Ability Quote by Irwin Shaw

I am a writer, and the duty of a writer is not only to furnish pleasant pursuits for the mind and taste: he will…

— Nikolai Gogol

Every talent is unearned, however, and with it comes a solemn obligation to use it as fully and as wisely as possible.

— Dean Koontz

Talent is required, but much of writing is a matter of craft, which develops with time, attention, patience and practice, like playing an instrument…

— Susan Wiggs

The world needs writers. We will always be necessary. There are few professions that can claim that distinction.

— Rod McKuen

“First, there must be talent, much talent. Talent such as Kipling had. Then there must be discipline. The discipline of Flaubert. Then there must…

— Ernest Hemingway

“A writer's life and work are not a gift to humankind; they are its necessity.”

— Toni Morrison

Writing requires the concentration of the writer, demands that nothing else be done except that.

— Carlos Fuentes

“Equipment will never help you write a lot; only making a schedule and sticking to it will make you a productive writer.”

— Paul J. Silvia

“But in those whom no necessity forces to turn Author, who merely write for fame, and have full leisure to polish their compositions, faults…

— Matthew Lewis

The tension between standing apart, and being fully involved; that is what makes a writer.

— Nadine Gordimer

“...a writer has the duty to be good, not lousy; true, not false; lively, not dull; accurate, not full of error. He should tend…

— E. B. White

“Writing is an occupation in which you have to keep proving your talent to people who have none.”

— Jules Renard 1890