And I'm a slow writer: five, six hundred words is a good day. That's the reason it took me 20 years to write those million and a half words of the Civil War.

Quote by Shelby Foote

Topics: Shelby Foote Quotes

I think making mistakes and discovering them for yourself is of great value, but to...

I think making mistakes and discovering them for yourself is of great value, but to...

I used to write sonnets and various things, and moved from there into writing prose,...

I used to write sonnets and various things, and moved from there into writing prose,...

I never cared what kind of grade I got.

I never cared what kind of grade I got.

Getting close to books, and spending time by myself, I was obliged to think about...

Getting close to books, and spending time by myself, I was obliged to think about...

Longevity conquers scandal every time.

Longevity conquers scandal every time.

And I really do think that the difficulty of research makes it more real to...

And I really do think that the difficulty of research makes it more real to...

I think that everything you do helps you to write if you're a writer. Adversity...

I think that everything you do helps you to write if you're a writer. Adversity...

I've never shown anybody a draft of anything.

I've never shown anybody a draft of anything.

If you want to study writing, read Dickens. That's how to study writing, or Faulkner,...

If you want to study writing, read Dickens. That's how to study writing, or Faulkner,...

Shiloh is a wonderfully dramatic battle. The leader of one side is killed, and the...

Shiloh is a wonderfully dramatic battle. The leader of one side is killed, and the...

My second book, Follow Me Down had some success, got good critical notices, went into...

My second book, Follow Me Down had some success, got good critical notices, went into...

Most of my inspiration, if that's the word, came from books themselves.

Most of my inspiration, if that's the word, came from books themselves.

I took five years on the first volume, five years on the second volume, and...

I took five years on the first volume, five years on the second volume, and...

I'm crazy about Grant: his character, his nature, his science in fighting and everything else....

I'm crazy about Grant: his character, his nature, his science in fighting and everything else....

But the same thing was true in the army. You slept in a barracks with...

But the same thing was true in the army. You slept in a barracks with...

Of all the passions of mankind, the love of novelty most rules the mind. In...

Of all the passions of mankind, the love of novelty most rules the mind. In...

I prize the Depression, for instance, because I learned the value of things in the...

I prize the Depression, for instance, because I learned the value of things in the...

I ran into Ku Klux Klan and the threat of hurricanes, and those two things...

I ran into Ku Klux Klan and the threat of hurricanes, and those two things...

I began the way nearly everybody I ever heard of - I began writing poetry....

I began the way nearly everybody I ever heard of - I began writing poetry....

I don't want anything to do with anything mechanical between me and the paper, including...

I don't want anything to do with anything mechanical between me and the paper, including...