People ask me when I start one of these projects, what is your theme? I havent the faintest idea. Thats why youre writing the book, it seems to me, to find out. To me, its a journey. Its an adventure.…

Quote by David McCullough

Topics: Writing Quotes

In time I began to understand that it's when you start writing that you really...

In time I began to understand that it's when you start writing that you really...

My shorthand answer is that I try to write the kind of book that I...

My shorthand answer is that I try to write the kind of book that I...

I work very hard on the writing, writing and rewriting and trying to weed out...

I work very hard on the writing, writing and rewriting and trying to weed out...

When I read that the British army had landed thirty-two thousand troops - and I...

When I read that the British army had landed thirty-two thousand troops - and I...

I had been writing for about twelve years. I knew pretty well how you could...

I had been writing for about twelve years. I knew pretty well how you could...

I love all sides of the work but that doesn't mean it isn't hard.

I love all sides of the work but that doesn't mean it isn't hard.

No harm's done to history by making it something someone would want to read.

No harm's done to history by making it something someone would want to read.

There's an awful temptation to just keep on researching. There comes a point where you...

There's an awful temptation to just keep on researching. There comes a point where you...

When I began, I thought that the way one should work was to do all...

When I began, I thought that the way one should work was to do all...

To go back and read Swift and Defoe and Samuel Johnson and Smollett and Pope...

To go back and read Swift and Defoe and Samuel Johnson and Smollett and Pope...

First of all, you can make the argument that there's no such thing as the...

First of all, you can make the argument that there's no such thing as the...

Every book is a new journey. I never felt I was an expert on a...

Every book is a new journey. I never felt I was an expert on a...

My next book is also set in the eighteenth century. It's about the Revolution, with...

My next book is also set in the eighteenth century. It's about the Revolution, with...

The pull, the attraction of history, is in our human nature. What makes us tick?...

The pull, the attraction of history, is in our human nature. What makes us tick?...

The title always comes last. What I really work hard on is the beginning. Where...

The title always comes last. What I really work hard on is the beginning. Where...

I can fairly be called an amateur because I do what I do, in the...

I can fairly be called an amateur because I do what I do, in the...

To me history ought to be a source of pleasure. It isn't just part of...

To me history ought to be a source of pleasure. It isn't just part of...

People are so helpful. People will stop what they're doing to show you something, to...

People are so helpful. People will stop what they're doing to show you something, to...

With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War...

With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War...

I would pay to do what I do if I had to.

I would pay to do what I do if I had to.