If you want to study writing, read Dickens. That's how to study writing, or Faulkner, or D.H. Lawrence, or John Keats. They can teach you everything you need to know about writing.

Quote by Shelby Foote

Topics: Shelby Foote Quotes

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 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...

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 never cared what kind of grade I got.

I never cared what kind of grade I got.

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 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 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...

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've never shown anybody a draft of anything.

I've never shown anybody a draft of anything.

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...

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...

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.

Longevity conquers scandal every time.

Longevity conquers scandal every time.

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 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,...

And I'm a slow writer: five, six hundred words is a good day. That's the...

And I'm a slow writer: five, six hundred words is a good day. That's the...

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....

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...

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...

When you grow up in a totally segregated society, where everybody around you believes that...

When you grow up in a totally segregated society, where everybody around you believes that...