John Mortimer Quotes

I do not go down and sit in front of the computer and make myself write; that's not my style.

Sit down to write what you have thought, and not to think about what you shall write.

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

The point always is to be writing something - it leads to more writing.

If you wish to be a writer, write.

John McGovern taught me that it's OK to write repeatedly about the same things.

I don't write on demand - I wait for inspiration to come.

I mean, if you lined up 100 writers, you'd get 100 different ways in which they write. There's no right way or wrong way to do it; it's whatever your process is.

It's hard for me to just practice without writing something.

The real writer is one who really writes. Talent is an invention like phlogiston after the fact of fire. Work is its own cure. You have to like it better than being loved.

Writing - not being a writer with interesting habits - gets priority.

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

I write - and then I write some more.

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

And that's what I've learned too: writing is key.

Don't force yourself to write. Some people can write a novel in a few months, whereas for others it can take over a year. I'm lucky to be one of the former - but, even so, if I'm not in the mood to write, I won't. I'll go off, do something else and come back to it when I'm ready.

I write constantly about everything.

If I had to give young writers advice, I would say don't listen to writers talking about writing or themselves.

I don't care about writing really.

I spent several years acquiring the obsessive, day-to-day discipline that's needed if you want to write professionally, then several more, highly valuable years studying fiction writing at the University of Iowa.

Any writer will be happy and good only if they know what they're doing and why they're doing it.

I am always trying to write.

All writers have their own pet commandments.

I wish I had more time to 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.