If you're young enough, any kind of writing you do for a short period of time is a marvelous apprenticeship.

Quote by Irwin Shaw

Topics: Irwin Shaw Quotes

In Europe, a writer is supposed to improve up until he's about 75.

In Europe, a writer is supposed to improve up until he's about 75.

Ernest Hemingway did a great deal toward making the writer an acceptable public figure; obviously,...

Ernest Hemingway did a great deal toward making the writer an acceptable public figure; obviously,...

Writers of fiction, when they begin, are more likely to try the short form.

Writers of fiction, when they begin, are more likely to try the short form.

Writing is finally play, and there's no reason why you should get paid for playing.

Writing is finally play, and there's no reason why you should get paid for playing.

People who light up like Roman candles come down in the dark very quickly.

People who light up like Roman candles come down in the dark very quickly.

My favorite short-story writer is John Cheever.

My favorite short-story writer is John Cheever.

I never show anything to anybody until I've finished it.

I never show anything to anybody until I've finished it.

I've gone on the wagon, but my body doesn't believe it.

I've gone on the wagon, but my body doesn't believe it.

I never drink while I'm working, but after a few glasses I get ideas that...

I never drink while I'm working, but after a few glasses I get ideas that...

A writer is a human being. He has to live with a sense of honor.

A writer is a human being. He has to live with a sense of honor.

I imagine that my characters have become much more complicated than when I first began,...

I imagine that my characters have become much more complicated than when I first began,...

The last paragraph, in which you tell what the story is about, is almost always...

The last paragraph, in which you tell what the story is about, is almost always...

In a novel, it's hard to keep track of everybody.

In a novel, it's hard to keep track of everybody.

No writer need feel sorry for himself if he writes and enjoys it, even if...

No writer need feel sorry for himself if he writes and enjoys it, even if...

Writing is like a contact sport, like football. You can get hurt, but you enjoy...

Writing is like a contact sport, like football. You can get hurt, but you enjoy...

There are too many books I haven't read, too many places I haven't seen, too...

There are too many books I haven't read, too many places I haven't seen, too...

A good editor understands what you're talking and writing about and doesn't meddle too much.

A good editor understands what you're talking and writing about and doesn't meddle too much.

I'm not as hopeful as I was when I was young.

I'm not as hopeful as I was when I was young.

Kennedy was a man who liked writers and even I got invited to the White...

Kennedy was a man who liked writers and even I got invited to the White...

The romantic idea is that everybody around a writer must suffer for his talent. I...

The romantic idea is that everybody around a writer must suffer for his talent. I...