--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writers of fiction, when they begin, are…" description: "\"Writers of fiction, when they begin, are more likely to try the short form\" — Irwin Shaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/irwin-shaw-11005_fiction_writers-of-fiction-when-they-begin-are-m_3235050.jpg" --- # Writers of fiction, when they begin, are more likely to… ![“Writers of fiction, when they begin, are more likely to try the short form” quote by Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/irwin-shaw-11005_fiction_writers-of-fiction-when-they-begin-are-m_3235050.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/irwin-shaw-11005_fiction_writers-of-fiction-when-they-begin-are-m_3235050.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/irwin-shaw-11005_fiction_writers-of-fiction-when-they-begin-are-m_3235050.jpg) > “Writers of fiction, when they begin, are more likely to try the short form” [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early writers often start with short pieces to develop skill before tackling longer works. **In simple terms:** Start small to build writing ability. Key Takeaway Begin with short forms to hone craft. Themes writing skill development creativity learning discipline Mood encouraging pragmatic Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal journals - school assignments - blog posts Key Concepts short‑form storytelling creative process skill acquisition Questions to Reflect On - Why choose short over long? - How does brevity aid learning? A Different Perspective Short forms may not capture complex ideas fully. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Science and fiction both begin with similar questions: What if? Why? How does it all work? But they focus on different areas of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/science-and-fiction-both-begin-with-similar-questions-what-if-why-how/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I feel like I am very drawn to the short form stuff because it's just fun to be making something, and then, a week…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-coppola/i-feel-like-i-am-very-drawn-to-the-short-form-stuff-because-it-s-just/) [Roman Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-coppola/) > [Readers who claim a preference for short-form over long often tell me it's because they don't have time to commit to a book-length chunk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/readers-who-claim-a-preference-for-short-form-over-long-often-tell-me/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [My college friends call me Karu, which is the worst. Only in our country can we make a short form for a short name.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-johar/my-college-friends-call-me-karu-which-is-the-worst-only-in-our/) [Karan Johar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-johar/) > [Short form media is reductionist by nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/short-form-media-is-reductionist-by-nature/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [Twitter is basically just writing a bunch of one-liners - it's a short form or whatever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cubas/twitter-is-basically-just-writing-a-bunch-of-one-liners-it-s-a-short/) [Chris Cubas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cubas/) > [In some ways, it's easier to go from short form to long form than vice versa. I used to make 30 second 'movies,' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sedelmaier/in-some-ways-it-s-easier-to-go-from-short-form-to-long-form-than-vice/) Joe Sedelmaier > [There will always be stories that require a feature-length format, and there will always be stories that will be told in short-form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-deja/there-will-always-be-stories-that-require-a-feature-length-format-and/) [Andreas Deja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-deja/) > [I have always felt like an artist when I work on a book. I see no reason why the word should always be confined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/i-have-always-felt-like-an-artist-when-i-work-on-a-book-i-see-no/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [All writers of fiction will at some point find themselves abandoning a piece of work - or find themselves putting it aside, as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/all-writers-of-fiction-will-at-some-point-find-themselves-abandoning/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [Writers, at least writers of fiction, are always full of anxiety and worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/writers-at-least-writers-of-fiction-are-always-full-of-anxiety-and/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) > [Fact is often stranger than fiction because most writers of fiction try to make their stories plausible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-posner/fact-is-often-stranger-than-fiction-because-most-writers-of-fiction/) [Richard Posner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-posner/) > [“Writers of fiction embellish reality almost without knowing it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aljean-harmetz/writers-of-fiction-embellish-reality-almost-without-knowing-it/) Aljean Harmetz > [A friend of mine who writes history books said to me that he thought that the two creatures most to be pitied were the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/a-friend-of-mine-who-writes-history-books-said-to-me-that-he-thought/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [The most underrated of all contemporary American writers of fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-march/the-most-underrated-of-all-contemporary-american-writers-of-fiction/) [William March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-march/) ## More by Irwin Shaw > [“The world," said Pavone, "will swing to the left. The whole world except America. The world will swing, not because people read Karl Marx,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/the-world-said-pavone-will-swing-to-the-left-the-whole-world-except/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [A writer has to live with a sense of honor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/a-writer-has-to-live-with-a-sense-of-honor/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [Special-interest magazines are dangerous places for writers to start out in because the writing quickly falls into a routine and people are likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/special-interest-magazines-are-dangerous-places-for-writers-to-start/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [It's those damn critics again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/it-s-those-damn-critics-again/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I haven't stuck to any formula. Most great writers stick to the same style, but I wanted to be more various](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/i-haven-t-stuck-to-any-formula-most-great-writers-stick-to-the-same/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [Writing is like a contact sport, like football. Why do kids play football? They can get hurt on any play, can't they? Yet they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/writing-is-like-a-contact-sport-like-football-why-do-kids-play/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [At the height of the McCarthy period, writers were being hounded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/at-the-height-of-the-mccarthy-period-writers-were-being-hounded/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [“This time it is not a simple, understandable war, within the same culture. This time it is an assault of the animal world upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/this-time-it-is-not-a-simple-understandable-war-within-the-same/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [A good editor understands what you're talking and writing about and doesn't meddle too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/a-good-editor-understands-what-you-re-talking-and-writing-about-and/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [Writing is like a contact sport, like football. You can get hurt, but you enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/writing-is-like-a-contact-sport-like-football-you-can-get-hurt-but/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [“The abuse of alcohol,” Mr. Parrish said in a solemn, preacher-like voice, as he reached for his glass, “is the one thing that puts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/the-abuse-of-alcohol-mr-parrish-said-in-a-solemn-preacher-like-voice/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [A writer is a human being. He has to live with a sense of honor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/a-writer-is-a-human-being-he-has-to-live-with-a-sense-of-honor/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [Ernest Hemingway did a great deal toward making the writer an acceptable public figure; obviously, he was no sissy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/ernest-hemingway-did-a-great-deal-toward-making-the-writer-an/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I never show anything to anybody until I've finished it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/i-never-show-anything-to-anybody-until-i-ve-finished-it/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) [Explore all 62 Irwin Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) ## More Fiction quotes > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) Edward Einhorn > [Fiction is a way of exploring possibilities present but undreamt of in the living of a single life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/fiction-is-a-way-of-exploring-possibilities-present-but-undreamt-of/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [I love writing fiction and can do it anywhere - I once even missed a flight because I was so engrossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/i-love-writing-fiction-and-can-do-it-anywhere-i-once-even-missed-a/) [Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/) > [“The fiction will seek the real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coheed-and-cambria/the-fiction-will-seek-the-real/) Coheed and Cambria > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“His hands on my waist he gently pulled me n embrace. I could feel his breath on my face our lips were about to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eglinger/his-hands-on-my-waist-he-gently-pulled-me-n-embrace-i-could-feel-his/) [Nicole Eglinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eglinger/) > [In early drafts, one of the trickiest things for me to do was to realize that the techniques and devices that make readable and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-rooney/in-early-drafts-one-of-the-trickiest-things-for-me-to-do-was-to/) [Kathleen Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-rooney/) > [I don't think it's always a sign of respect for persons (inside or outside of fiction) to pretend to be able to represent, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-think-it-s-always-a-sign-of-respect-for-persons-inside-or/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Metafiction says something. It has to do with taking a large fiction itself and writing within it; that kind of self-reflecting writing that emerges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/metafiction-says-something-it-has-to-do-with-taking-a-large-fiction/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) [Browse all 7,410 Fiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writers of fiction, when they begin, are more likely to try the short form", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Irwin Shaw" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/writers-of-fiction-when-they-begin-are-more-likely-to-try-the-short/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fiction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/writers-of-fiction-when-they-begin-are-more-likely-to-try-the-short/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/irwin-shaw-11005_fiction_writers-of-fiction-when-they-begin-are-m_3235050.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/irwin-shaw-11005_fiction_writers-of-fiction-when-they-begin-are-m_3235050.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e89/irwin-shaw-11005_fiction_writers-of-fiction-when-they-begin-are-m_3235050.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writers of fiction, when they begin, are more likely to try the short form” — Irwin Shaw", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Irwin Shaw", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Writers of fiction, when they begin,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/writers-of-fiction-when-they-begin-are-more-likely-to-try-the-short/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/writers-of-fiction-when-they-begin-are-more-likely-to-try-the-short/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```