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.

Quote by John Steinbeck

Topics: Writers Quotes

I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and...

I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and...

Men do change, and change comes like a little wind that ruffles the curtains at...

Men do change, and change comes like a little wind that ruffles the curtains at...

Maybe its like this, Max--you know how, when you are working on a long and...

Maybe its like this, Max--you know how, when you are working on a long and...

Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and...

Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and...

One can find so many pains when the rain is falling.

One can find so many pains when the rain is falling.

I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man...

I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man...

I hate cameras. They are so much more sure than I am about everything.

I hate cameras. They are so much more sure than I am about everything.

A sad soul can kill quicker than a germ.

A sad soul can kill quicker than a germ.

The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in...

The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in...

The impulse of the American woman to geld her husband and castrate her sons is...

The impulse of the American woman to geld her husband and castrate her sons is...

These words dropped into my childish mind as if you should accidentally drop a ring...

These words dropped into my childish mind as if you should accidentally drop a ring...

We spend our time searching for security and hate it when we get it.

We spend our time searching for security and hate it when we get it.

The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business.

The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business.

So in our pride we ordered for breakfast an omelet, toast and coffee and what...

So in our pride we ordered for breakfast an omelet, toast and coffee and what...

Maybe there ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue, they's just what people does....

Maybe there ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue, they's just what people does....

The profession of book-writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business.

The profession of book-writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business.

Writers are a little below clowns and a little above trained seals.

Writers are a little below clowns and a little above trained seals.

Action is greater than writing. A good man is a nobler object of contemplation than...

Action is greater than writing. A good man is a nobler object of contemplation than...

Literature boils with the madcap careers of writers brought to the edge by the demands...

Literature boils with the madcap careers of writers brought to the edge by the demands...

Imagination, which is the Eldorado of the poet and of the novel-writer, often proves the...

Imagination, which is the Eldorado of the poet and of the novel-writer, often proves the...