In the theater, characters have to cut the umbilical cord from the writer and talk in their own voices.

Quote by Irwin Shaw

Topics: Irwin Shaw Quotes

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

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

In America, we have the feeling of the doomed young artist. Fitzgerald was the great...

In America, we have the feeling of the doomed young artist. Fitzgerald was the great...

Every novelist has a different purpose - and often several purposes which might even be...

Every novelist has a different purpose - and often several purposes which might even be...

Curiously, the United States is full of writers who have one big work in their...

Curiously, the United States is full of writers who have one big work in their...

I cringe when critics say I'm a master of the popular novel. What's an unpopular...

I cringe when critics say I'm a master of the popular novel. What's an unpopular...

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.

When I started out in the early 1930s, there were a great many magazines that...

When I started out in the early 1930s, there were a great many magazines that...

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...

A writer has to live with a sense of honor.

A writer has to live with a sense of honor.

My attitudes have changed, but somebody would have to read all my books to find...

My attitudes have changed, but somebody would have to read all my books to find...

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...

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.

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...

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.

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

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

Special-interest magazines are dangerous places for writers to start out in because the writing quickly...

Special-interest magazines are dangerous places for writers to start out in because the writing quickly...

The writer works in a lonely way.

The writer works in a lonely way.

I am forced to say that I have many fiercer critics than myself.

I am forced to say that I have many fiercer critics than myself.

My views naturally have mellowed. Most of the critics have been more or less nice...

My views naturally have mellowed. Most of the critics have been more or less nice...

An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the...

An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the...