And I find - I'm 63, and my capacity to be by myself and just spend time by myself hasn't diminished any. That's the necessary part of being a writer, you better like being alone.

Quote by John Irving

Topics: John Irving Quotes

There's no reason you shouldn't, as a writer, not be aware of the necessity to...

There's no reason you shouldn't, as a writer, not be aware of the necessity to...

When I was still in prep school - 14, 15 - I started keeping notebooks,...

When I was still in prep school - 14, 15 - I started keeping notebooks,...

No adult in my family would ever tell me anything about who my father was....

No adult in my family would ever tell me anything about who my father was....

Sigmund Freud was a novelist with a scientific background. He just didn't know he was...

Sigmund Freud was a novelist with a scientific background. He just didn't know he was...

You can't learn everything you need to know legally.

You can't learn everything you need to know legally.

You don't want to dwell on your enemies, you know. I basically feel so superior...

You don't want to dwell on your enemies, you know. I basically feel so superior...

Sometimes that's a year, sometimes it's 18 months, where all I'm doing is taking notes....

Sometimes that's a year, sometimes it's 18 months, where all I'm doing is taking notes....

I don't begin a novel or a screenplay until I know the ending. And I...

I don't begin a novel or a screenplay until I know the ending. And I...

I've always been a fan of the 19th century novel, of the novel that is...

I've always been a fan of the 19th century novel, of the novel that is...

There are few things as seemingly untouched by the real world as a child asleep.

There are few things as seemingly untouched by the real world as a child asleep.

Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away....

Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away....

I think the sport of wrestling, which I became involved with at the age of...

I think the sport of wrestling, which I became involved with at the age of...

More than a half, maybe as much as two-thirds of my life as a writer...

More than a half, maybe as much as two-thirds of my life as a writer...

There's no reason you should write any novel quickly.

There's no reason you should write any novel quickly.

You know, people think you have to be dumb to skip rope for 45 minutes....

You know, people think you have to be dumb to skip rope for 45 minutes....

I had been a student in Vienna, and one of the neat little things I...

I had been a student in Vienna, and one of the neat little things I...

I take people very seriously. People are all I take seriously, in fact. Therefore, I...

I take people very seriously. People are all I take seriously, in fact. Therefore, I...

The beliefs concerning reincarnation have great ethical impact on human life and our relationship to...

The beliefs concerning reincarnation have great ethical impact on human life and our relationship to...

There are many qualities that make a great leader. But having strong beliefs, being able...

There are many qualities that make a great leader. But having strong beliefs, being able...

Success begins with belief and ends with doubt.

Success begins with belief and ends with doubt.

Humor is the ability to see three sides to one coin.

Humor is the ability to see three sides to one coin.

Money makes a man laugh

Money makes a man laugh