Not writing is probably the most exhausting profession I've ever encountered. Votes: 3
Fran LebowitzNot writing the same kind of book over and over again is to me the real pleasure of what I do. Votes: 3
Bill BrysonA cookbook is not like being an author. It's writing down recipes; it's not writing. Votes: 2
Grant AchatzWhen I'm writing for Esquire, my conscious thought is, I'm not writing for American Scholar. Votes: 2
Denis JohnsonWriting a novel is easier than writing a memoir; you are not constrained by the truth. Votes: 2
Steve BisleyAmbiguity is very interesting in writing; it's not very interesting in science. Votes: 0
Janna LevinI'm not writing just classic-sounding songs, but songs that come from experience. Votes: 0
Leon BridgesWriting is not apart from living. Writing is a kind of double living. Votes: 0
Catherine Drinker BowenInspiration does not always precede the act of writing; it often follows it. Votes: 0
Madeleine L'EngleWriting is always a solitary experience, but living, if you're lucky, is not. Votes: 0
Beth HarbisonWriting about racism requires a directness that writing a love story does not. Votes: 0
Vivek ShrayaWriting beautiful melodies is not fashionable because it is very difficult to do. Votes: 0
Gian Carlo MenottiWriting is not describing, painting is not depicting. Verisimilitude is merely an illusion. Votes: 0
Georges BraqueWriting's like gambling. Unpredictable and sporadic successes make you more addicted, not less. Votes: 0
M. John HarrisonUnfortunately, writing and reporting the truth is not allowed under Castro's tyrannical dictatorship Votes: 0
Lincoln Diaz-BalartWho does not know that the first law of historical writing is the truth. Votes: 0
Marcus Tullius CiceroIt's not the writing part that's hard. What's hard is sitting down to write. Votes: 0
Steven PressfieldI prefer the absurdity of writing poems to the absurdity of not writing poems. Votes: 0
Wislawa SzymborskaSometimes I worry I'm writing 'Fifty Shades of Grey' for teenagers, but I'm not. Votes: 0
Lauren MyracleMan's greatest drive is not love or hate but to change another person's writing. Votes: 0
George OrwellWriting is hard. I learned how to work hard from wrestling, not English courses. Votes: 0
John IrvingNever believe anything you think about yourself as a writer when you're not writing. Votes: 0
David MilchWriting ... is practically the only activity a person can do that is not competitive. Votes: 0
Paul TherouxThe use of criticism, in periodical writing, is to sift, not to stamp a work. Votes: 0
Margaret FullerIf you do not write for publication, there is little point in writing at all. Votes: 0
George Bernard ShawWriting has been a way of explaining to myself the things I do not understand. Votes: 0
Rosario CastellanosYes. I am writing full-time. Which is strange. It feels like not having a job. Votes: 0
Sloane CrosleyI'm not a writer with a drinking problem, I'm a drinker with a writing problem. Votes: 0
Dorothy ParkerWriters talk about the agony of writing; I talk about the agony of not writing. Votes: 0
Laura Z. HobsonWriting is not, alas, like riding a bicycle: it does not get easier with practice. Votes: 0
Nancy MairsWriting is not a genteel profession; it's quite nasty and tough and kind of dirty. Votes: 0
Rosemary MahoneyWriting is not a competitive sport. Everyone that writes has his or her own voice. Votes: 0
Raymond E. FeistWriting is not a genteel profession. It's quite nasty and tough and kind of dirty. Votes: 0
Rosemary MahoneyWhat's hard, in hacking as in fiction, is not writing, it's deciding what to write. Votes: 0
Neal StephensonSo that's the dissenter's hope: that they are writing not for today but for tomorrow. Votes: 0
Ruth Bader GinsburgThe truth is, writing is this: hard and boring and occasionally great but usually not. Votes: 0
Amy PoehlerNow, the process of writing poetry is very messy. Not systematic, never quite the same Votes: 0
Edward HirschI'm most honest about writing when I'm talking to family or friends, not to newspapers. Votes: 0
Zadie SmithWriting has to have a great deal of certainty and self-assurance, but it's not arrogant. Votes: 0
Jeanette WintersonSchools don't really allow failure and yet it's part of any endeavour, not just writing. Votes: 0
Roddy DoyleWriting good editorials is chiefly telling the people what they think, not what you think. Votes: 0
Arthur BrisbaneOne of the most attractive things about writing your autobiography is that you're not dead. Votes: 0
Joseph BarberaWriting code is not production, it's not always craftsmanship though it can be, it's design. Votes: 0
Joel SpolskyWriting is not a series of strokes, but space, divided into characteristic shapes by strokes. Votes: 0
Gerrit NoordzijBecause I'm not writing all the time (thank goodness), my mind is sometimes pleasantly blank. Votes: 0
Lydia DavisLife is a book. Do you not realise we are writing the history of our time? Votes: 0
Lailah Gifty AkitaLife is a book. Do you not realise we are writing the history of our time~? Votes: 0
Lailah Gifty AkitaNo writing is good that does not tend to better mankind in some way or other. Votes: 0
Alexander PopeWhat I love is the writing, it's not having written. I like the process of it. Votes: 0
Michael KorytaI am not a serious person. I don't claim any profundity for any of my writing. Votes: 0
Khushwant SinghI just want to start writing, whether or not any of it is useable or marketable. Votes: 0
Lisa Kudrowthe world I create in writing compensates for what the real world does not give me. Votes: 0
Gloria E. AnzaldúaI'm not going to hurt anybody other than that dick who keeps writing songs about me. Votes: 0
Courtney LoveMay your character not be a writing upon the sand, but an inscription upon the rock! Votes: 0
Charles SpurgeonLUMINARY, One who throws light upon a subject; as an editor by not writing about it. Votes: 0
Ambrose BierceWhatever may be our natural talents, the art of writing is not acquired all at once. Votes: 0
Jean-Jacques RousseauStart writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on Votes: 0
Louis L'AmourThe correctness and quality of what you write do not matter; the act of writing does. Votes: 0
Natalie GoldbergIf writers just sit and talk about oppression, they are not going to do much writing. Votes: 0
V. S. NaipaulBut it is the fear, not the writing that defeats me. Everything is not a masterpiece. Votes: 0
Pearl CleageWriting means not just staring ugliness in the face, but finding a way to embrace it. Votes: 0
Veronica RothThe only sensible approach is not to take it too seriously. What counts is the writing. Votes: 0
Jay McInerneyNo writing has any real value which is not the expression of genuine thought and feeling. Votes: 0
Eleanor RooseveltWriting is not just the technical act of your fingers on the keyboard. Writing is living. Votes: 0
Melissa MarrWhen I was writing, I wanted every word to be not only deliberate, but musical. Precious. Votes: 0
Vivek ShrayaWriting is not chewing your nails and picking your teeth, but a matter of public interest. Votes: 0
Alfred DoblinI love writing and do not know why it is considered such a difficult, agonizing profession. Votes: 0
Caroline B. CooneyIt's not comfortable for me to write about my family. I'm not comfortable writing about me. Votes: 0
Karl RoveI'm not that conscious of my writing, so pacing the lyrics doesn't really enter the picture. Votes: 0
Dan BejarThe process of writing is a little like madness, a kind of possession not altogether benign. Votes: 0
Joanne HarrisI'd like to do something meaningful in the smallest ways, not just words or idiotic writing. Votes: 0
Xavier DolanNovels begin, not on the page, but in meditation and day-dreaming - In thinking, not writing. Votes: 0
Joyce Carol OatesIt's hell writing and it's hell not writing. The only tolerable state is having just written. Votes: 0
Robert HassThere's an obvious romance to being the drinking writer. But if I'm drinking, I'm not writing. Votes: 0
Liz BrixiusYou do not immortalize the lost by writing about them. Language buries, but does not resurrect. Votes: 0
John GreenWriting your own story around the same ideas is not plagiarism; at worst, it's being unoriginal. Votes: 0
Charles StrossI don't write songs apart from theatrical pieces. I'm not interested in writing songs qua songs. Votes: 0
Stephen SondheimIt's my attempt to remain invisible, not distract the reader from the story with obvious writing. Votes: 0
Elmore LeonardI am basically analytical, not creative; my writing is simply a creative way of handling analysis. Votes: 0
Philip K. DickThis writing business. Pencils and what-not. Over-rated, if you ask me. Silly stuff. Nothing in it. Votes: 0
A. A. MilneYou'll learn that the key to a great book is editing-grindin g, buffing, and polishing-not writing. Votes: 0
Guy KawasakiWriting is not a mystery. It is a craft like any other, and it can be learned. Votes: 0
Robert ScholesI think a lot of what goes into writing can be taught - not mixing metaphors, etc. Votes: 0
Lydia DavisI'm always writing - its what I like to do. But when I'm not writing, I'm reading. Votes: 0
Michael ScottEvery time I'm not on a project, I'm writing or in the studio or doing gigs DJing. Votes: 0
Taryn ManningThe only rule I have found to have any validity in writing is not to bore yourself. Votes: 0
John MortimerSongwriting as an art is a bit archaic now. Just writing a song is not good enough. Votes: 0
David BowieI was told many times that my writing was either too Korean - or not Korean enough. Votes: 0
Min Jin LeeToday there are a lot of novelists who seem to be writing to be reviewed, not read. Votes: 0
Pete HamillI once considered writing a book called I'm not OK and you're not OK, and that's OK. Votes: 0
Elisabeth Kubler-RossWriting and travel broaden your ass if not your mind and I like to write standing up. Votes: 0
Ernest HemingwayI've simplified much more in my writing. I say what I've got to say, not in metaphor. Votes: 0
Marianne FaithfullI'm writing new music all the time. I'm just not writing pop stuff. It's not my goal. Votes: 0
Billy JoelMost of the time, writing is a lot of fun, and not a small amount of self-medication. Votes: 0
Roxane GayMost writing is done between the mind and the hand, not between the hand and the page. Votes: 0
Janet BurrowayI tend not to think about the reading public at all, or the business, when I'm writing. Votes: 0
Sara GruenGood writing is a kind of skating which carries off the performer where he would not go. Votes: 0
Ralph Waldo EmersonWriting is about a blank piece of paper and leaving out what's not supposed to be there. Votes: 0
John PrineI think writers worry that you might not exist in some strange way if you're not writing. Votes: 0
Anne EnrightI am interested in my music lasting only while I'm alive. I'm not writing for the future. Votes: 0
Sonny RollinsIt's not easy to writing thank-you notes for the stuff you didn't want in the first place. Votes: 0
Jeff KinneyChoosing writing as a career, just by itself, is a measure of not being a calculating person. Votes: 0
Justin CroninI don't remember Moses writing, 'Thou shalt not kill unless you think you have a good reason. Votes: 0
Willie NelsonWhether you are inspired or not, the only way to unlock your creativity, is to start writing. Votes: 0
Jane Green[Truman Capote] was not only just selling his writing, but he was selling himself as a person. Votes: 0
Philip Seymour HoffmanI don't remember Moses writing, 'Thou shalt not kill.. unless you think you have a good reason. Votes: 0
Willie NelsonSchools don't really allow failure and yet it's a valid part of any endeavour, not just writing. Votes: 0
Roddy DoyleA talent for drama is not a talent for writing, but is ability to articulate human relationships. Votes: 0
Gore VidalYou know what you are best at, and writing is just not my thing, but I like it. Votes: 0
Sara GilbertI forget a book as soon as I finish writing it, which is not always a good thing Votes: 0
Anne TylerI forget a book as soon as I finish writing it, which is not always a good thing. Votes: 0
Anne TylerIn writing I found something I could do at least as well as my peers, if not better. Votes: 0
Brian P. ClearyOlder teens tend to write to me and say, 'Thank you for not writing down to teenagers.' Votes: 0
Matthew Tobin AndersonIt's an enormous relief to go to work and be an actor and not be worried about writing. Votes: 0
Lin-Manuel MirandaI'm a Macintosh nut. I got my PowerBook, so if I'm not writing jokes, I'm working on that. Votes: 0
Jeff DunhamI started writing because I had a need inside of me to create something that was not there Votes: 0
Audre LordeI do not pretend to write much of a letter. You know under what circumstances I am writing. Votes: 0
Joshua ChamberlainWriters of fiction should stick to writing, not pop up on panel shows or as a talking head. Votes: 0
Robert HarrisI do not pretend to write much of a letter. You know under what circumstances I am writing. Votes: 0
JoshuaWriting is like talking to yourself, just in a way that makes it look like you're not crazy! Votes: 0
Mary KateReading and writing are not education if they do not help people to be kind to all creatures Votes: 0
John RuskinA writer who has perfect writing skills and zero honesty is not an author but a sales person. Votes: 0
Sandra Chami KassisTo me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the music the words make. Votes: 0
Truman Capote[On writing biography:] If you wish to see a person you must not start by seeing through him. Votes: 0
Iris OrigoI'm not very happy idle. There's always this voice in my head that says, 'I should be writing. Votes: 0
Harlan CobenWriting itself does not know what it looks like while one is doing it, only when it's finished. Votes: 0
Herta MullerWhen I'm directing, I'm pretty much not writing, but when I'm not directing I am writing a lot. Votes: 0
Adam RappIf I'm writing something and I'm not feeling mischievous, then I know it's not going to be great. Votes: 0
Elizabeth MeriwetherTrue ease in writing comes from art, not chance, as those who move easiest have learned to dance. Votes: 0
Alexander PopeI don't see much comedy in the Bible, where people are writing about funny people. It's not there. Votes: 0
Bill CosbyI always thought of writing as holy. I still do. Itâs not something to be approached casually. Votes: 0
Deborah EisenbergA revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery. Votes: 0
Mao ZedongWriting's not always a pleasure to me, but if I'm not writing every other pleasure loses its savour. Votes: 0
John BraineAnd please God, grant me the wisdom to remember that I am writing for children, not golden stickers. Votes: 0
Rick RiordanWhen I am writing a novel I try not to read great prose stylists into which I will fall. Votes: 0
Frederick BuschWhat you must accept is that your life is not going to be the same while you are writing. Votes: 0
Chinua AchebeI made a decision to write for my readers, not to try to find more readers for my writing. Votes: 0
Seth GodinI'm not a critic so much of my own writing. People must make up their own minds over that. Votes: 0
William GoldingWriting is saying to no one and to everyone the things it is not possible to say to someone. Votes: 0
Rebecca SolnitIn some ways it is absurd for me to assert, counter to evidence, that I have not been writing. Votes: 0
Shirley Geok-lin LimThe author should die once he has finished writing. So as not to trouble the path of the text. Votes: 0
Umberto EcoI'm not very happy idle. There's always this voice in my head that says, 'I should be writing.' Votes: 0
Harlan CobenI'm not very good at praying, but what I experience when I'm writing a poem is close to prayer. Votes: 0
Denise LevertovIt's not the word made flesh we want in writing, in poetry and fiction, but the flesh made word Votes: 0
William H. GassI find a lot of writing happens when you're not actually at the computer. So I carry a notebook. Votes: 0
Noah BaumbachNot being able to read and write music is not the same as being illiterate in speech and writing. Votes: 0
YanniI am a writer. I could not afford to take 15 months off from my writing career to play detective. Votes: 0
James EllroyAnd eventually as I kept writing it, something emerged that was not quite me but a version of me. Votes: 0
Larry DavidIt's not like I'm not writing great music anymore, it's just that I want to take it another level. Votes: 0
DrakeIf the desire to write is not accompanied by actual writing, then the desire must be not to write. Votes: 0
Hugh PratherWriting is not a serious business. It's a joy and a celebration. You should be having fun with it. Votes: 0
Ray BradburyI'm not actually teaching any more, but I am writing pieces for schools all the time, and for kids. Votes: 0
Peter Maxwell DaviesI want people to notice my writing abilities are real and that I'm not just stuck in one situation. Votes: 0
R. KellyTo me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the inner music that words make. Votes: 0
Truman CapoteWriting a novel is not method acting and I find it easy to step out of it at cocktail hour. Votes: 0
Bret Easton EllisWriting a great script - not just a good one, but a great one - is almost an impossible task. Votes: 0
Michael ArndtI think when I was younger I was not very good at writing love songs that didn't have a twist. Votes: 0
Elvis CostelloFactoring in millions of people when I'm writing a song is not a good idea. I don't ever do it. Votes: 0
Taylor SwiftIf you're not engaged in the writing and it doesn't grab you then you just don't want to do it. Votes: 0
Ewan McGregorI'm not a writing group member, not a joiner in that way. I don't seek a wide swath of feedback. Votes: 0
Claire MessudI don't think you have time to waste not writing because you are afraid you won't be good at it. Votes: 0
Anne LamottWriting gave me a second chance - not to change things, but to savor them. That is a great gift. Votes: 0
Doris McCarthyWriting a biography is not a love affair. It's not a marriage. It's a job, it's a piece of work. Votes: 0
Hermione LeeIt is so much hard work writing your first novel. You're not even sure that it is possible to do. Votes: 0
Asa LarssonIt is not easy writing someone a postcard. The size and shape of the card cut you down to size... Votes: 0
Ron PadgettI could not spend the rest of my life sitting in Brazil writing down who called whom uncle and aunt. Votes: 0
Alan FurstWhen I'm writing something, I try not to get analytical about it as I'm doing it, as I'm writing it. Votes: 0
Quentin TarantinoThis is where I begin to do the writing. I am now going to be the pen and not the paper. Votes: 0
Peter GreenawayDeciding what is to be sung and what is not to be sung is really what writing a musical is about. Votes: 0
Stephen SondheimI need solitude for my writing; not 'like a hermit' - that wouldn't be enough - but like a dead man. Votes: 0
Franz KafkaI read a piece of writing and within a paragraph or two I know whether it is by a woman or not. Votes: 0
V. S. NaipaulI love food. I'm not a great cook, but I love to cook, and I like how different it is from writing. Votes: 0
Aimee Bender