Influential Writing Quotes

You had to read what I wrote if you lived in L.A. in 1975 and cared about pop music.

I'd dearly love to write a political book that changed the hearts and minds of men and women.

Those were the days in this country where H. G. Wells, Bernard Shaw and Conan Doyle could have influence, and thats gone, thats true. But I dont think we have less influence in the hearts and minds of readers. I think, if anything, we have just as much, if not more.

who can Perswade more Powerfully than Poets?

In 'Common Sense' Paine flared forth with a document so powerful that the Revolution became inevitable. Washington recognized the difference, and in his calm way said that matters never could be the same again.

It's hard to read good fiction when I am writing, because if it is really good I catch myself sort of inadvertently imitating a great writer.

The most honest of men is the one who thinks and acts best, but the most powerful is the one who writes and speaks best.

The value of the writing is not in what you publish but in its consequences. If you set out to describe reality, then the influence of the writing is upon reality

I love feeling like I'm 'on the pulse' of things. Nothing more satisfying, more valued, more exciting as a writer. Because shaping pop culture really means that you're saying something that a lot of people want to hear.

All writers are propagandists.

A good book is the precious lifeblood of a master spirit.

The test of an author is not to be found merely in the number of his phrases that pass current in the corner of newspapers... but in the number of passages that have really taken root in younger minds.

Since its beginnings, American writing has been in dialogue with other literatures.

I've come to think of Dunnett as the literary equivalent of the Velvet Underground; Not many people bought the books, but everyone who did wrote a novel.

He that I am reading seems always to have the most force.

Most people's major life changes don't come from reading an article in the newspaper; they come from reading longer-form essays or thoughtful books, which are much more convincing and detailed.

Morocco is such a beautiful place. It's incredibly beautiful. And also it is captivating place because for a writer, you feel that you make impact. I mean, when I write something in the press, the day after in the fish market, people will be discussing it.