing, because writing's a skill. Writing is something that you can train yourself to know better. To know yourself better. And it's intimidating as hell.

What one's goal should be is just to become a better writer and to tell different kinds of stories.

Unfortunately, there's still a lot of beginning writers who think you can just write your first draft and hand it in.

I write journals and would recommend journal writing to anyone who wishes to pursue a writing career. You learn a lot. You also remember a lot... and memory is important.

I personally feel I still have so much to learn as a writer; each novel is better than the one before, just because I'm getting better at it.

I believe that I improve with every book I write - most writers will probably tell you the same thing. I'm still learning my craft and will be until the day I drop dead at my computer. In my opinion, art isn't something that can be perfected. There's always room for improvement.

I feel like I'm getting better at being a writer.

I miss my former teachers, John Hersey and James Alan McPherson. I would love to see either or both and ask what I could do to improve, to deepen my writing.

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

Every story I write is different. Some are hard. Some aren't. 'Chronicle' was tremendously easy. I have a hard time comparing my process on different things, but I will say this: The more you write, the better you get at it. That's one of the few things that's markedly true.

Today I must write a paragraph or a page better than I did yesterday.

I taught writing classes at the University of Pennsylvania for a number of years and I realized that all you can do is encourage people and give them assignments and hope they will write them.

I want to have new challenges and write new crazy books because I think it makes me a better writer to be insecure and try new things.

The first book you write because of the way it makes you feel. The second one you can't help but wonder how it's going to make the reader feel.

I've written a lot of books now; I've been published for over 30 years. I hope with every book I learn something new, and with every new novel I try to improve the process of writing.

Neophyte writers tend to believe that there is something magical about ideas and that if they can just get a hold of a good one, then their futures are ensured.

I believe that a writer learns from every story he writes, and when you try different things, you learn different lessons. Working with other writers, as in Hollywood or in a shared world series, will also strengthen your skills, by exposing you to new ways of seeing the work, and different approaches to certain creative challenges.

What I wanted in life always was to write something as good as 'Pinocchio.' I wanted to write. I wanted to evolve. I wanted to grow.

But, if there's any aspect of my career that needs attention, it's writing.

Write every day. Make writing a part of your life, but also don't be afraid of learning from others because I think you can. I still try to think of myself as a beginner because that way I can keep on learning.

If you're young enough, any kind of writing you do for a short period of time is a marvelous apprenticeship.

When I was 19 years old, I wrote my first book. I took a computer science class, and the book was garbage. I thought I could write a better one, so I did.

With each book, you get better as a writer. There is no back door to the industry. Read in the genre you want to write, as the more you read, the better you will get as an author.