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

Quote by Irwin Shaw

Topics: Irwin Shaw Quotes

I haven't stuck to any formula. Most great writers stick to the same style, but...

I haven't stuck to any formula. Most great writers stick to the same style, but...

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...

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...

It's those damn critics again.

It's those damn critics again.

I don't think that the writer is regarded as a freak by Americans.

I don't think that the writer is regarded as a freak by Americans.

All writers are the same - they forget a thousand good reviews and remember one...

All writers are the same - they forget a thousand good reviews and remember one...

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.

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,...

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.

I reach my readers regardless of what the critics have written.

I reach my readers regardless of what the critics have written.

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...

You must avoid giving hostages to fortune, like getting an expensive wife, an expensive house,...

You must avoid giving hostages to fortune, like getting an expensive wife, an expensive house,...

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...

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...

The great writers just kept bringing them out. They didn't care if they repeated themselves.

The great writers just kept bringing them out. They didn't care if they repeated themselves.

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 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,...

My favorite short-story writer is John Cheever.

My favorite short-story writer is John Cheever.

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...