--- title: "9 Writing Lives Quotes by 8 authors" description: "Browse 9 Writing Lives quotes by 8 authors. Discover the best Writing Lives sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/joyce-carol-oates-344_lives_my-writing-is-full-of-lives-i-might-have_2497998.png" --- > [My writing is full of lives I might have led.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/my-writing-is-full-of-lives-i-might-have-led/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/joyce-carol-oates-344_lives_my-writing-is-full-of-lives-i-might-have_2497998.png) > [Clichés are what good writing is all about. Because our lives are basically clichés.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/clich-s-are-what-good-writing-is-all-about-because-our-lives-are/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/sylvester-stallone-966_good-writing_clich-s-are-what-good-writing-is-all-abo_1481308.jpg) > [People will sometimes say, "Why don't you write more politics?" And I have to explain to them that writing the lives of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/people-will-sometimes-say-why-don-t-you-write-more-politics-and-i/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ff/grace-paley-3243_people_people-will-sometimes-say-why-don-t-you_537875.png) > [“Writer’s want to write something that’ll live forever. I don’t. What do I care if my writing lives forever if I won’t?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/writer-s-want-to-write-something-that-ll-live-forever-i-don-t-what-do/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/jarod-kintz-2_forever_writer-s-want-to-write-something-that-ll_2803863.jpg) > [What interests me very much as a writer is the ability for writing to have our lives to be occupied so vividly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/what-interests-me-very-much-as-a-writer-is-the-ability-for-writing-to/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96e/nicole-krauss-920_ability_what-interests-me-very-much-as-a-writer_2026242.jpg) > [It is not histories I am writing, but lives; and in the most glorious deeds there is not always an indication of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/it-is-not-histories-i-am-writing-but-lives-and-in-the-most-glorious/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/plutarch-597_battle_it-is-not-histories-i-am-writing-but-liv_3135199.jpg) > [The domestic lives we live - which may be accidental, or not entirely of our making - help to make possible our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-domestic-lives-we-live-which-may-be-accidental-or-not-entirely-of/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/joyce-carol-oates-344_companionship_the-domestic-lives-we-live-which-may-be_1163432.jpg) > [Real novelists, those we admire, those we consider timeless in their language and character and scene, those who receive accolades for inventive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-straight/real-novelists-those-we-admire-those-we-consider-timeless-in-their/) [Susan Straight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-straight/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12d/susan-straight-19680_character_real-novelists-those-we-admire-those-we_1347986.jpg) > [My life wasn't always smooth sailing. Two members of my family were diagnosed with cancer, so I spent a lot of time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-tinti/my-life-wasn-t-always-smooth-sailing-two-members-of-my-family-were/) [Hannah Tinti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-tinti/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/815/hannah-tinti-24606_cancer_my-life-wasn-t-always-smooth-sailing-two_2034497.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-lives/#itemlist", "name": "Writing Lives Quotes", "numberOfItems": 9, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My writing is full of lives I might have led.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joyce Carol Oates" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/my-writing-is-full-of-lives-i-might-have-led/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/joyce-carol-oates-344_lives_my-writing-is-full-of-lives-i-might-have_2497998.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/joyce-carol-oates-344_lives_my-writing-is-full-of-lives-i-might-have_2497998.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/joyce-carol-oates-344_lives_my-writing-is-full-of-lives-i-might-have_2497998.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My writing is full of lives I might have led.” — Joyce Carol Oates", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Clichés are what good writing is all about. Because our lives are basically clichés.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sylvester Stallone" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/clich-s-are-what-good-writing-is-all-about-because-our-lives-are/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/sylvester-stallone-966_good-writing_clich-s-are-what-good-writing-is-all-abo_1481308.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/sylvester-stallone-966_good-writing_clich-s-are-what-good-writing-is-all-abo_1481308.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/sylvester-stallone-966_good-writing_clich-s-are-what-good-writing-is-all-abo_1481308.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Clichés are what good writing is all about. 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I don’t. What do I care if my writing lives forever if I won’t? I just want to be recognized while I’m still alive. \u2028”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jarod Kintz" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/writer-s-want-to-write-something-that-ll-live-forever-i-don-t-what-do/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/jarod-kintz-2_forever_writer-s-want-to-write-something-that-ll_2803863.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/jarod-kintz-2_forever_writer-s-want-to-write-something-that-ll_2803863.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c7/jarod-kintz-2_forever_writer-s-want-to-write-something-that-ll_2803863.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writer’s want to write something that’ll live forever. I don’t. What do I care if my writing lives forever…” — Jarod Kintz", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What interests me very much as a writer is the ability for writing to have our lives to be occupied so vividly by others. I think that's what we long for as writers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicole Krauss" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/what-interests-me-very-much-as-a-writer-is-the-ability-for-writing-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96e/nicole-krauss-920_ability_what-interests-me-very-much-as-a-writer_2026242.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96e/nicole-krauss-920_ability_what-interests-me-very-much-as-a-writer_2026242.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96e/nicole-krauss-920_ability_what-interests-me-very-much-as-a-writer_2026242.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What interests me very much as a writer is the ability for writing to have our lives to be occupied so…” — Nicole Krauss", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is not histories I am writing, but lives; and in the most glorious deeds there is not always an indication of virtue or vice, indeed a small thing like a phrase or a jest often makes a greater revelation of a character than battles where thousands die.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Plutarch" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/it-is-not-histories-i-am-writing-but-lives-and-in-the-most-glorious/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/plutarch-597_battle_it-is-not-histories-i-am-writing-but-liv_3135199.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/plutarch-597_battle_it-is-not-histories-i-am-writing-but-liv_3135199.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/plutarch-597_battle_it-is-not-histories-i-am-writing-but-liv_3135199.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is not histories I am writing, but lives; and in the most glorious deeds there is not always an…” — Plutarch", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The domestic lives we live - which may be accidental, or not entirely of our making - help to make possible our writing lives; our imaginations are freed, or stimulated, by the very prospect of companionship, quiet, a predictable and consoling routine.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joyce Carol Oates" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-domestic-lives-we-live-which-may-be-accidental-or-not-entirely-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/joyce-carol-oates-344_companionship_the-domestic-lives-we-live-which-may-be_1163432.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/joyce-carol-oates-344_companionship_the-domestic-lives-we-live-which-may-be_1163432.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f7/joyce-carol-oates-344_companionship_the-domestic-lives-we-live-which-may-be_1163432.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The domestic lives we live - which may be accidental, or not entirely of our making - help to make possible…” — Joyce Carol Oates", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Real novelists, those we admire, those we consider timeless in their language and character and scene, those who receive accolades for inventive language and form, have writing lives we imagine in specific ways.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Susan Straight" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-straight/real-novelists-those-we-admire-those-we-consider-timeless-in-their/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12d/susan-straight-19680_character_real-novelists-those-we-admire-those-we_1347986.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12d/susan-straight-19680_character_real-novelists-those-we-admire-those-we_1347986.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12d/susan-straight-19680_character_real-novelists-those-we-admire-those-we_1347986.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Real novelists, those we admire, those we consider timeless in their language and character and scene, those…” — Susan Straight", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My life wasn't always smooth sailing. Two members of my family were diagnosed with cancer, so I spent a lot of time in hospitals and giving home care. Several close friends died. I fell in love with the wrong person. And I was working all the time but still sliding into debt. My life wasn't anything like I thought it would be. And then I got in a bad car accident. I walked away, but it was like a splash of cold water. The next day, I started writing Twelve Lives. 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Two members of my family were diagnosed with cancer, so I spent a lot…” — Hannah Tinti", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-lives/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-lives/", "name": "Writing Lives Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-lives/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e42/joyce-carol-oates-344_lives_my-writing-is-full-of-lives-i-might-have_2497998.png" }, "description": "Browse 9 Writing Lives quotes by 8 authors. 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