Books Quote by Shelby Foote
“If you want to study writing, read Dickens. That's how to study writing, or Faulkner, or D.H. Lawrence, or John Keats. They can teach you everything you need to know about writing.”
About This Quote
Studying great authors provides a comprehensive education in writing techniques and style.
In simple terms: Read masters to learn writing.
Key Takeaway
Learn from literary masters.
Themes
writing
learning
literature
Mood
inspired
reflective
Type
educational
inspirational
When to use this quote
- writing workshops
- self‑study
- literary analysis
Key Concepts
style
technique
influence
Questions to Reflect On
- Which author would you study next?
- How does reading classics improve your voice?
A Different Perspective
Great writers may not cover modern digital media.
![“I majored in English in college and that was my major in graduate school before switching to creative writing. I read a lot of [Charles] Dickens and [Anthony ] Trollope, but there was lots of stuff I hadn't read like Thackeray's "Vanity Fair," which is so well written and funny.” quote by Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/693/stephen-dobyns-13599_college_i-majored-in-english-in-college-and-that_1010174.jpg)
![“And speaking of this wonderful machine: [840] I’m puzzled by the difference between Two methods of composing: A , the kind Which goes on solely in the poet’s mind, A testing of performing words, while he Is soaping a third time one leg, and B , The other kind, much more decorous, when He’s in his…” quote by Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/46a/vladimir-nabokov-198_composing_and-speaking-of-this-wonderful-machine-8_2914520.jpg)
![“I don't know if I call myself a poet or not. I would like to, but I'm not really qualified to make that decision, because I come in on such a back door, that I don't know what a Robert Frost or a [John] Keats or a T.S. Eliot would really think of my stuff.” quote by Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ca0/bob-dylan-168_back-doors_i-don-t-know-if-i-call-myself-a-poet-or_400356.jpg)
