William Faulkner Quotes

Writing is a subtle art that is reached mostly by self-discovery and experimentation.

One poem or story doesn't matter one way or the other. It's the process of writing and life that matters.

Writing, in any sense that matters, cannot be taught. It can only be learned by each separate one of us in his own way, by the use of his own powers of imagination and perception, the ability to learn the lessons he has set for himself.

I made a lot mistakes that I'm grateful for, because I won't make them again and I won't let my artists make them, or I'll tell them, 'Don't do this.' A lot of them still make them anyway, but you can't be told things when you're doing your own thing.

He has found his style, when he cannot do otherwise.

When I began writing, I didn't read any other children's poets... I didn't want to be influenced until I'd found my own voice. Now I read them all.

Writing was my route to creative expression, and I needed to write about the things that interested me.

I focus on the writing and let the rest of the process take care of itself. I've learned to trust my own instincts and I've also learned to take risks.

I really don't feel that writing is therapy.

Discipline in art is a fundamental struggle to understand oneself, as much as to understand what one is drawing.

It was kind of enlightening to become a playwright.

For me, working on original material is very important.

I believe when you're writing film or television, you can't rely on a crutch or rule that exists outside of the narrative of the film.

Everyone has doors in the living room of their lives that they assume are locked. Doors that lead to artistic expression. People say "I have no talent -- I can't dance or sing or paint or write poetry or play an instrument." More often than not the doors are not locked, just closed. One may turn the handle, open the door and pass through into a larger life space.

The best part of writing is not the communication of knowledge to other people, but the acquisition and synthesizing of knowledge for oneself.

Be willing and unafraid to write badly, because often the bad stuff...forms a base on which to build something better.

There is a door we all want to walk through and writing can help you find it and open it.

I wouldn't have wanted anyone to teach me how to write. That's my own taste. I prefer to stumble on it.

It's so easy to get into the same routine. A novel every two years; perhaps, improving technique. But I'm not interested in that. I'm interested in doing something fundamentally important--and therefore, it needs time. And what I've been doing, really, is avoiding this pressure to get into the habit of one novel a year. This is what is expected of novelists. And I have never been really too much concerned with doing what is expected of novelists, or writers, or artists. I want to do what I believe is important.

I've always been a writer, actually. Not many people assume that, but I kinda keep quiet about anything that I do until I'm ready to show it. It keeps me humble and also makes me work towards a goal.

I started painting as a hobby when I was little. I didn't know I had any talent. I believe talent is just a pursued interest. Anybody can do what I do.

Writing may or may not be your salvation; it might or might not be your destiny. But that does not matter. What matters right now are the words, one after another. Find the next word. Write it down.

I've never discussed my writing with others much, but I don't believe it can do any harm. I don't think that there's any risk that ideas or materials will evaporate.

I'm still getting to the good part / the breaking down / learning how to write my story.

When I write, I make discoveries about my feelings.