All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath. Letter to his daughter Frances Scott Fitzgerald
A person who can write a long letter with ease, cannot write ill.
Beneath the rule of men entirely great, The pen is mightier than the sword. Richelieu. Act ii. Sc. ii.
He is a writer. He makes the rest of them nervous.
Joe Jones
I do not write for such dull elves As have not a great deal of ingenuity themselves. Letter, January 29, 1813, to her sister, Cassandra.
If writing is so solitary, why are there so many people to thank? Shopgirl
I grew up in this town, my poetry was born between the hill and the river, it took its voice from the rain, and like the timber, it steeped itself in the forests. Wall Street Journal 14 Nov 85
I have done, this year, what I said I would: overcome my fear of facing a blank page day after day, acknowledging myself, in my deepest emotions, a writer, come what may. Probably from her journals
I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man has no dedication nor any membership in literature. Accepting Nobel Prize, 1962
In utter loneliness a writer tries to explain the inexplicable. In diary
It's a few years since I've written a novel and I think we're moving from a position where I have a publisher hav[ing] a contract with me to having a contract on me. GamesMania Interview
I write plays for people who wouldn't be seen dead in the theatre. Evening Standard (London, June 8, 1989).
Jeremy Goodwin: And in that moment, Dan was reminded once again why he wanted to write in the first place: to impress women. Dear Louise (1998)
Prose books are the show dogs I breed and sell to support my cat. NY Times 13 Jul 1958
The discipline of the written word punishes both stupidity and dishonesty.
The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business. Accepting Nobel Prize, 1962
The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true. In diary
unless it comes out of your soul like a rocket, unless being still would drive you to madness or suicide or murder, don't do it. unless the sun inside you is burning your gut, don't do it. So You Want to be a Writer?
You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room. On becoming a writer, NY Times (May 21, 1986)