Literary Commitment Quotes

Irene Nemirovsky was a prolific writer punctiliously devoted to her craft.

My life as a writer consists of 1/8 talent and 7/8 discipline.

The only advice anybody can give is, if you wanna be a writer, keep writing. And read all you can, read everything.

The reader has certain rights. He bought your story. Think of this as an implicit contract. He's entitled to be entertained, instructed, amused; maybe all three. If he quits in the middle, or puts the book down feeling his time has been wasted, you're in violation.

If somebody writes a book and doesn't care for the survival of that book, he's an imbecile.

The writer has no responsibility other than to jack off in bed alone and write a good page.

Fiction writing is a twenty-four-hou r-a-day occupation. You never leave your work behind. It is always with you, and to some extent, you are always thinking about it. You don't take your work home; your work never leaves home. It lives inside you. It resides and grows and comes alive in your mind.

Writing is a solitary business. It takes over your life. In some sense, a writer has no life of his own. Even when he’s there, he’s not really there.

I have the reputation for having read all of Henry James. Which would argue a misspent youth and middle age.

He asked, "What makes a man a writer?" "Well," I said, "it's simple. You either get it down on paper, or jump off a bridge.

it is very well worthwhile to be tormented for two or three years of one's life, for the sake of being able to read all the rest of it.

The Writer's Oath I promise solemnly: 1. to write as often and as much as I can, 2. to respect my writing self, and 3. to nurture the writing of others. I accept these responsibilities and shall honor them always.

I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man has no dedication nor any membership in literature.

Every writer must acknowledge and be able to handle the unalterable fact that he has, in effect, given himself a life sentence in solitary confinement. The ordinary world of work is closed to him - and that if he's lucky!

If you only write when inspired, you may be a fairly decent poet, but you'll never be a novelist.

A big book is like a serious relationship; it requires a commitment.

In the world of literature, I see prizes as more of a duty to the craft itself, rather than as something for the individual.

Don't ever write a novel unless it hurts like a hot turd coming out.

Writing is like wrestling; you are wrestling with ideas and with the story. There is a lot of energy required. At the same time, it is exciting. So it is both difficult and easy. What you must accept is that your life is not going to be the same while you are writing. I have said in the kind of exaggerated manner of writers and prophets that writing, for me, is like receiving a term of imprisonment-you know that's what you're in for, for whatever time it takes.

To read and to write. Some writers have to be told to write. They think their job is to meet agents and have experiences and they can just be rich and famous. Their job is to write. Some really don't realize that. And you can't write unless you read.

A big book is like a serious relationship; it requires a commitment. Not only that, but there's no guarantee that you will enjoy it, or that it will have a happy ending. Kind of like going out with a girl, having to spend time every day with her - with absolutely no guarantee of nailing her in the end. No thanks.

... Once I start a book I finish it. That was the way one was brought up. Books, bread and butter, mashed potato - one finishes what's on one's plate. That's always been my philosophy.

If the poet wants to be a poet, the poet must force the poet to revise. If the poet doesn't wish to revise, let the poet abandon poetry and take up stamp-collecting or real estate.

I never promised the universe that I would write brilliantly; I only promised the universe that I would write.

There's so many good books, but I'm always like, "I'm sorry, I have five more Faulkners to read, I can't be bothered." Most of the time when you try, you fall on the wrong one.