In the theater, characters have to cut the umbilical cord from the writer and talk in their own voices.

Quote by Irwin Shaw

Topics: Irwin Shaw Quotes

A good editor understands what you're talking and writing about and doesn't meddle too much.

A good editor understands what you're talking and writing about and doesn't meddle too much.

I'm not as hopeful as I was when I was young.

I'm not as hopeful as I was when I was young.

Writers of fiction, when they begin, are more likely to try the short form.

Writers of fiction, when they begin, are more likely to try the short form.

You have to expect the raps when you have achieved popularity as a writer.

You have to expect the raps when you have achieved popularity as a writer.

The last paragraph, in which you tell what the story is about, is almost always...

The last paragraph, in which you tell what the story is about, is almost always...

No writer need feel sorry for himself if he writes and enjoys it, even if...

No writer need feel sorry for himself if he writes and enjoys it, even if...

I never drink while I'm working, but after a few glasses I get ideas that...

I never drink while I'm working, but after a few glasses I get ideas that...

Kennedy was a man who liked writers and even I got invited to the White...

Kennedy was a man who liked writers and even I got invited to the White...

A writer has to live with a sense of honor.

A writer has to live with a sense of honor.

The great writers just kept bringing them out. They didn't care if they repeated themselves.

The great writers just kept bringing them out. They didn't care if they repeated themselves.

The romantic idea is that everybody around a writer must suffer for his talent. I...

The romantic idea is that everybody around a writer must suffer for his talent. I...

I reach my readers regardless of what the critics have written.

I reach my readers regardless of what the critics have written.

If you're young enough, any kind of writing you do for a short period of...

If you're young enough, any kind of writing you do for a short period of...

People who light up like Roman candles come down in the dark very quickly.

People who light up like Roman candles come down in the dark very quickly.

I haven't stuck to any formula. Most great writers stick to the same style, but...

I haven't stuck to any formula. Most great writers stick to the same style, but...

In a novel, it's hard to keep track of everybody.

In a novel, it's hard to keep track of everybody.

Writing is like a contact sport, like football. You can get hurt, but you enjoy...

Writing is like a contact sport, like football. You can get hurt, but you enjoy...

I never show anything to anybody until I've finished it.

I never show anything to anybody until I've finished it.

My views naturally have mellowed. Most of the critics have been more or less nice...

My views naturally have mellowed. Most of the critics have been more or less nice...

When I started out in the early 1930s, there were a great many magazines that...

When I started out in the early 1930s, there were a great many magazines that...