Haruki Murakami Quotes

There's nothing worse than sitting down to write a novel and saying, 'Well, okay, I'm going to do something of high artistic worth.'

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

Somebody said writing is easy, you just sit down at your typewriter and open a vein. It depends on the book. Some, I have to do quite a lot of research, which I like. Others are much closer to me.

I've been writing for a long time. I sat down to write my first novel in the middle of March of 1982.

With a novel, no matter where I am in it, I'm fretting about it. Every time I write a book, it starts with great forward momentum. Then there seems to be a period where it slows down a bit, and other things intervene. Then I gain momentum.

I may attempt a novel. I think that no matter what you write, it requires being honest with oneself, and you have to pull yourself out of the whirlwind of daily life.

In 25 years of writing novels, I've never had anything that felt like writer's block.

There's a mystery to writing, and you don't really know where most of it comes from.

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

I know that to write you have to have stories you want to tell. You have to keep your mind alive, and you have to work hard.

So, how to stay inside the world of entertainment without actually getting another job? I felt the only logical answer was to become a novelist. So I wrote the first book - driven by some very real feelings of desperation - and it worked.

In order to write novels for a living - it's not pathological, but I do think and worry and brood and fidget about stuff that I'm working on.

Novel writing is solitary work.

I am always trying to write.

I spend a lot of time writing. I get inspiration from texts rather than images.

I've always thought that writing isn't really that hard. It's having a good idea that's hard.

When I'm writing a novel, I'm usually just trying to write about things that are interesting to me.

Every time I write a new book, I want to push myself to try something different.

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.

There's no such thing as a writer's block. If you're having trouble writing, well, pick up the pen and write. No matter what, keep that hand moving. Writing is really a physical activity.

When I want to read a novel, I write one.

Talking about how I might write the next book is like talking about whether or not to have sex. Any dithering ruins it.

Writing a novel isn't like building a brick wall. You don't figure out how to do it, and then it gets easier each time because you know what you're doing. With writing a novel, you have to figure it out each time. Each time you start over, you just have the language and the idea and the hope.

I can't emphasize enough how much of a writer I am.

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