Everything a writer learns about the art or craft of fiction takes just a little away from his need or desire to write at all. In the end he knows all the tricks and has nothing to say.

Quote by Raymond Chandler

Topics: Raymond Chandler Quotes

The challenge of screenwriting is to say much in little and then take half of...

The challenge of screenwriting is to say much in little and then take half of...

I think a man ought to get drunk at least twice a year just on...

I think a man ought to get drunk at least twice a year just on...

At least half the mystery novels published violate the law that the solution, once revealed,...

At least half the mystery novels published violate the law that the solution, once revealed,...

The creative artist seems to be almost the only kind of man that you could...

The creative artist seems to be almost the only kind of man that you could...

He looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food.

He looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food.

Its idea of ''production value'' is spending a million dollars dressing up a story that...

Its idea of ''production value'' is spending a million dollars dressing up a story that...

So by all means let's have a television show quick and long, even if the...

So by all means let's have a television show quick and long, even if the...

She gave me a smile I could feel in my hip pocket.

She gave me a smile I could feel in my hip pocket.

I certainly admire people who do things.

I certainly admire people who do things.

The more you reason the less you create.

The more you reason the less you create.

Television is just one more facet of that considerable segment of our society that never...

Television is just one more facet of that considerable segment of our society that never...

If my books had been any worse, I should not have been invited to Hollywood,...

If my books had been any worse, I should not have been invited to Hollywood,...

Common sense always speaks too late. Common sense is the guy who tells you ought...

Common sense always speaks too late. Common sense is the guy who tells you ought...

A really good detective never gets married.

A really good detective never gets married.

That's one thing I like about Hollywood. The writer is there revealed in his ultimate...

That's one thing I like about Hollywood. The writer is there revealed in his ultimate...

I think a man ought to get drunk at least twice a year just on...

I think a man ought to get drunk at least twice a year just on...

The overall picture, as the boys say, is of a degraded community whose idealism even...

The overall picture, as the boys say, is of a degraded community whose idealism even...

The flood of print has turned reading into a process of gulping rather than savoring.

The flood of print has turned reading into a process of gulping rather than savoring.

Alcohol is like love. The first kiss is magic, the second is intimate, the third...

Alcohol is like love. The first kiss is magic, the second is intimate, the third...

I do a great deal of research - particularly in the apartments of tall blondes.

I do a great deal of research - particularly in the apartments of tall blondes.