Books Quote by William Saroyan
““In getting from Windsor to Detroit there is a choice between a free tunnel and a toll bridge, which turned out to be a short ride for a dollar, which I mentioned to the toll-collector who said, 'One of those things,' impelling me to remark to my cousin, 'Almost everything said by people one sees for only an instant is something like poetry. Precise, incisive, and just right, and the reason seems to be that there isn't time to talk prose. This suggests several things, the most important of which is probably that a writer ought not to permit himself to feel that he has all the time in the world in which to write his story or play or novel. He ought to set himself a time-limit, and the shorter the better. And he ought to do a lot of other things while he is working within this time-limit, so that he will always be under pressure, in a hurry, and therefore have neither the inclination nor the time to be fussy, which is the worst thing that happens to a book while it's being written.””
About This Quote
Source Speech: Interview on Writing, 1940s
Writing under tight deadlines forces clarity and prevents over‑polishing, keeping prose fresh and poetic.
In simple terms: Deadlines keep writing sharp and honest.
Set short limits to avoid fussiness.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- novel drafting
- screenwriting
- journalism
- academic essays
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How does pressure affect your creative choices?
- Can you maintain quality under tight time?
Short limits may cause rushed errors if not balanced with revision.